Kitchen Essential

Dishwashers are no longer considered luxury appliances. They are near-necessities in the modern kitchen.

If you still feel traces of guilt about using a dishwasher, take heart: it is a much more hygienic method of washing up - tea towels and dish cloths are perfect breeding grounds for germs - and, if you choose the model with care, it uses no more power and water than washing up by hand.

A few checks will make sure you are happy with the model you buy. First, find out the length of the shortest and the longest cycles, and the amount of water used - the lower the numbers, the kinder it is to your pocket and the environment. Continue Reading »

TOPS

The requirements of a worktop are that it should be tough enough to cope with all sorts of attack, yet sufficiently good-looking to be a design element in the kitchen.

The worktop is probably the most hardworking part of the whole kitchen; over the years it has to stand up to all sorts of abuse from knives, hot saucepans, water, kitchen chemicals and certain foods.

Some materials wear better than others or are relatively easy to repair; think about these things when you’re deciding what to use for your worktop. You should also consider what maintenance will be required, and how often; whether splashback edges and corners can be well sealed; if you have a long worktop, how many joints there will be; and then, look at the relative prices of the different materials. These are the practical considerations — after that it’s a matter of making your decision purely on aesthetic grounds. Continue Reading »

Start with a well-designed kitchen; mix that with a carefully thought-out colour scheme and personal decorating touches, and the result will be an individual and interesting room that will be in keeping with the rest of the house.

While the working parts of the kitchen are vitally important, so too are the decorative aspects — you want to create a room that you feel happy working in. There’s no point in having all the latest appliances and high technology if you’re miserable every time you set foot in the kitchen. Think just as carefully about colour and the decorating of the room as you do about every other aspect. Continue Reading »

As soon as you walk into the country kitchen, it’s as if there’s a huge welcome mat at the door. You see it in the lovely comfortable clutter, the warm timber, the informality and the deliberately mismatched old tiles in the splashback. Bowls of fruit and vegetables on display — perhaps just one type, such as lemons or pears — indicate a love of nature. Herbs and spices are decanted into pretty jars; farmhouse loaves sit on the breadboard; wire baskets full of eggs add to the mood. Continue Reading »

Kitchen Storage Behind Closed Doors

Cupboard storage ideas are only as limited as your imagination.

• Glass doors can often be incorporated into cupboard design — these are generally at eye level to show off colour-coordinated china and glassware.
• Plastic-coated wire baskets are popular for storing numerous items from pots to vegetables.
• A tea-towel rack may be useful in a small narrow space.

Continue Reading »

With all of its pots, pans, bags of groceries and delicious comforting aromas, the kitchen is the heart of the home. But it does have a dual role to play: it has to be efficient yet comfortable and inviting.

Planning a kitchen may seem daunting at first, but most of the important decisions will be common-sense ones. Then you can spend time on the fun things like colour schemes and the overall ‘look’. Continue Reading »

The most informal arrangement, the eat-in kitchen can fit into almost any shaped room as long as it’s not too small.

A great benefit of this layout is that the cook need never feel left out from what’s going on at the table. On the down side of things it is impossible to close the door on kitchen mess. Continue Reading »

Apart from making sure that it is not easily breakable, there are no special requirements when selecting crockery and cutlery for camping. Naturally, it does not make sense to take along the family’s Dresden china or parts of a complete dinner set which would be ruined if one piece went missing. But the other extreme of using only disposable plastic knives, forks and spoons is also not the answer: Continue Reading »

The ultimate hangover cure or early-morning beverage! This is a customized recipe, but as the results will testify — well worth the effort.

• 2 parts vodka
• 1 small can tomato juice
• dash Tobasco sauce
• dash Worcestershire sauce
• freshly ground black, green & white pepper
• half crushed garlic clove
• sliced & diced lemon pieces (with rind)
• 1 celery stick

Continue Reading »

For those uninitiated in the ways of the Long Island Ice-tea here are some ground rules: Do not underestimate the power of an LIIT. One is normally more than enough, but inevitably leads to a second — very seldom a third. It contains all ‘white‘ liquors and is by far the most forgiving to the cocktail maker. Continue Reading »

You may never set the table like this (you probably don’t have enough matching cutlery anyway) but should you happen to be invited to one of those really fancy restaurants where you are faced with a dazzling display of silverware and starched white linen as the maitre d’ pushes in your chair, at least you won’t make a fool of yourself when it comes to using said silverware to deliver delicate morsels to your mouth for mastication, swallowing and digestion and whatever follows that.

With formal 3-5 course meals, the dinner place-setting is used from the outside in. When you sit down at a formal table, the side plate on your left is yours. There will normally be a butter knife on top. You will use this knife to butter your bread or roll which you don’t cut, by the way, but break (gently, you’re not a caveman). Continue Reading »

We are all faced with situations where we need to save face, join the party, be the party or simply leave the party. The trick is to know when to do what. Read the etiquette section for tips on when not to be late (ever, according to our publisher!) and more about formal table settings to know which fork to stick in what and not be completely flustered by the mere sight of it. The wine section will help you fake it with the best of them. Then we give you the cocktail recipes for fun, hangover cures for necessity and cigars for style. Continue Reading »

Don’t use these in the microwave

Metal or anything with metal trim or decoration. This includes pie tins and your dinner service if it’s got any silver or gold bits. Metal causes sparks in the microwave.

Hard plastic (melamine) and some Tupperware - these may absorb microwaves so food doesn’t cook properly in them.

Glued containers - dishes or containers that have been repaired with glue, or have handles glued on should not be used as the glue will melt and leave a huge mess. Continue Reading »

A modern miracle, the microwave’s potential is hardly ever met in the mere mortal’s kitchen. It stands in the corner forlornly hoping its owners will use it for more than pizza leftover warm-ups. As we are also maniacal reheaters, we went in search of the holy grail — or in this case the Best Kept Microwave Secrets.

In many instances the general reluctance to make the most of your microwave oven may well stem from a secret fear that it will blow up and take you and your home along with it. So let’s start with some golden rules: Continue Reading »

Decanters and carafes

Decanters are usually stoppered to prevent loss of bouquet from fine old red wines. Spirit decanters which often come in pairs may be simple yet elegant in shape, but are more often made of deeply etched glass. These too need stoppers. Silver tags hung round the necks identify the contents.

Robust young red wines benefit from exposure to the oxidizing process of air and are frequently served in a carafe, which has no stopper.

Cutlery

The price of cutlery varies enormously according to he material it is made from and the quality of the finish. At the lowest end of the scale is stainless steel cutlery, although this rises in price depending on the quality of the steel and the degree of workmanship. Stainless steel is extremely practical and suits informal meals, but it is not always appropriate for more formal occasions. Continue Reading »

Formerly a full suite of glasses would contain anything from ten to twenty different shapes. Nowadays we make do with far fewer and the rules as to their use are less rigid. There are many different qualities and designs available and it is generally possible to find attractive glasses to suit your budget. There are two main kinds to be aware of, lead crystal and soda glass.

Lead crystal is the most expensive hand-made glass and it contains lead oxide. Because of its high light refraction it displays the contents to the finest advantage, and lends itself best to decorative cutting. Within this section there are several grades, so enquire carefully from the retailer the exact description of the high-quality glass to guide you on price. A printed price list should indicate the grades. Continue Reading »

Choosing Tableware

Different styles of glassware, china and cutlery need to be very carefully mixed; china from a particular period with cutlery and glassware from the same period, if possible, or reproduction pieces that echo the style.

When trying to decide what to use, think of the following: is the colour scheme subtle or bold? Does the china and linen give a delicate or substantial effect? If subtle and delicate, use glassware and cutlery that fit in with this. Choose pieces that have fine, graceful, elegant shapes and only a little ornamentation. If the effect is bold and substantial, chunky modern glasses and heavier cutlery will blend better. Try to achieve a balance between all the different accessories you use. Continue Reading »

A buffet meal is ideal for occasions where there is to be a large number of guests such as christenings, weddings and similar gatherings. It may also suit a smaller gathering such as an informal supper with friends after the theatre or an evening at home where a dinner around the table might be more formal than you want to make it.

When planning the table arrangements and flowers or other decorations, think carefully about a colour scheme or theme to suit the occasion. For example, if the meal you are planning is to celebrate a silver wedding, choose white flowers with silvery foliage, silver candles or white candles in silver candlesticks and trimmings of furled silver ribbons. Silver serving dishes and silver cutlery will help to set the scene and if you don’t have these yourself, you can hire, or possibly borrow them. If the occasion is a christening, you will probably choose pink or blue as the predominant colour, and flowers should be delicate and unfussy.

The next most important decision is where to place the table. Continue Reading »

Cocktail parties usually take place in the evening before dinner, from 6 p.m. until 8 or 8.30 p.m. Invitations can be as formal or informal and as original as you like, and the party may be as simple or elaborate as you wish to make it. You may choose to serve one alcoholic drink only, for example, sherry or champagne, or wine, or you may decide to serve a variety of cocktails (be sure that you are well versed in making them), spirits or aperitifs. Soft drinks should also be available. Whatever the drinks you offer, have glasses the right shape to serve them in. Continue Reading »

To celebrate a wedding anniversary in style it is a fun idea to take as the theme the symbol that represents the particular number of years a couple has been married. The first few are a bit of a joke but as the number of years of marriage increases so the anniversary symbol becomes more valuable and romantic. They are:

• One year Wedding Anniversary: Cotton.
• Two years Wedding Anniversary: Paper.
• Three years Wedding Anniversary: Leather.
• Four years Wedding Anniversary: Fruit and flowers.
• Five _.years Wedding Anniversary: Wood.

Continue Reading »