Post-wedding registry

I've been learning to cook more because it's cheap and staying home all day requires a really good hobby to stay sane. Especially when it takes me three hours to watch a 20-minute show on instant Netflix because our Internet connection is just that bad.

So, I've greatly utilized my wedding gifts even the cookie press (though probably not very successfully) and all four of our amazing cutting boards.


However, the more I cook, the more tools I do not have and have to use my very amateur skills to improvize.

Garlic press: I buy real garlic. Crack the cloves, peel off the layers. And then ever so painfully try to mince  garlic with a chopping knife.This does not work as well as when I went to a dear friend's house and watched her four-year-old pop a garlic clove into the press and ta-da!


Extra loaf pans: I have one. From college. They are probably $1.50 at Target but I suffer with one, which means my new adventure in bread making is cut short because it seems all my recipes make two loaves. So instead I bake one while the other ball of dough quadruples in size.

Dutch oven: I don't even know why this is different from pan, but a very popular tool with the recipe folk.


*Note to Shea: The above items are available at your local Crate and Barrel store.


I don't think we got anything on our list that we regretted. However, now that I am a guest of weddings rather than a planner, I refuse to buy friends any of the following, and thank goodness we never got any of it.


Margarita or martini glasses, champagne flutes: We cannot fit all our barware in our bar or cabinets. So, half of it is in boxes. We only drink margaritas while at a Mexican restaurant. And I am pretty sure we'll never be serving them to people who can't stand the thought of a margarita in a normal glass. Champagne flutes?  Really awesome if someone makes them from hand for you. Regular, generic ones? Unnecessary due to New Years Eve 2008.


China patterns: We got two sets of dishes. We love both and only use one for now. By the time I am serving a fancy enough dinner where Crate and Barrel plates won't cut it, I'll be able to borrow the China dishes passed down from the women in my family.And by then, we can trick my mom into giving us the walnut cabinet for storage.

Coasters, candles, vases: We get candles for $2 at Kohls during their weekly dirt-cheap sales. The rest of my candles I don't burn because they are too pretty. And, coasters are only helpful if you commit to actually cleaning your coffee table, which is glass, which is the worst thing to clean.


Hands-down best wedding gifts, you ask?
Really good pots and pans
Sharp knives (what a concept?!)

Silverware, dishes and glasses we picked out
Mixing bowls
Homemade cutting boards, aprons, potholders and tablecloths