First update in a while. Let's see, what's new in the world of wedding planning . . .
Yesterday, Jordan and I added the first items to our wedding registry at Macy's. I think we're going to settle with Macy's, Target, and Amazon.com. Macy's is mostly for fine china and fancy cookware, Target for bed, bath, entertainment, decor, and Amazon for everything else.
We got to Macy's around 10:30 Saturday morning and made our way upstairs to the "home" department. As soon as we got off the escalator we found Dominic, the wedding registry coordinator, and he sat us down in chairs covered in ivory satin slipcovers and got us all set up. Jordan asked to be briefed on the basics of china, which was very helpful, because I didn't know much, either. We discovered that the term "bone china" means that the manufacturers mix in ox bone (in an ashy, powder form) with the normal porcelain clay, which makes the china more durable and slightly translucent. Non-bone china is just porcelain, slightly more delicate and opaque.
We made good time picking out a china set: Vera Wang's "Blanc sur Blanc" collection. Simple white china with a minimalist decorative border, and platinum accents along the rim of the plates and cups. Next we chose our flatware: again, we wanted simple, and nothing too fancy or expensive. We decided to hold off on wine glasses for Target, because Jordan spotted one of his favorite brands on display at Macy's that is also sold at Target for a fraction of the price.
After we knocked out china, we headed over to cookware and kitchen supplies. We asked Dominic what was available, and he asked us what we were looking for: non-stick, cast iron . . .
"I actually prefer stainless steel," Jordan said. Dominic looked impressed.
"Oh, you're a chef?" he asked, which made me confident that stainless steel was the right choice. It's also Alton Brown's preferred type of cookware, and if it's good enough for Alton Brown, it's good enough for me.
We picked out a ten-piece stainless steel set from Emeril's brand (the Italian guy who yells a lot). There were a couple of other larger sets, but we thought this one was just right, and pretty nice: a layer of copper in the bottom for super extra heat conducting powers and fancy pouring spouts on every pan. We added one non-stick frying pan to the batch as well.
Next we moved to knives, about which both of us know nothing. Jordan called his mom, who apparently knows a lot about knives, and as I wandered between a couple of different brands, I began to wish that Alton Brown was there to tell us which were the best. Jordan's mom recommended Chicago Cutlery, a brand that Macy's doesn't carry, and since Dominic didn't know a lot about knives, either, we decided to hold off.
Jordan had to get to a meeting with another student for a presentation, so we didn't register for a lot else, except for a shiny apple-red Kitchen Aid mixer, and we added a few serving pieces that match the china we picked out.
It's not a huge start, but I think we checked off a couple of big items. I'm not sure how much expensive, fancy china we should expect to get, but you never know. And I really like that cookware.
Later, Jordan set up our Amazon wedding registry, and added those Chicago Cutlery knives to the list that his mom recommended. Thanks, Lisa! I think I'll be adding Alton Brown's cookbook to the line-up, as well. If you hadn't noticed, he's my first and last authority for most things having to do with cooking. And he's just so darn funny!
Note the stainless steel:
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