July 17, 2014
I naturally cringe when articles and headlines label things as “must-haves”, knowing of course that most material “things” are generally never in the “must” category. However, there are some material objects that sure do make life a little more convenient, more beautiful, more presentable. With this in mind, I wanted to highlight a few items I have collected over the years, which lend to a beautiful presentation when I’m putting together an appetizer spread like the one I wrote about yesterday.
While the food should most definitely be the star, presenting it in simple, yet elegant and chic serving-ware really helps to highlight it’s natural beauty, not compete with it. The serving ware, platters and glasses should also be functional in that they are easy to clean, store away rather effortlessly, and come together naturally, without a lot of thought and planning. With this in mind, I’ve made it a point to collect various shapes and sizes of serving pieces, all in vary natural and neutral tones of white, ivory and natural woods. I keep all my serving pieces in one central location in the craft cabinet, so when it comes time to pull spreads together I’m not digging through cabinets and drawers, frustrated because I can’t find the vessel I need. My pieces range from very small to relatively large; nothing too big though so that it makes it a pain to store. I collect various platters, plates, dipping bowls and larger salad bowls, and manage to always use everything on a rotational basis; in other words, I don’t collect or hold onto pieces I don’t need or use. I also invested in 2 simple and affordable cheese knives a long time ago, one for hard and one for soft, and not only does it make for a more “professional” restaurant style spread, but they also serve a very useful purpose. Here is a collection of tasteful home items that will have you well on your way to gathering up a beautiful and delicious spread on your own.
1. Magnetic Cheese Board & Cheese Knife – I love this idea of keeping the cheese board and knife together in one spot, although I would suggest also getting a hard cheese knife in addition to this one. I purchased a ceramic cheese board years ago, and while it’s been fine, I always worry about chopping through cheese too hastily, and it breaking. A nice wooden board like this one does away with that concern.
2. Spanish Steps Serving Board – a unique way to display your dry appetizers including nuts, cheeses and cured meats, three levels separate each section to keep them separated in a functional and clever way.
3. Slate Server With Soapstone Chalk – not only is this serving piece “on-trend”, it is also fully functional in that it is heat and cold resistant, so it displays a variety of cheese at ease. It is also nonporous so it holds up well to washing and doesn’t hold odors.
4. Dot Matrix Board – this interesting artful dot pattern is not only beautiful, but serves the very useful purpose of catching breadcrumbs when you slice. Made of walnut wood, sleek design stores easily.
5. Stemless Aerating Wineglasses – so I knew that aerating your wine can help it taste better, but did you know it also has the additional benefit of helping to reduce the amount of alcohol that enters your bloodstream? These beauties have ridges on the inside of each glass, which help to aerate right in your hands.
6. Hands Bowl – I love the simplicity of this white ceramic dish, perfect for serving nuts, olives, or dried fruits.
7. Cheese Making Kit – I keep hearing how easy it is to make softer cheeses like ricotta and mozzarella, but I’ve yet to try my hand at it. While I don’t think I would buy a kit for myself, if someone happened to gift me with one, I would surely put it to good use. This kit is affordable and would make a great hostess or housewarming gift.
These items were all collected from UncommonGoods, a retail site that specializes in unique gifts, many of which are handmade by talented artisans all over the world. Many products offer information about the artists and where each was created, allowing you to really know where your goods are coming from. UncommonGoods was nice enough to sponsor this post, but all thoughts and opinions are my own. Visit UncommonGoods to browse all their products, from unique home decor items, to handmade gifts.
