quiet1

Did you toast them? I always give them a quick toast to bring out the flavor more. I consider them a staple, though - I keep a jar in the fridge to toss on salad or pasta. I keep pesto in the freezer, too, and we always have some kind of hard Italian cheese and some kind of dried pasta. Cook the pasta and toss it all together and you have a lunch or a snack, add some protein and that's a meal for me. (If I just have pasta I end up getting starving hungry again after a couple hours even if in terms of calories I should have had enough. But it perks up leftover meat nicely to have freshly made pesto pasta to go with. Add tomatoes - fresh or sun-dried - if there are any of those kicking around, too.) No photo because it got eaten too quickly, but my housemate picked up Mexican on the way home from work. I'd forgotten how tasty the local place is, it isn't super heavy American-Mexican style stuff.

For some reason planning in advance never works for me except for special occasions. If I was just feeding myself it probably would, but usually there has been a household of one type or another (housemates in college, family, housemates now, etc.) and so then other people don't always want whatever was planned, and sometimes you can say 'just eat it anyway' but other times there are complicating factors like my mom being on chemo and having less appetite so you feed her what she feels like, that sort of thing. So planning ends up feeling more work than it is worth. The closest I've come to planning (when my arthritis wasn't as bad) was to plan but not day-by-day. So in a given week I'd be prepared to make meals a, b, c, d, e but it wouldn't matter much which meal came first unless there was something to be used up like salad greens that don't keep well. I had those meals up on a list in the kitchen with notes if there was anything extra needed (like if I hadn't purchased salad greens on the weekend because we wouldn't be home for dinner at the start of the week) and then when it was close to time to start cooking whoever was cooking and whomever had special needs could get together and see what looked good. That worked reasonably well, especially while my housemate worked near a Trader Joe because it was trivial for him to pick up anything particularly perishable on the way home, so I didn't have fresh herbs wilting accusingly at me in the fridge all week. I keep trying to make freezer cooking work (make up a big batch of something and freeze it) but around here if you've smelled up the whole house making a huge vat of chili, there is mutiny if you try to squirrel some of it away for later. Maybe I just need a bigger pot so people have enough to get sick of it?

I am very intrigued for an omelette pan. Some reviews find them a little heavy, though - how do you find the No. 23? (I think that looks like the best size for me - I'm concerned the No. 27 would be too heavy since I have wrist issues.)

Another vote for the 3", especially if you plan to experiment with recipes. I've had some impressively messy disasters testing out new recipes when the leavening amounts were off and the thing puffed up beyond all expectations and similar catastrophes. (I knew the amounts were off, I just wanted to see how it turned out if I did it as written. I incorrectly predicted the amount of mess it would make.)

Interesting that the technique was actually off. I wouldn't expect that so much from that type of cookbook. (River Cottage stuff is hardly slapped together recipes from the Internet to take advantage of a cooking fad, you know?) I can understand the flavors, though - there are personal preferences plus I recall from watching the tv show sometimes feeling like the combinations of flavors he used weren't what I'd reach for. That is one of the things where I find it easier to look at a book in person and skim multiple recipes to get a feel for the flavoring tendencies of the author(s). When I moved to England (born and raised in the US) there were definitely some flavor combinations that tasted very strange to me and were not at all what I was expecting. Some of them I got used to, some of them not so much.

My not very vetted short list is: Meat: Everything you need to know by Pat LaFrieda Meat: A Kitchen Education by James Peterson The Great Meat Cookbook by Bruce Aidells The Cook's Illustrated Meat Cookbook (as mentioned in the thread already) The River Cottage Meat Book (also as mentioned, by the dude with the crazy hair and hyphenated last name ) I should add that he has whole-heartedly embraced being not-a-vegetarian so is not squeamish or easily put off by butchery or offal. (He's actually more adventurous about different parts of the animal than I am much of the time.) Thus there are definitely books on the list that I wouldn't consider for someone a bit more sensitive about such things, like the River Cottage book. (I haven't looked at it thoroughly yet, but I watched the series when it first started when I lived in England, so I'm expecting the book to be similarly upfront about 'yes, you are eating that cute baby whatever all grown up.') I'm thinking that possibly the preparing and cooking aspect is more important than the selection of a piece of meat, although knowing which cut to get would be helpful. I can explain why this piece of meat instead of that one in a store more easily than I can explain why I'm doing things in the kitchen. When I cook I get into a zone where I just do things and forget to point out that I'm doing them, or how I know when it is time to do something, etc. I'm not a natural instructor in the kitchen for sure.

In what way were you not impressed? Flavors didn't turn out, or technique? Something else?

I usually plan something out based on a recipe in a cookbook that looks interesting, or from a magazine or video, then realize my arthritis is too bad for the amount of effort involved and wing it with something I make up based on what I have on hand that is quick and easy. I hate my arthritis. Becsuse I wing it a lot, it is important for me to have a well-stocked pantry so I have the basics available for whatever I decide I want to do. I do browse a local farmer's market type program every week online, also - I don't often buy from them since it's hard to be sure I'll use the fresh produce fast enough to be worth paying the premium for fresh and local stuff, but I find it helps me think seasonally to see what they have on offer.

They might do Something Interesting WITHOUT HER. This is not to be tolerated. I love that she has her own chair.

I have Serious Eats myself and I think the size puts him off. Although perhaps a Kindle version would work better for him since he could easily skip to the sections of interest and not have to lug a big book around. (I think he feels like he SHOULD read the whole thing, and it's huge, so he never starts?) The CI book is one of the ones on my short list, I recognize the cover. I'll look up what the other ones were tomorrow. I haven't been able to go to a book store yet so I don't have any notes myself. Hopefully one of my local stores will have a decent selection so I can page though in person. (The Look Inside feature on Amazon helps, but I find for cookbooks I like to get hands on. How does it feel, how does it look, when a recipe needs a graphic to show how to do something, how well is that done, how is the information arranged, etc. Some of that gets missed out on Look Inside due to the way they only include part of the contents.) I'm definitely going to grab one of the books DiggingDogFarm recommended, too. For the price even if I don't give it away, I can add it to my collection.

Re: packaging - when I gave homemade gifts more often, I found a well-made label made a huge difference in perception. I spent some time on them and had an assortment of sizes so the proportions were right, and often I put some kind of note on the label in addition to the name of the item - ingredients, use suggestions, whatever made sense for the product and size of label and keeping everything readable. It's actually easier than you'd think with all the desktop publishing options today. With a color printer I sometimes added clip art, but if I just had black and white I'd maybe get some nice festive stickers instead and add those for some sparkle and color. i also found colorful cellophane to be useful - awkward or less attractive packaging can be wrapped up in the cellophane and as long as you are neat about it, it looks nicer and since it is somewhat see through it still hints at the contents, which IMO looks more 'food packaging' than solid paper. eta: An example I just remembered of using colorful cellophane - I got someone some really good steaks, which of course had to stay cold but I didn't want them to be spotted in the freezer before the day. They were vacuum sealed from the butcher, so I wrapped that in foil (for extra cold protection, plus to hide the contents a bit more) and then made a little parcel out of the whole thing with some green cellophane and some red butcher's twine so it was festively colored. The cellophane handled being in the fridge just fine, where paper would've gone soggy from humidity, and the foil peeking through actually looked pretty. Recipient knew there was something there, but didn't guess what it was. Another time I made Christmas puddings for everyone in inexpensive plastic pudding tubs, with lids. They were nice enough tubs for making pudding in, but looked pretty drab on the whole. Plunked the tub in the middle of a square of cellophane, drew it up around the tub and gathered it up and folded it over on top, stuck the folded stuff down with a label, and people actually asked if I'd purchased them somewhere, they looked nice enough to be on display in a shop.

My housemate is a recovered vegetarian (his description) but I end up cooking more often than not because he has no clue how to select good meat or what to do when he has it. I have discovered I am not a good teacher on this subject, either, so I'm thinking a cookbook might be a good gift. Or possibly videos if there is a good video series to point him at? He's an engineering type so some discussion of how and why and so on would probably go over well. However most of my go-to books are general references like the Joy of Cooking and as useful as those are, I think he feels a little overwhelmed by all the non-meat stuff and so doesn't think to reach for them. I know there are a few meat cookbooks out there and I have some short listed to check out in person, but I thought I'd post and see if anyone had a particular favorite they reach for. Or, like I said, a video series to recommend, since sometimes it is easier to learn from watching than from reading.

My housemate likes to dress thinly sliced cucumbers with sour cream mixed with a generous helping of Penzey's Turkish seasoning, which the website lists as: salt, garlic, cumin, Tellicherry black pepper, Turkish oregano, sweet paprika, sumac, cayenne red pepper and cilantro - sometimes he thins it with a touch of olive oil, depends on the sour cream. I keep meaning to play with it sometime as it is a different flavor profile to the usual Greek-ish thing I tend to do. He doesn't care for fresh tomato, but I think the dressing would work well on a combination of cucumber, tomato, fresh onion also, especially with properly ripe and sweet tomatoes.

I try to have something of a range available when possible - if doing multiple items (more than one duck, in this case) sometimes I try to pull them out at staggered times. Depends a lot on what it is and who the guests are. Some of my guests are often immune compromised and I always make clear I have no problems cooking something a bit more if they need it. It's just about knowing your guests, which is part of being a good host IMO.

One of our local kitchen shops has specific kid's classes - some of them are pretty basic but others are pretty complex, you just pick depending on the level of the kid, and the classes just have an extra instructor to help out, or some of them are parent-and-child so the adult to student ratio is good. Some of them are themed also, like they had a Harry Potter feast that looked quite nifty. Another idea which is related to cooking - gift certificate for a meal at a local restaurant. Someplace good that they otherwise don't usually go to. Let her taste some new things and think about how the food is prepared.

I want a mixing glass because of being able to see what you're doing as you build the drink. I might just go with a lab beaker though, he won't mind the mad scientist aesthetic. You're all starting to convince me about a Boston shaker over a cobbler though. That rum OF sounds really good. Wrong part of the state. We do have a couple craft bars though, maybe I'll try there.

One thing about duck is make sure everyone is okay with how you plan to serve it temperature-wise. We've had dinner with friends with roast duck rare and it was just too rare for some of the guests. So either check in advance, or try to serve a range so people can find what they like.

'I like this idea - my friend is actually planning to take his son (11) out shopping for a knife for just this reason. He uses smaller knives okay but you can't really chop properly unless you have a chef's knife or similar that you feel comfortable with, and the normal larger knives they have just aren't balanced right. It's an extra rather than a main gift, but they also have silicone spatulas with cute designs these days, and the couple I have are holding up nicely to use, so that could be a way to add some fun or a reference to other interests? I vaguely recall liking to have MY tools when I was younger and messing around in the kitchen. (Normal tools, not toys, just ones that were specifically mine.) Also, at 10 with cooking experience, if she is an okay reader, I don't see why she'd need a special kid's cookbook necessarily. Some of the good basics for adults are quite approachable in writing style and not too complicated for a kid to follow. I'd probably do a gift 'pack' with a cookbook of the book, some page tabs for marking recipes to try, post-it's for adding notes on a page, maybe a notebook or journal for taking additional notes. They do page tabs and post-it type pads in all kinds of designs so that is another way to reference her other interests if you want. (The 11 year old above had no problem following a recipe for Mac n cheese in a normal cookbook when he was 8 or so. He needed some help with technique and safety issues like the stove, but he read the book and followed along with instructions fine.) If you have any particular family recipes, you could print them nicely (maybe have them bound if there are enough, with some extra space for adding a few of her own) and give her her own copies of those? My aunt did that for our family with Christmas recipes and traditions and had it all bound up and everyone loves it. (She included some stories too, which helped bulk it out into a slim book, but that isn't necessary.) When I was a little older than 10 my parents gave me a set of Jacques Pepin video tapes (back in the day) and I loved those for learning techniques. I don't think the ones I got are available, but maybe something similar exists? Again, that was aimed at adults but since it started with the basics I had no trouble following it.

I blame all of you for the fact I just put this thing on my list for 'Santa' this year. You keep making such tasty looking food in such little time.

I'm in PA, so I never know where to go for good bar stuff (as opposed to junky bar sets) because all our alcohol is in state stores, and I would expect cocktail tools to be sold with the alcohol but so far I've only seen inexpensive stuff at the state stores, not that I've visited many of them. It is a failure of creative thinking to figure out where else to look. What sort of local shops do you find bar supplies in? Kitchen stores maybe? (We do have a couple local independent kitchen stores but as much as I want to support small businesses, they're so oddly located relative to me that I never go to either of them. They could have the entire Cocktail Kingdom range in stock and I wouldn't have a clue.)

Just for reference, my list so far is approximately: 1-2 books for reference/recipes exact choices pending a trip to a bookstore to hopefully look in person Mixing glass (decent, not cheap-nasty but not super expensive, he can buy the pretty ones himself) Mixing spoon (that swanky one is taunting me, is it bad to buy a gift so you can play with it?) Oxo mini measuring cup Death Star ice ball molds (Because Death Star, even though fancy ice isn't strictly necessary) Oxo Hawthorne strainer (because everyone but everyone seems to like it) Shaker if I can find one that isn't too expensive that will meet quality and usability requirements (maybe Koriko tins?) Inexpensive decent muddler Hand-held citrus press (pending snooping to see if he has one already) Bitters + booze in some combination that makes sense with available funds once the equipment is sorted out. (I'm thinking minis with more than one version of the same spirit - ex. 2 or 3 minis of rum - plus either a bitters set or whatever bitters are necessary to make at least one decent cocktail with the provided booze. My plan is to work by drink, so enough to try a couple versions of an Old Fashioned, for example, and then if I still have money to spend add more minis to make 2-3 versions of a different drink, and so on, so he can taste-test what he likes and doesn't like and isn't stuck with large bottles he hates.) (I know you don't make an Old Fashioned with rum, but the only rum drink I can think of ATM is a mojito and that isn't seasonal.) Plus at least a simple syrup if not a couple of things from one of the books since it is easy enough to whip those up at home, probably with stuff I already have. (My weakness for pretty canning bottles and jars I will find a use for Someday is coming in handy!) Very tempted to add a Lewis bag as I can see him getting use out of that for non-alcoholic drinks also. Am I forgetting anything important or must-have? It seems like a lot all written out like that, and I didn't start intending to do it all but he's one of those difficult to buy for types so when I mentioned it to a couple of mutual friends they also liked the idea. And when you're the one who has already been doing research, people kind of go 'well, you know best, just tell me what to get.' So now I need a plan.

I need something well-made (because he'd hate something cheaply made that didn't fit together right, like some of the super cheap shakers you can get) and beginner friendly and not too hard on the wrists and arms - I was thinking the cobbler style looks easier to manage from a wrist/arm point of view but they do seem to be much fiddlier in terms of construction quality - lots of stories of them getting stuck and being unpleasant, especially the cheap cheap cheap ones. So I'm kind of undecided about which way to go with a shaker. (Other than NOT glass - I know plenty of people use a glass as part of the shaker but that just seems like a recipe for a broken mess if you have any issue with grip.) I'm quite happy to be told I'm wrong about the grip thing, though, if I am. I'm just guessing based on size and how people seem to hold things in videos and so on. I rather wish one of the shops like Cocktail Kingdom was local so I could just poke around in person and see what stuff is like to hold. I'm a tactile shopper by preference. If he sticks with the cocktail thing in the future he is totally getting one of those penguin cobbler shakers just for decoration because it'll amuse me and the only local sports team he follows are the Penguins.

I am well aware he doesn't NEED one, but now you guys got me poking around more I'm mighty tempted to get him one of these: http://shop.standardspoon.com/collections/all-items/products/wingman-cocktail-spoon (swanky cocktail spoon) because it is exactly the sort of ridiculousness he likes. However that would cut into the funds available for supplying stuff to MIX with said spoon, and I feel like it would be very mean to give him cocktail stuff but no good way of immediately trying it out if he doesn't have much booze in the house. I know shaking a drink meant to be stirred doesn't end well - is the reverse also true or can you get away with stirring some traditionally shaken drinks without much loss of quality? (I know anything with egg would really need a good shake, but something just with juice?) I'm wondering if I can skip trying to figure out a good cocktail shaker and use that $$ for other stuff without limiting him to only traditionally stirred drinks until he finds a shaker he likes himself.

I cannot decide at all what roast to do this year. We didn't end up doing Thanksgiving at home due to health issues. In the past I've done a rib roast very happily, but I'm not sure if I want to do it again or branch out. Not sure how many people we will have, either, which doesn't help.

So so many helpful comments already, I love egullet. Ok, that had not occurred to me. But I can see that getting use for non-alcoholic drinks, too, especially in the summer. So that seems worth it. He's currently kind of skeptical about how geeky people get about ice and is also the sort to enjoy setting up his own ice freezing contraption. But that is a neat set. I am going to get him a couple Death Star ice sphere molds because, well, Death Star! I like the idea of simple syrup, that is an annoying thing to make and I know you can buy it but that doesn't seem like the most useful use of funds for a home situation where not that much gets used at a time. I'm pretty sure somewhere I even have some spare brand new small squeeze bottles so I could use those with a nice label. I'm sure one if the books I get will have recipes I can use. The little travel set is quite cute and seems a good starting point - I'm assuming one is an acceptable stand-in for Angostura? It's by The Bitter Truth and has: "Celery, Orange, Creole, Old Time Aromatic, Jerry Thomas Own Decanter" (https://www.amazon.com/Bitter-Truth-Cocktail-Bitters-Traveler`s/dp/B006ZMHWAI - actually cheaper at the local store for once, though.) Love the idea of looking for glassware, although frankly I might keep any nice finds myself. (I have to be careful how much alcohol I have at a time and the GIANT modern wine glasses so many companies have now drive me crazy because if I pour a sensible portion - for me - of something in one of those glasses it just looks sad and like someone drank all of it before I got the glass.) Haha, no, he's the type who will read Morganthaler talking about making a muddler from a rolling pin and want to get out a saw and sandpaper himself. I was just going to get him an inexpensive one for now. (I know some people claim you can muddle with a bar spoon but many people seem to think that is annoying and fiddly.) Another question - how much does it really matter if you have a super nice shaker versus something less expensive to start with? Is there a "don't go below this price point or you will hate yourself forever?" line? (I was looking at cobblers style shakers because they seem more friendly to someone with occasional grip issues? But I am just guessing there.)