Will Post For Kitchen Utensils

Good Evening!  How was everybody's day?  I didn't have to work today, so I had lunch with a friend and took a much needed long walk to the post office and back to mail some ordination forms.  I was already feeling refreshed and fabulous when Bruce called at 3 p.m. and said that he was coming home early!  I love little surprises like that.  We spent the better part of the afternoon dreaming and scheming of ways we could turn a corner of my parent's basement (of the house we're moving to in Connecticut) into a bar.  I think we could build our own bar (maybe?), but it was fun to peruse the internet and look at bars (I love this one!), extra tall bar stools (you have to have TALL bar stools!) and all of the nifty accessories that go with it.  We really don't drink that much, but when we do we like to try new concoctions AND Bruce insists on serving drinks in the proper glassware - so we have a ridiculous number of glasses, ha!

Speaking of the new house, have I mentioned how psyched am I to be moving into a kitchen with a little bit more counter space and a pantry?!  I cannot wait to get cooking up there.  I'm sure it will come as no surprise to anyone who reads my blog that I have been genuinely enjoying my time in the kitchen lately.  But that definitely hasn't always been the case.  When we moved to Atlanta, I was convinced that I was going to have dinner on the table every night and that Bruce was going to be blown away by my cooking.  The problem with that plan?  I had never cooked on a regular basis!  So my rotation of pasta with meat sauce and fried chicken didn't really take us far.

Learning how to cook has been a process.  I have expressed my difficulties and frustrations right here on my blog (remember the time I ruined all three courses of a date night?) but I have also brought you along as I have celebrated my successes - and have even started to branch away from recipes and create my own meals!  My recipe page continues to grow and I love being able to archive and share everything right here.  I hope it's been helpful for you.

Anyway, I was thrilled when my favorite folks over at CSN asked me if I wanted to do another product review for them.  I try not to do a ton of reviews (although I suppose my life is a review), but I have worked with CSN in the past and they are wonderful to bloggers trying get themselves out there and try new things AND it gave me the opportunity to build up my kitchen arsenal.  Win-win, right?  And Bruce and I had so much fun trying to decide what to review!  We take our kitchen tools and gadgets seriously.  Our process of elimination sort of turned into the MTV-show-Next of Kitchen Utensils.

Not really, I'm just a dork.

Okay, here were the finalists.

This Presto 20" Cool Touch Electric Griddle.  I actually do have a griddle.  My grandmother gave it to me when I was in high school (I was the high school girl who asked for an electric griddle for their birthday), but it's definitely starting to show its age.  More so than me.  But in the end I decided that I'm not ready to part with my very first kitchen appliance that I got to call my own.  Next!

This Henckel 7" Santoku Hollow Edge Knife.  Bruce is a hunter, fisherman and outdoorsman.  He takes his knives seriously.  Henckels are awesome.  But we weren't sure we wanted to buy a knife without being able to actually hold it first and see how it balances.  Next!

Le Creuset 4.25" Stoneware Petite Tart Dish.  Oh my.  This is the cutest thing ever.  Here's the thing - now that I know how to make my mother-in-law's ridiculously amazing pie crust, I want to cook everything in a crust.  How adorably domestic would I seem if I had a dinner party and served individual vegetable pies in these little tart dishes?

But then I realized I don't throw dinner parties.  I don't even have a dining room table.  Next!

Rachael Ray 3-Piece Spoonula Set.  I love spoonulas.  Really.  I actually love them.  If there was a fire in my apartment I would grab Lilly and my spoonula (Bruce can fend for himself).  And the reason for not going with this set is ridiculous.  Bruce and I prefer Giada de Laurentiis over Rachael Ray when it comes to Food Network shows.  Next!

Ready for the winner?  This was actually Bruce's idea.  He was packing up some kitchen stuff and realized that our $10 IKEA Wok (that has lived a good life) was officially shot in terms of rust.

Oy.  There's a good lesson in this.  Take care of your wok.  Then let it take care of you.

In the form of stir fry.

Okay, the winner is ...

Taylor & Ng 6 Piece 14" Flat Bottom Wok Set.  We are thrilled because this is actually an upgrade in terms of woks - it has a cover!  Definitely something we were lacking before.

Let the stir fry dinner party commence.

Ack!  There's that dinner party thing again.  Mom and Dad - I NEED A DINING ROOM TABLE!

Thanks for window shopping for kitchen utensils with me!  I had fun, I hope you did too.  Have a great night - tomorrow is Wear a Dress Tuesday!

Now for some legal chatter: I was contacted by CSN to do a review of one of their products and will be given this product free of charge. However - the opinions I expressed in this post were completely my own and not prodded by anyone over at CSN.