Cooking Tools

I always cook my pasta in the Alessi pasta pot. It's the only pot I've ever used that doesn't spray water all over the stovetop when the insert is removed. But the pot is hard to find, in person and on the site--click on all functions and all designers to find it. They have another site, where latest designs can be viewed, but not purchased,

Of course my knives are Italian, from the Tuscan village of Scarperia where knife-making has been traditional since the 1200s.

I'm crazy about a silver pot and pan designed by Afra and Tobia Scarpa, produced by San Lorenzo.  They don't have a site but the address is via Melegari 4, Milano, tel. 39+02-796-438.  The catalogue is as distinctive as the products.  Silver conducts heat far better than copper...and more expensive.  It's extravagant, around the same price as a designer handbag but will, I've justified, last a lot longer.

Easier on the budget is the tostapane, a personal favorite that's now available in some housewares stores in the US.

Although they're not cooking tools I love Marie Brandoni's Laguna B mouth-blown glass.  The small glasses are a favorite for water, an insignificant beverage.