Newlywed, newly equipped with top-quality cookware
After years of suffering through dreadful first-apartment cooking equipment like flimsy nonstick skillets and gouged-up plastic cutting boards, couples get married and get the good stuff. Retro bar blenders, copper saucepans, countertop espresso machines, Japanese knives, and all kinds of French, Italian, and Asian cookware aren't unusual gifts right now.
Outfitting the kitchen, assembling a batterie de cuisine worthy of a four-star chef, may be reason enough to tie the knot. Now that it's wedding season, couples are about to reap the benefits of having registered at cookware shops for the perfect everything. On their lists, say sales personnel, are items that signal a return to traditional recipes and an interest in making food that takes time to prepare. Newlyweds don't just want to stop on the way home for takeout or hit defrost on the microwave. They want to cook old-fashioned dishes and make the house feel like home.
Louise Barber of The Concord Shop in Concord says that 20-somethings and 30-somethings seem to be going back to real cooking, making things from scratch and not taking shortcuts. "Couples come in, and they make a beeline for the cast - iron pots and casseroles," she says. "They also want ramekins, tart pans, wooden tools, and baking stones. And they want the good stuff, not the cheap knockoff. They want what they get to last forever."
Though snazzier versions of slow cookers have been on the market for several years, these cook-all-day pots are seeing a surge of popularity, says Catie Trezise , manager of
Trezise recommends the All-Clad Deluxe Slow Cooker ($249.95). It has a non stick cast-aluminum insert that pops out of the cooker so you can brown meat directly on the stovetop. Once the meat is browned, the insert is slipped into the cooker and plugged in.
In the last few weeks Trezise has been selling a lot of Wusthof-Trident Ikon knives ($749.95 for an 8-piece set). These German high-carbon steel blades are triple-riveted inside polished African blackwood handles. "They are absolutely gorgeous," she says. "They have a warmer look, like not as contemporary. They would fit in perfectly with a Tuscan decorated kitchen."
Now that the weather is good, people are asking for grills. And not just gas grills. The manager says that the Sierra Charcoal Grill with a stainless top ($499 ) is taking off. It boasts a heavy gauge steel rig with a brushed stainless steel lid and a cast - iron grate; you can adjust the height of the grilling surface by turning a crank. A motorized rotisserie attachment ($59.95) is also available to spit roast chicken over the flames. With the grill, Trezise recommends the Griddle-Q ($179.95) , a stainless steel griddle for the barbecue. It looks like a mini restaurant flat top, grease trough and all. "You can do cheese steaks and fajitas for outdoor parties," she says.
And while you're in the sun, you may as well be sipping frozen margaritas. "With the Margaritaville Frozen Concoction Maker ( $ 299.95) you can have a slushy margarita at home," says Trevise. "It's very popular, like through-the-roof popular."
Back in the kitchen, hard liquor, wine, coffee, and tea, and all the expensive toys that go with them, are perennial registry favorites. "Young people know their drinks," says Saori Sagal a , a manager at Sur La Table at The Mall at Chestnut Hill. For wine lovers, she recommends Schott Zwiesel Tritan Forte (about $80 for six), titanium-based crystal wine glasses. "They are very hard to break and you put them in the dishwasher," she says.
Her favorite coffee gadget is the Nespresso Le Cube ($299 to $349), a single-serve espresso maker with capsules. "The coffee is always perfect," says Sagala.
In Back Bay, Kitchen Arts assistant manager Michele Fais says that a lot of couples are learning their kitchen moves by watching television cooks, including Martha Stewart and Rach a el Ray . All the cooking shows are using Japanese-style santoku knives ($124 for a 7-inch Shun Classic Hollow Ground Santoku ). "A santoku is lighter than a chef's knife, good for smaller hands and great for slicing and thin chopping," she says.
Couples like handmade wooden bowls for their salads ($24 to $300 for Vermont-made Clarendon hardwood ) , Joyce Chen woks in carbon steel ($30) -- "they're not expensive and they last forever," says the manager -- and brightly colored Le Creuset rubber spatulas that won't melt when used in hot pans ($6 to $14).
She has noticed that people are also interested in growing their own food, but few have the time or space. For urban kitchens, she recommends the AeroGarden Indoor Garden ($149), a mini hydroponic greenhouse. "You can grow your own herbs, cherry tomatoes, and salad greens," says Fais. "And you don't waste what you don't use because you clip as you go. Plus there's no need to wash anything. Easy."
The Concord Shop, 13 Walden St., Concord, 978-371-2286, concordshop.com; Kitchen Arts, 161 Newbury St., 617-266-8701, kitchenarts.biz; Williams-Sonoma, various locations, williams-sonoma.com. 
