The other day my head was swimming with the wonder that is Nick and Nora Charles. While this is hardly the arena to talk about the wonder that is The Thin Man, Nick Charles certainly has some worth here at Slashfood.

I've shared a myriad of flicks over these last few months, but never dipped into the world of libations. I figure ol' Nick is the perfect way to change that trend, as he talks about the appropriate way to shake your cocktails. Remember, "the important thing is the rhythm." A Manhattan you shake to the fox trot, and as for the rest, watch the beginning of the clips above to learn the real hippy hippy shake. (You can also learn how to drink them Nora-style soon after.)

What shaking moves do you use for your cocktail making?

I know. Could we get over the eggs already? You already know I can't because I love hard boiled eggs, plus, I have this "thing" for salt and pepper shakers.

The egg-shaped salt and pepper shakers are by Primal Design. Together, the egg measures W3.7 xD2.6 xH1.7" and is made of ceramic. It's available from MollaSpace for $12.

More salt and pepper shakers:
Flashy Mini Lanterns
Weeble Wobble
Ice cream cones
Sleek and magnetic
Pretty little pigs
Self-shaking shakers for the lazy
Peugeot's electric pepper mill

It's been a while since I've cooed over a set of salt and pepper shakers, so it's about time.

The Mini Lantern Salt and Pepper Shakers don't actually effect an "Ohmigod, how cute!" but they do get points for being totally functional, doing double duty as shakers as well as lights for the table. Each shaker has three white LED bulbs with built-in reflectors for even more brightness.

Because you always want to be prepared for a power outage just as you're about to reach for that salt shaker.

The set of shakers is available from HomeWetBar for $24.99

One of the responses to my call for help with Indianapolis foods is the Sugar Cream Pie. I had no idea that such a thing existed, but What's Cooking America, has a litle bit of background on the Indiana-based dessert that's also known as Indiana Cream Pie, Sugar Pie, and Finger Pie.

Finger pie?! Yes, according to the history, the recipe originated with the Shakers in the 1800s. It was called "finger pie" because "the filling was stirred with a finger during the baking process to prevent breaking the bottom crust." The pie is very simple: a pie shell filled with creamed butter and sugar and vanilla-flavored cream, then baked.

The Hungry Hoosier has a recipe for Sugar Cream Pie, as does Paula Deen over on the Food Network. Whether you use you finger to stir the pie, though, is up to you!

Legos are an icon of childhood for most of us, whether you were the one building elaborated fantasy worlds or your children are/were. Like just about every other product you can think of, Lego seizes just about any opportunity for merchandising that it sees and has moved out of the playroom and into the kitchen. Earlier this year, we saw some Lego Eggos, but now the company is offering us real kitchen gear, like ice cube trays shaped like Legos and salt and pepper shakers shaped - somewhat disturbingly - as Lego-men heads. They also have a Lego Apron, which is not made of Legos, but features the classic body of a Lego person on it, a set of Lego coasters and Lego corkscrews for opening wine (probably not something you want your kids to see in case they mistake them for toys).

All this Lego gear is a lot of fun to have around and definitely gives a new twist to playing with your food. The only way that this stuff could be more fun is if the ice cubes were stackable, though it should only take a little water to get them to stick together long enough to build a small tower. You'll need more than one tray for a fort.

We love salt and pepper shakers of all kinds here - after all, what would food be without seasonings? It would be boring. And while it doesn't hurt to have an interesting set of shakers on the table, there is such a thing as having ones that are too interesting. Creepy, even. These chicken feet salt and pepper shakers let you "shake a leg" in seasoning your food, but they still look like chicken feet and they might be disconcerting to see on the table. They're also $50 per pair, and at that price, I'd rather spend the money on some expensive salt than ceramic feet.

On the scale of all the things that need to be done when preparing food, like cleaning, chopping, roasting, etc., seasoning food with salt and pepper is low on my list of things that require effort. That said, it probably isn't surprising that I find Movers & Shakers, the self-shaking salt and pepper shakers, to be ridiculous. To operate the plastic shakers, you just have to pull the cord at the bottom of the shaker, invert over your plate and they vibrate, shaking out as much or as little seasoning as your taste buds desire. The only thing that they don't do is hold themselves over the plate, though I'm sure with a little creativity you could figure out a way to suspend them in the middle of the table. Of course, if you refill the shakers with Spepper, you'll really have reached the pinnacle of easy seasoning.

The shakers: $7.99. The cost of saving a second of actual effort? Priceless.

For some reason salt and pepper shakers seem hideously expensive to me. Decent stainless steel twisty ones never seem to be under £30 a pair. I have taken to putting my Malden sea-salt in a little dish and just using my hands as my twisty one doesn't; twist that is. These don't fit my needs or my price bracket. Nor my taste either come to that.

Kitsch or just crap? Glazed semi-porcelain ice cream salt and pepper shakers. From an original 1970's mould apparently. They certainly had style back in the 70's. Not sure whose mind...

Ice Cream Salt and Pepper Shakers £89 from Couverture.