Baby brussels sprouts

You can find sulfurous, ping-pong-ball-size brussels sprouts just about anytime. But it wasn't until a week or two ago that we started seeing our favorites from fall's new Lancaster County crop back in the markets - tight, heaping-teaspoon-size fellas that are reliably superior in flavor and texture. Slice them in half (lengthwise), brown them in butter, douse with sherry vinegar and a bit of olive oil and behold the brussels sprout at its finest - caramelized, sweet and nutty.

Local-harvest brussels sprouts, $2 a 12-ounce bag, $3.95 a 20-ounce bag (or on the stalk), Kauffman's Lancaster County Produce, Reading Terminal Market, 12th and Arch Sts., 215-592-1898.

A clever bird

The tail of this sweet little songbird is a bottle opener, while its underbelly is ridged to handle twist-off tops. Made of wrought iron, this gadget is cute enough to make its home on the kitchen windowsill.

Bird beer opener, $6.95 at The Cooking Company, 10 Mechanic St., Haddonfield, N.J. 856-795-2433.

- Maureen Fitzgerald

Peanut butter cup redux

With a rippling dark chocolate shell and snappy pecans hidden inside a creamy heart of peanut butter, these old-school confections from Cream-Nut are like peanut butter cups for grown-ups. Pricey, but worth it.

Cream-Nut dark chocolate peanut butter clusters cost $5.99 (for 5 ounces), or $14.99 (for 8 ounces), at Di Bruno Bros. 1730 Chestnut St., 215-665-9220.

- Craig LaBan