From toasters to toilet cleaners, the latest and greatest items for the home were on display this week at the 2007 International Home and Housewares Show in Chicago. TODAY sent contributor Giada De Laurentiis there to make her own picks and pans. She scoured the place to pick her favorite five or so. Here’s more on her top picks:
1. Keepeez vacuum lids
Vacuum lids fit over almost any size or shaped bowl. Create a leak proof vacuum seal. And they really really hold tight and claim to keep food fresh up to five times longer. Great for pretty much anything you would use plastic wrap on. Very very durable. Freezer and dishwasher safe.$4 - $13 at www.keepeez.com
2. Thermos Foogo sippy cups
This stainless steel sippy cup has double wall vacuum insulation. Keeps cold drinks cold for six hours! It's sweat proof so you won't get rings on your floor or table, and also has a rubberized base. Dishwasher safe. Unbreakable. I love it and have never seen anything like it!$15 at target.com
3. Grill mat and Seasoned Starters and Fruit Stickles
The mesh grill mat is a very simple device that sits directly on an outdoor grill and prevents little food items from falling through the cracks, like shrimp, veggies, etc, or even flaky fish. Simple and cool. Dishwasher safe. Non-stick.
Last year, Callisons Fine Foods introduced Seasoned Skewers that you put into meats before you cook them on the grill. They have been huge hit. They infuse the food with their flavor without any work by you!
This year, the same company came out with Seasoned Starters Mini Skewers for things like individual shrimps (you can eat right off the skewer) and Fruit Stickles, which make fruit a more tasty and more fun treat, especially for kids.
Stick the skewers in your food, cook (if appropriate) and 15 minutes later you've got super tasty food with no work. Toss them out when you're done.
- Grill mat
$20, www.chefsplanet.com - Fruit Stickles and Seasoned Starters
$5-$8, Williams Sonoma and Sur La Table
4. Cake molds
This is so cute! Create and celebrate pull-apart cupcake molds. Fill the silicone mold with cake mix and bake. Then push the cupcakes together and decorate one fun cake that you don't need to cut. Mold is dishwasher safe as well as safe for everything else, fridge, freezer, oven. And they're non-stick.
Comes in fun shapes like butterfly, turtle and alligator. Some shapes are available now at Target, others are coming very soon.
Pull-apart cupcake molds$20 at Target
5. Magic eraser roller mop
The magic eraser is an all-time favorite product of my mom friends. It's the only thing that I've tried that gets crayon (the traditional, non-washable kind) off and scuffs too. I've tried it on walls, plastic tables, wood floors.. It's great.
The sponge came out a few years ago. The new thing from the Housewares Show is the roller mop. It seems easy to use and much simpler to get off the crayon with a roller mop than a little sponge. It also breaks up dirt and grime in a flash, and gets it out of grooves (like grout.) The instructions say it's safe for use on tile, marble, vinyl and stone. Mr. Clear Magic Eraser Roller Mop$17 at Target