Five on 5
A quintet of critics picks a year's worth of favorites
It's fun to figure out if a celebrity chef has any substance. New Yorker Mario Batali, for instance, with his signature orange clogs, is all over the place, but he really does run good restaurants. His line of cookware intrigues me. A five-piece set of melamine nesting bowls ($9.95), has marks inside to show you 1/8 cup to 2 cups. When you're doing a mise en place -- the French system of putting everything in place before you cook -- the little bowls come in handy. Even the names -- persimmon and pesto -- are fetching. Available at Bed, Bath, and Beyond or surlatable.com. SHERYL JULIAN
I don't have a car, a mortgage, a spouse, children, a dog, or a drug problem. So my limited social utility allows me to feel less guilty about my knife problem, or more specifically, a fascination with Shun knives, a Japanese brand that makes the finest steel blades I've chopped with. They come in the classic santoku, long blades for slicing, squared-off blades for heavy-duty tasks. Their best feature is their sleekly curvaceous design, which includes air pockets on the blade. They're beautiful and ominous, like what Jeremy Irons should have used for surgery in "Dead Ringers." Available where quality knives are sold. WESLEY MORRIS
Lately, I've been drowning in a tiramisu sea, and when I try to climb onto an island, it's made of crème brûlée and molten-chocolate cake. Desserts have fallen into a rut. At the new Restaurant Pava , chef Susan Regis's lemon chess tart breaks out of the pack with its creamy, egg-rich custard and a touch of cornmeal. The pretty tart ($8) is topped with white chocolate curls and the clear, true lemon flavor is so vibrant it makes me smile. The lemon sorbet with it has an eye-opening puckery quality that's quite irresistible, too. Restaurant Pava, 1229 Centre St., Newton Centre, 617-965-0905. ALISON ARNETT
Amy Sedaris is my kind of hostess. On the cover of "I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence " (Warner Books, $27.99), the actress wears a dress yanked from June Cleaver's closet and clutches a golden turkey. You just know she's the kind of gal who might drop that bird , dust it off, and then serve it . Sedaris imparts etiquette tips with snarky glee: "A good trick is to fill your medicine cabinet with marbles. Nothing announces a nosy guest better than an avalanche of marbles hitting a porcelain sink." Available at book stores. JAMES REED
This year, I quit drinking coffee for a while . That's when I got hooked on fill-your-own teabags ($1.99), empty envelopes of porous paper from Japan. Fill one with loose leaf tea (I like Mariage Freres French breakfast or Kusmi's Troika blend -- I didn't say I quit caffeine), fold it closed, and use it like any other tea bag. I just throw one in my ceramic travel mug (no more nasty-tasting plastic or metal, $11 at highwave.com) and hit the road. A moment of Zen for your commute. Available at Lotte Market, 297 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-661-1194, and other Asian markets. DEVRA FIRST
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