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Spice up mealtime with a musical dinner table

No bachelor pad is complete without a few well-known essential items: music, drink, and mood. But times have moved beyond exotic tunes warming up the hi-fi set, olive adorned martini glasses, and romantic mood lighting. The modern swank setup needs something a little extra to impress today's discerning women.

Instead of laying down the tunes with Arthur Lyman's Taboo, why not spice up and vibe the night with this marimba table? Yes, marimba table. Dinner and a show. You're sure to impress your date with this table that doubles as a musical instrument.

It's a concept … Read more

March Madness meets midnight munchies

Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with your food? If you never followed her advice, then at least now you can buy a bowl that gives you some justification. The Wild Fling Bowl from Wabash Valley Farms not only holds popcorn, but also comes with a basketball hoop and corresponding slingshot so that you can practice your aim with the fluffy snack.

The bowl also has a compartment to hold a remote control and soda can, although some users have said that the "holder for the remote control works OK, but the holder for a … Read more

Coming soon: Printed latte art

We thought latte stencils were pretty cool, but this really takes the cake--er, foam. A new company called OnLatte has grabbed the attention of food blogs (and mainstream press like The Wall Street Journal) with its tech-centric approach to the practice of latte art.

The project began last year, when inventor Oleksiy Pikalo saw a video on latte art and decided to make a machine that would decorate his lattes for him. Using a hacked x-y flatbed plotter and edible brown ink, he built a prototype and jokingly filmed it printing a Starbucks logo on a homemade latte.

Pikalo demonstrated … Read more

Shake and break

I love the sound of breaking glass. But, with all apologies to Nick Lowe, the sound of breaking ceramic may be better. Or at least more constructive. It may seem odd to suggest that the act of breaking something could result in a sum greater than its parts, but that is exactly what the Fragile salt and pepper shaker sets out to do.

A concept piece, Fragile was designed by Mey Kahn and Boaz Kahn from Israel. Looking somewhat like milk bottles stacked top to top, the immediate impression of Fragile, is that it is, well, fragile. Just toppling it … Read more

Beer-can chicken in the stove with ceramic deep-dish cooker

If you've ever had beer can chicken you know how good it can be. Normally made on the grill, the chicken literally rests on top of an open beer can. The steam generated by the heated beer flavors and moistens the chicken, while the fat drips off. Your guests gather round and watch as the whole contraption cooks away. So, it's dinner and a show.

For those times when the whole can process seems like too much, there's an alternative. This deep-dish chicken cooker replicates the method, albeit not the experience. Sometimes the simple and easy way … Read more

A table that thinks it's a storage shed

The summer months are waning, but if you're anything like me, you'll continue eating outside until the evening frost calls for winter coats. Whether I'm on vacation, on my day off, or on my lunch break, it's tough to find anything as instantaneously liberating and relaxing as eating outdoors.

If you have a deck or patio and you share my sentiments about al fresco dining, then, chances are, you own deck furniture. But, what happens to your blessed table and chairs in the winter months?

I don't have a deck, or a patio, or a … Read more

A wine inventory management that's as classy as your collection

Even if you know that you have a fantastic wine collection down in the cellar, what good does it do you if no one else can tell how classy you are? That's where eSommelier comes in. The elegant color touch screen lets you organize and maintain your wine inventory directly from the kitchen. Wait for your guests to notice and comment, and then casually make your way over and show off your style to your friends.

Simply plug in the unit and you're up and running. Add a new wine by selecting the country, region, variety, winery, and … Read more

Give peace a chance

We've all been asked what we would do if we could change one thing about the planet. In my experience, answers to this question have ranged from simple requests, like making the grocery store down the street stay open 24 hours, to impossible, but virtuous, desires like undoing the invention of nuclear warheads. When I was growing up, my answer was always that I would eliminate war. Naturally, though, as I got older and more experienced in the ways of this life, I realized a world without war is next to impossible.

For as long as we've lived … Read more

Say sayonara to salmonella

On April 10 of this year, hospitals recorded the first case of what would become a three-month possibly tomato-linked (though now the suspected culprit is the dreaded jalapeno pepper) salmonella outbreak. By the time the FDA lifted the warning on July 17,1220 people in 42 states had been affected by the virus, leading to an estimated $100 million loss recorded by the tomato industry. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com)

The outbreak served as a rude awakening for some that food safety is still something worth caring about. In the 1980s, salmonella poisoning presented itself as a threat to people eating … Read more