Gifts for Guys: Calling All Men

[maggiethecat]

I'm blessed to have the World's Best Son-in-Law. He's good at giving me great presents, like the brand new laptop I'm typing this from. He is generous and thoughtful to a fault. If John has one bad quality it's that no one can figure out what to gift him with.

Here's why. The stuff he yearns for only he knows about -- all those lens specs for one of his ten or twelve cameras, for example. Anything techie, and he's a huge techie. He's a sharp dresser, and yes, picky. He's cutting edge everything visual, cultural, musical -- you get the idea.

My daughter and I were just grumbling about this on AIM, and after many "No, I don't think so, Moms," she had an Aha! Moment. Of course! D'oh! "Something to do with food. Not a cookbook."

John's a Food Guy, widely traveled, eats out a lot in Los Angeles (or anywhere)and is an adventurous cook. Of course they have a full set of Globals, a set of All-Clad, and the usual high-end wedding registry stuff.

So, my eGullet Guys, is there some cool thing you'd like under your tree this Christmas? We're not in the Thermomix price range: more like fifty bucks.

Help!

[ray goud]

Easy: a point-and-shoot infrared thermometer, which have greatly come down in price, to your stated level.

Ray

[David A. Goldfarb]

He sounds like he has the obsessive qualities necessary for sharpening his own knives. Here's the stone I like--

http://korin.com/Mizuyama-1000-6000-Two-side-Stone?sc=7&category=17374

[maggiethecat]

Hmm. Great idea, Ray.

Keep'em coming, Lads. It can be your fifty buck (give or take) fantasy item. (And low-tech's fine too.)

[maggiethecat]

Yes, David, you read him right. I'll check with my daughter, but I'm pretty sure he got that stone or one like it when he was last in Japan. If he didn't, that's a swell idea.

[Shamanjoe]

It's not quite $50 Maggie, but the new Eat Los Angeles 2010 is pretty good, especially if he likes to eat out here. Maybe a stocking stuffer?

[Joe Blowe]

A Thermapen would be nice if you could stretch the budget. If not, a digital combo oven/probe (dual probe) thermometer would be great (some even come with pocket remotes). And I third the rec on the infrared thermometer...

Does he have an AeroPress yet? That would definitely put him on the road towards OCD-Espressoville (they just need a push in the right direction ). What about a 2-cup Bialetti Brikka? This, of course, assumes he's into coffee -- if he is, those are two of the geekiest coffee items out there.

You could go to Home Depot or Lowe's and get him an electric smoker for about 50 bucks. And then you tell him to buy an Auber Multi-Purpose Controller so his smoker is now PID'd, as the kids like to say these days. He can also use the controller for sous vide or (possibly) an espresso maker.

Do they have a computer in the kitchen? What about a rubber keyboard? No worries over spills or wet hands.

[Shalmanese]

What about an Aero Garden? The lowest end ones are just on the edge of your price range.

Does he have a spice grinder? It's $20 but it's a great tool in the kitchen.

A lever style citrus press is also highly appreciated in my kitchen.

Alternatively, some high end fancy ingredient might be nice. Maybe saffron, vanilla beans, truffle salt or fancy olive oil.

What about cocktails? There's a number of fancy pieces of barware that are nice to have.

[Doodad]

Actually on my list:

Small squeeze bottles for presentations work

Some chemicals to play with like alginate

Cool plating ware

Very small cookware/ramekins for amuse type work

OR....how about a really nice piece of food item? A dry aged prime rib or sashimi grade fatty tuna?

[baroness]

The best-received gift I gave an older version of the man above was one bottle each of truly excellent balsamic vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil. A few weeks later, someone complimented him on a dish made with them, and the credit was given to the givers

[Doodad]

I forgot one that I bought myself. A one hand pepper grinder so I can prep and keep the one hand clean. I have a thing about this for some reason.

[Darienne]

Do they have a computer in the kitchen? What about a rubber keyboard? No worries over spills or wet hands.

Do let me know when the rubber keyboard is made in the ergonomic style. I want one. :wub:

What about one of those mortar and pestle sets in which the pestle entirely fills the bowl of the mortar. I want one. :wub:

[Chris Amirault]

Along the chemical line, if he's into charcuterie, get some curing salts, Bactoferm, casings, that sort of stuff from Butcher & Packer.

[Darienne]

Just thought of another idea. I have a friend who LOVES hot stuff. Went to our local hot stuff shop and bought her an assortment of hot sauces and ingredients, packed it into a basket with some more exotic fresh hot peppers. I also added a rubber rat, but that's another story.

[Tri2Cook]

Personally, my favorite gift is gift certificates/cards for the places I buy most of my cooking stuff (or the places where I buy most of my cycling stuff but that's not food related so...). I like being able to get what I actually want or need instead of well-intentioned guesses (I've got way too much of that stuff stored around the house). Unfortunately, most people don't seem to like to do that on their own and finding a way to tell them without making them feel like anything else wouldn't be appreciated isn't easy. So maybe he's a fellow secret "I really wish they'd just give me a gift card for xxxx this year" person. I actually opted out of mr. nice guy mode the past couple years and just told people to get me a gift card from a small list of places or a one of the books on my "really want" list.

[OliverB]

gift certificate for D'Artagnan or any of the nice restaurants out in LAla land? I'd stay away from "cool" gadgets as they usually end up in the back of a drawer.

Or do they have a kitchen scale?

I just bought magnetic knife holders at Target for about $15 each, you know, mount on wall and hang knives there, free up counter or drawer space.

A gift set from Rancho Gordo, they have a set with some beans and the new cook book - or just create your own set.

Of course he'll probably always appreciate a good bottle of wine.

Or a set of Asian (Mexican etc) ingredients? If you have Asian markets around you can also get a really nice large mortar/pestle for around $14, same one that costs 40+ at other stores. Or that mortar and some other Asian kitchen tools, a cleaver, a large spider skimmer spoon, bamboo cook spoons etc? Those are things I use all the time and you can get a nice assortment for your budget. Not bling brands, but stuff that does actually work well.

[jk1002]

Maybe a book on plating or knife skills. Or wine pairings. Something that expands what he does into a direction he hasn't gone yet.

If you can stretch it, maybe a cooking class on a special topic. FCI in NYC offers 3 or 4 hour sessions, I am sure you can find something like that in LA as well.

[maggiethecat]

You've given me some terrific ideas, and not just for my son-in-law! Keep 'em coming.

There are a couple more things that you should know about John. He's 100% ethnically Vietnamese, tho' born in the USA, so Asian tools and Vietnamese coffee essentials are in situ. And because of what he calls "The Asian/Alcohol Thing" he rarely imbibes more than a couple of beers -- I don't think he's ever going to be a serious mixologist. (My daughter, now....)

But your terrific feedback is sending me scampering to the internet.

[Kent Wang]

Does he room for a plant? I gave my parents a date tree. It's the gift that keeps on giving.

[Darienne]

Does he room for a plant? I gave my parents a date tree. It's the gift that keeps on giving.

A Calamansi/Kalamondin tree would be wonderful.

[Tri2Cook]

Does he room for a plant? I gave my parents a date tree. It's the gift that keeps on giving.

A Calamansi/Kalamondin tree would be wonderful.

Yeah, if I had the time and patience for plants there are a few I wouldn't mind having around. I kinda have a strict "no presents that require feeding and/or watering" policy but I can see it being a cool gift.

[OliverB]

I don't know if Vietnamese cooking used Kaffir Lime, but those trees are easy to get too, cost less than $50 and you can use the leaves and the limes. I know it from Thai cooking, but still might be interesting for him? Mine is still in a container, I'll plant it next year. But it's been happy in the container for 3 or 4 years now. And aside of water and the occasional fertilizing it needs no care at all. Adds delicious flavor though!

[maggiethecat]

I'm liking the edible plant idea.

[dougal]

I'm liking the edible plant idea.

Meyer lemons supposedly grow well indoors if outdoors is unsuited - but - maybe a good point, maybe not, my experience was that you then needed good climate control (or OCD) to look after the thing!

From the early posts, my reading was that a Fast Response thermometer (exactly like a Thermapen) should go down well. (But do beware the thermometer terminology "instant read" - it does NOT imply fast response.)

[Kent Wang]

I gave myself a kaffir lime tree. If he likes kaffir and it grows well in his climate, I think this is the ultimate tree to give. Kaffir leaves are almost impossible to find here, and when they pop up occasionally they're quite expensive. Something that can be used year-round for cooking just seems more useful to me than a fruit tree that bears only once a year.

Kasma Loha-unchit has an extensive guide on kaffir lime tree care. She grows hers in San Francisco, so any climate similar to that or warmer would be fine. Any colder, you could bring it in during the winter.

Other than that, as a guy, I agree with others that I'd like to have the Thermapen.