• Stainless Steel Hemisphere Measuring Cups with handles that are also measuring spoons
• Silicone Spatula with a stainless steel handle
• Stainless Steel Perforated Colander
• Stainless Steel Double-Sided Measuring Spoons
• Silicone Trivets
• Stainless Steel and Silicone Barbecue Brush

The heat resistant nature of silicone kitchen and bakeware is usually much-touted to home cooks by the manufacturers. This property is very useful for kitchen tools and, for example, pot holders, but the manufacturers often fail to mention the fact that silicone is so good at keeping the heat down that it can prevent your baked foods from browning in the same way that they ordinarily would if baked in or on a regular metal pan or some kind.

There is not much that can be done about an under-browned cookie without baking up a new batch, but with some foods (roasted vegetables or oven-fried chicken, for example), the reaction of many cooks is to slide the under-browned food under the broiler to finish it off. Do not do this if you are using any kind of silicone cook/bakeware, including a nonstick silpat. As some have found out, the heat from the broiler is so great that a kitchen fire can result very, very quickly. Stick to a tried-and-true metal baking sheet.

The silicone cookware industry is growing every year and the NY Times goes to great lengths test out the properties of silicone bakeware, which make up 7% of the bakeware market overall. Their conclusions? It is not nonstick, but stick resistant. It is not good for everything. High quality silicone products are expensive, while others may contain fillers that compromise their heat resistance. The final list of the products included potholders and a few other things on the "recommended" list, while cake pans and measuring cups made the "not recommended" list.

Until recently, the food was always secondary to the coffee at Starbucks, but now that the company is trying to compete with McDonalds and other quick-service breakfast places, they are quickly trying to make up lost ground.

Kidfresh is a children's food store, meaning that everything except the food has been scaled down.

Frank Bruni dines are Eleven Madison Park and gives it 3 stars. The Bar Room and the Modern also gets 3 stars.

Mark Bittman, the minimalist, talks about granola.

Silicone baking cups have advantages and disadvantages. Anything baked in them, will pop out easily without sticking to the wrapper, as baked goods often do when a paper liner is used. Of course, same result could be achieved simply by greasing the muffin tin itself and not relying on paper liners at all.

One of the other advantages of using silicon cupcake cups is that you don't need the muffin tin to support your wrappers as you bake. You can simply set the cups directly onto a baking sheet, so you can make a batch of eight or fourteen without having to conform to the number of cups your muffin tin offers. This also enables silicone baking cups to take on some shapes that cupcakes don't generally come in. Wilton makes heart, square, triangle, and diamond-shaped baking cups. They hold the same amount of batter as regular baking cups but allow for more creativity when decorating. For example, Wilton suggests using the heart cups to make strawberry-shaped cupcakes.

The name of the Sili Sling is derived from the fact that it is made of silicone, but it seems fitting for such a strange looking kitchen tool. The sling is designed to lift heavy foods out of a roasting pan, making it a perfect choice on Thanksgiving, as an 15-lb turkey can be difficult to maneuver, to say the least. No one wants to drop the turkey, but you can't leave it in the pan until it is cool and easy to handle, not unless you have no interest in making gravy, anyway. The oval sling is perforated and will not interfere with cooking, nor will it interfere with browning. The handles drape over the side of the pan and should be cool enough to handle after a few moments outside of the oven. Once Thanksgiving is over, you don't need to retire the sling for another year. It can be used for any other type of roasted or baked meat, from ham to fish, and has a maximum capacity of 18-pounds.

As I have mentioned in the past, I don't really care for silicone bakeware. While it allows cakes and other baked goods to cook evenly, it doesn't produce any of the browning or caramelisation at the edges that I love to see. That being said, I do own several silicone cake pans, collected after trying to give them the benefit of the doubt. . I would give them away to a friend or someone who might actually get some use out of the nearly-new pans, but they seem to have become sticky to the point of unusability - and I have no idea why, nor does there seem to be much information about the issue online. Have any of you readers had the same problem? The pans are all dishwasher safe and the instructions say that they cab be soaked in warm, soapy water to clean them, as well. If I'm the only one, then clearly my pans are even worse than I originally thought. If I'm not, then I definitely recommend sticking with more traditional, easier to clean bakeware.

I have had mixed feelings about silicone kitchen supplies in the past, but generally, I think it only makes unsatisfying bakeware and great tools - especially outdoor tools. In this case, I'm talking about silicone basting brushes. Once I got one last summer, I didn't want to go back to a regular bristled brush.

The silicone brushes are ideal for use in grilling because they are heat resistant and durable. You can spread on any amount of sauce or glaze without having to worry about the brush drying out or charring due to heat and, best of all, you'll never have a bristle come loose onto your food. They are also dishwasher safe, which makes cleanup a breeze. I use a short handled one most of the time, which works very well, but the serious griller might be more interested in long-handled versions, like the Grill Friends Angled BBQ Brush or BBQ Basting Mop.

Baking can be a hazardous sport if you don't have the right equipment. I don't know how many times I've burned myself trying to take a tin of muffins or a heavy cookie sheet out of the oven, holding onto it with a worn oven mitt or worse, a kitchen towel, frantically looking for a place to set it down. (I won't mention how many times I've also burned my mouth impatiently "tasting" something 350 degrees right out of the oven!)

Silicone oven mitts are awesome, as they don't seem to wear out like regular fabric ones do. These mitts from HearthSong are cute, too, which means baking chocolate chip cookies with the kids will be that much more fun. I kinda wish they had a pig, though.

They're $9.95.

I have been wondering how well silicone muffin cups work since they first appeared on the market. Designed as a reusable alternative to paper muffin/baking cups, their main advantage is that no muffin or cupcake crumbs will stick to them, so not a single delicious morsel of your favorite baked good will be lost. Not only did I doubt this claim, I found it to be ridiculous. Who cares if a small bit of cake is stuck on your wrapper? Better yet, why don't you simply grease the pan and put your batter directly into the muffin tin?

My friend Joe, at Culinary in the Desert, tested out his set of silicone muffin cups this week. As you can see from the photo above of his Whole Grain Raisin Muffin, they turned out very well. The muffins held their shape and popped easily out of the silicone liners. Joe liked them enough to order a second set, and while I'm glad to know that they work, I still don't see the need to use them. I also find the little ridges on the muffin a bit disconcerting; it's just not natural.