Holiday gifts: Beautiful and useful items for your kitchen and beyond
Handmade in Colombia, this black clay soup pot is natural and unglazed. Use it on the stove top or in the oven, or even the microwave. The pot keeps such an even heat that it cooks beans to a velvety texture. Soups seem to gain flavor too. And it is handsome enough to bring straight from the stove or oven to the table. From $49.95, at www.mytoque.com. (Patrick T. Fallon / Los Angeles Times)
For the avid collector, nothing makes a classic cocktail taste better than a vintage receptacle. Whether you’re looking for themed glass or Bakelite shakers, vintage Tepco skull tiki mugs or a set of Señor Pico ceramic (“honi honi“-style) glasses, almost anything can be found on the Internet. Even Holt Howard winking Santa mugs, perfect for hot chocolate or something a little stronger. Prices vary. Widely available at websites such as eBay, cocktailshakers.com, ooga-mooga.com and thehourshop.com. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Every home bar geek needs a set or two of quality vintage cocktail glasses to use when company is over. Bar Keeper in Silver Lake is the go-to place to find these little beauties. Gold and silver trimmed rocks glasses with very “Mad Men” designs are kept on special “vintage” shelves in the store alongside other glassware of equal value and age. Sets range from $40 to $200, at barkeepersilverlake.com. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
