Christmas Presents for the Kitchen: 2010

[Kerry Beal]

Hubby is learning to follow instructions and bought me the fully adjustable, automatic ignition propane torch I requested for Christmas. Top of the line - he even says I can keep it upstairs and he'll only take it to his workshop when he needs it.

Given my issues with my new meat slicer he also added a chain mail glove to go with the Kevlar gloves from a couple of years ago. Lee Valley is a wonderful source of stuff for cooks.

So what goodies did everybody else get?

[judiu]

My first ever digital camera from DS. It's a Samsung L73; I wanted to be able to post pictures on the Dinner forum. So now it's gonna be practice, practice, practice. It's getting its' first charge as I type.

[JAZ]

Since I've worked in cookware stores off and on for 10 years, no one ever gets me cookware or kitchen stuff for Christmas. I did, however, get a few things for myself this season:

• Two of these Gel-Pro mats for my horrible tile floor
  
• Silicone cake pans for caramel (silicone is candy's best friend)
  
• A new Infinity Conical Burr Grinder (I was waiting for my crappy old grinder to die, and it finally did -- perfect timing!)
  

[Jenni]

I got a grain mill, a tarka pan and a coconut grater!

[CaliPoutine]

smoked paprika, and a set of All-Clad.

[Batard]

A good year for me!

* Cuisinart Custom Pro 11-Cup Stainless Steel Food Processor

* A really nice Japanese Donabe Pot

* Two Korean stone pot covered casseroles for making Jigae, etc.

[petite tête de chou]

I received...

one chrome, beehive Oster blender- my blender from the seventies (!) finally died,

and one red, enameled cast-iron Chantal dutch oven.

Christmas margaritas and chicken and dumplin's for all!

[Dianabanana]

I got:

1) A Shun Classic chef's knife!

2) A set of Rosle stainless nesting mixing bowls

3) A cool new Pugeot pepper mill--it's clear acrylic with a bright orange top

4) A madeleine pan (Dorie's got all those madeleine recipes in Baking From My Home to Yours that I'm keen to try and now I'm all set)

[duck833]

I am going through a wino stage right now. DW got me a case of Ken Wright Pinot Noir futures and a EuroCave 260 Wine Cellar for all my other treasures.

Guess I was good last year!!!

[jvalentino]

I got a new Kitchen Aid Professional 600 (replacing my 12 year old 5 qt model). I can't wait to try the new power knead dough spiral.

Jeff

[mrsadm]

- Granite mortar and pestle - been wanting this for years

- Deep fat fryer

- One of those pans with an inset to make perfectly round poached eggs

[helenjp]

A $30 kitchen fan...only been waiting 10 years for it...I've been asking for it so long that my husband actually fooled himself into thinking that we'd already replaced it once and that I was asking for ANOTHER one!!!

But the real gift was that he crawled up there and bashed the rusted-in, gunked over screws on the old one into submission all by himself, and installed the new one for me.

[Pebs]

A mandolin, A MANDOLIN! Finally I got a MANDOLIN. Santa likes me. He really really likes me!

[Kerry Beal]

A mandolin,  A MANDOLIN!  Finally I got a MANDOLIN.  Santa likes me.  He really really likes me!

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Hope he brought you a guard with it to prove he really really likes you with your fingers just the way they are.

[JaneMC]

I got Ken Shun boning knife, Viking food processor and a Kitchen Aid 600 in black. My kitchen aid is so old that it says, Hobart on it. Also got 4 new cookbooks.

Jane

PS. Tip with the mandolin use a tea towel when cutting saves your fingers and it's the right size.

[Margo]

-a tart pan with removable bottom

-little ramekins for custard

-big ramekins for pot-pie

and a NEW! TOASTER! (The old one liked to grab the bread and pull it into the bottom of the slot, beyond the reach of knives [unplug! unplug!] or tongs. The other week I was banging it against the counter, the floor, the sink... My husband finally put it out of our misery.)

Plus Judith Jones's memoir.

And I gave him a package of pork products from Zingerman's.

[phatj]

A burr grinder (allowing my to put my old blade grinder to use for spices)

Poultry shears

Not a very exciting year for kitchen goodies, but both were things I wanted, so it's all good.

[Raoul Duke]

Waring DF-250 Deep fryer. Donuts at 10:00pm Christmas night with a local late harvest Viognier.

Large lava Molcajete from Mexico

[C. sapidus]

Mrs. C gave me a Weber Smoky Mountain (a.k.a. Weber bullet) and chimney starter. I see ribs in our future, and delightfully bad puns about smoked butts.

[jsmeeker]

a large, deep dish ceramic/stonewear pie plate.

a little mini kitchen torch

a silicon pastry brush

an interesting, thin, double ended spatula.

[HungryChris]

My 22 year old gas range had an oven that never was any good, even when it was working. I had to keep moving things around to compensate for hot and cool spots. For the past two years the oven has not worked at all. This Christmas, I bought myself a Jenn-Air. 5 burner, dual fuel, double oven range with convection setting. It was hooked up on Christmas Eve.

HC

Edited December 28, 2007 by HungryChris (log)

[Darcie B]

Santa must have mixed up his naughty and nice list, because I got

- a Thermapen (yea!)

- plate warmer

- Jacques Pepin's Complete Techniques (book AND DVD)

- The Making of a Chef

- a lovely crystal serving bowl

- electric waffle cone maker

- The Best International Recipe (Cook's Illustrated)

Plus I bought myself a Mario Batali enameled cast iron 4 quart DO in Penne ($24.99 on amazon.com + free shipping). It looks perfect on my cooktop.

[andiesenji]

My daughter sent me a signed copy of Alice Waters' new book, "The Art of Simple Food."

I also received several gift cards for various cooking stores.

(My friends say I am an "impossible" giftee.)

I believe I will retire my ancient Bron mandoline and try one of the fancy new ones.

A friend and neighbor, who is a weaver, gave me four beautiful tea towels. She included a note that I must use them and not just put them in a drawer.

I also received a rather extravagant tin of caviar from friends who are on a round-the-world cruise and the gift was a complete surprise. I don't even know how to contact them as they are purposely incommunicado during this "second honeymoon" trip.

[pansophia]

Only one kitchen gift this year, but it was a doozy. A 3-quart All Clad sauce pan and double boiler insert. I've been using a hand-me-down double boiler that held about three cups of liquid safely and had tiny plastic handles that seemed to become twice the temperature of the food inside the pan.

Between the wedding three years back and recent holidays, we're slowly replacing college hand-me-downs with proper cookware.

[duck833]

Mrs. C gave me a Weber Smoky Mountain (a.k.a. Weber bullet) and chimney starter. I see ribs in our future, and delightfully bad puns about smoked butts.

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http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/index.html