2014 Gifts For The Kitchen

[Shelby]

I'm doing a bit of shopping this morning--online of course.  I didn't leave the comfort of my home for one single gift last year.  

 

Anyway, I'm on the look-out for any interesting/new/different gadgets/cookbooks/foods etc. 

 

I wish Gfron1's cookbook was finished so I could purchase a few of those!  

 

What are you guys wanting to give/receive this year?

[Toliver]

For his recent birthday, I bought my oldest brother an Atlas Pasta Maker Machine with all of the attachments. It's really a 2-person job...one to crank and feed pasta into the machine and someone to gather the output properly.

For Christmas, he'll be getting the motor for the machine so it can become a one-person job.

[ElainaA]

My daughter is getting a photo copy of my mother's hand written English muffin recipe, a griddle, cooling rack and a package of yeast. She loves baking but I don't think she has tried yeast breads yet and the muffins (NOTHING like commercial ones - a family tradition) are favorites. 

If my husband fails to act on my very direct hints that I want a Maslin pan I will be sorely disappointed. And will immediately buy one for myself.

Elaina

[blue_dolphin]

Shelby, thanks for the reminder to get started on some gift planning before things get too crazy.  Which I think will happen next week!

 

Last year, I ended up pulling together some very, very last minute gifts by rummaging through my bookshelves and pantry.  A pasta cookbook was wrapped up with a couple of packages of fancy pasta and some sun-dried tomatos.  My homemade limoncello went out with Kathy Casey's Sips and Apps or Lisa Loeb's Shake, Stir, Pour and a few pounds of Rancho Gordo beans accompanied my Heirloom Beans cookbook.  The books were all in like-new condition and I put them together in pretty baskets so I don't think it was too obvious but I should do some better advance planning this year! 

 

Yesterday, I ordered a copy of Dorie Greenspan's new Baking Chez Moi: Recipes from My Paris Home to Your Home Anywhere with the intention of getting a peek at it before giving it to a friend.  Hopefully I'll identify some sort of speciality bakeware that can accompany the book.

 

Edited to add:  This is on the silly side, but I forgot to mention that I recently gifted copies of the little Will it Waffle cookbook to a couple of waffle-iron-owning friends who have reported having fun with it and getting more use out of their waffle irons.

Edited November 11, 2014 by blue_dolphin (log)

[Darienne]

As far as giving is concerned...yesterday I went to the dentist and the receptionist did not even bother to 'hint'...she came right out and asked about my usual Christmas gift of chocolate-topped toffee which I give out at that time.  She did laugh...but I knew she was serious. 

 

I always make the Enstrom-copycat toffee for folks who give us help throughout the year: mail ladies, veterinarian & staff, library, computer guys, car garage, friends and neighbors, pharmacist...let's see...doctor & office, guys at the transfer station (aka the Cavan Mall), chiropractor.  I'm exhausted already...

 

Forgot...if we end up being elsewhere...hope, hope...I've made toffee for the local Humane Society volunteers.  Or the Multicultural organization.  I loved being the "Candy Lady" one year.

Edited November 11, 2014 by Darienne (log)

[Anna N]

Shelby, thanks for the reminder to get started on some gift planning before things get too crazy.  Which I think will happen next week!

 

Last year, I ended up pulling together some very, very last minute gifts by rummaging through my bookshelves and pantry.  A pasta cookbook was wrapped up with a couple of packages of fancy pasta and some sun-dried tomatos.  My homemade limoncello went out with Kathy Casey's Sips and Apps or Lisa Loeb's Shake, Stir, Pour and a few pounds of Rancho Gordo beans accompanied my Heirloom Beans cookbook.  The books were all in like-new condition and I put them together in pretty baskets so I don't think it was too obvious but I should do some better advance planning this year! 

 

Yesterday, I ordered a copy of Dorie Greenspan's new Baking Chez Moi: Recipes from My Paris Home to Your Home Anywhere with the intention of getting a peek at it before giving it to a friend.  Hopefully I'll identify some sort of speciality bakeware that can accompany the book.

 

Edited to add:  This is on the silly side, but I forgot to mention that I recently gifted copies of the little Will it Waffle cookbook to a couple of waffle-iron-owning friends who have reported having fun with it and getting more use out of their waffle irons.

Just a very minor quibble. It's eG member KATIE Loeb who wrote Shake, Stir, Pour.

[blue_dolphin]

Just a very minor quibble. It's eG member KATIE Loeb who wrote Shake, Stir, Pour.

Thank you so much for correcting me, Anna.   I actully pulled up an old thread to check the title and then botched Katie's name.  So sorry.  But very happy to give credit to the book.  It's a great resource.

[gulfporter]

I have an earlier version of this indoor turkey fryer (mine holds up to a 14 pound bird).  I wouldn't mind trading up to this new model that holds a 20 pounder.

http://www.amazon.com/Masterbuilt-23011114-Butterball-Electric-Capacity/dp/B00BWKN0HC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415737642&sr=8-1&keywords=turkey+fryer+indoors

 

I do 'stocking stuffers' with our foodie friends; this year we've all been focused on tapas.  So I'm giving out these (I have one and it works great):

http://www.amazon.com/Seki-Quail-Egg-Shell-Cutter/dp/B000AR2J5M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415737872&sr=8-1&keywords=quail+egg+cutter

[teagal]

Different sizes of those Charles V.  silicone pot/bowl lids.  I have a large one and love it and now need more!  The 9x13 one would be nice too.   I have to stop giving kitchen gadgets as presents, I don't think my friends appreciate them like I do.

[Kerry Beal]

I think you should consider a Freeze drier this year!

[Porthos]

Different sizes of those Charles V.  silicone pot/bowl lids.  I have a large one and love it and now need more.

Different sizes of those Charles V.  silicone pot/bowl lids.  I have a large one and love it and now need more!  The 9x13 one would be nice too.   I have to stop giving kitchen gadgets as presents, I don't think my friends appreciate them like I do.

I second the Charles View silicone lids.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

If not a freeze drier, a chamber vacuum sealer is always in good taste.

[boilsover]

My list to Santa is topped  with a 10L Gairtopf pickling crock and a kraut cutter.

[DouginCMH]

Matfer chinois

 

French Culinary Institute's Fundamental Techniques of Classic Cuisine textbook, though I really want David Lebovitz's My Paris Kitchen, as well. I have no idea where I can continue to stuff cookbooks. I really need to stop acquiringg them. And yet...

 

Beyond the above, one can't really go wrong with food-related gifts over the holidays. A local cooking school sells honey from a nearby town; very cool glass containers, plugged with a big cork and capped in wax. One or two will fnd their way into Christmas stockings.

 

I'm on the search for some classic/rustic French onion soup bowls, but haven't quite found the perfect set yet. I'd also love an Alsatian Baeckeoffe, but don't see that happeneing this Christmas.

[andiesenji]

I will add my vote for the Charles Viancin silicone THINGS - not just the lids.

 

I have several of the specialty gadgets and love them all.  I recently bought a couple of the wine bottle stoppers - they work beautifully.

 

I used the Boilover Safeguard last evening to prevent a nasty spill on my newly-cleaned stovetop (it always seems that as soon as I do a full cleanup of the stovetop there will be a spill of something incredibly messy immediately afterward...

[Toliver]

I forgot to mention another gift for my oldest brother and his new pasta machine...cookbooks! Thanks to numerous past eGullet discussions on Pasta Cookbook recommendations, I went a little crazy on Amazon and bought five cookbooks for him. They were all used (some for a penny!) and I did manage to get a couple "like new" hard-back cookbooks for a few dollars more. The shipping costs were invariably higher than the cookbooks themselves.

I hope he's not overwhelmed by all of the books!

[Shelby]

As much as I'd like a freezer dryer.....I need to wait on that.  I'd get a lot of use right now from a chamber sealer.  I need to make my way down to that thread and do a little research.  Then there is always the sous vide set-up that I've said for a long time that I want....sigh.

Hubby and I have decided to just purchase a "together" gift this year.  So, it very well might be one of the above mentioned things.

 

I've purchased several cool stocking stuffers---some jams and other assorted goodies  (mom I hope you're not reading this).  I'd like to peruse some cookbooks.

 

Just thinking out loud here.

[btbyrd]

The gift of a Searzall will make anyone jump up and down like a child on Christmas morning.

The A-Maze-N Tube smoker is fantastic and inexpensive.

iSi Gourmet Whips are spendier but can be used for lots of things.

iSi also makes the best set of tongs I've ever used. The 16" ones are perfect for the grill.

Speaking of grills, Grill Grates are a fantastic way to upgrade a grill.

So is a Kettle Pizza, but that's getting expensive.

A baking steel is a cheaper gift alternative for the pizza fanatic.

A bunch of hydrocolloids (or maybe some meat glue) from Modernist Pantry would make a perfect gift for someone into modernist cuisine.

So would a copy of Modernist Cuisine at Home (if they're just getting started).

Kitchenaid attachments like the meat grinder and pasta roller are good ideas. I got the meat grinder for my birthday and I love it.

Whetstones are a great gift too (just make sure the person who gets them learns how to use them).

Failing that, it'd be a great gift to have someone's knifes professionally sharpened. I know I'd love that.

 

 

This year, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a Waring Xtreme commercial blender.

Edited November 14, 2014 by btbyrd (log)

[btbyrd]

Oh yeah... I also want a porthole... Something very cool that I'd never buy for myself.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Oh yeah... I also want a porthole... Something very cool that I'd never buy for myself.

 

What exactly is it?  Not very clear from having read the website.

[btbyrd]

It's a vessel designed for infusions, mostly cocktails. It was created for Alinea, or their bar The Aviary, to create liquids whose flavor profiles would change over time. It's mostly a beautiful service piece to pour small amounts from over the course of a meal (or a single course). I had a cocktail served in one when I visited the Aviary, which was as tasty as it was delicious. Modernist Cuisine recently posted a couple of dashi broths designed to be infused in the porthole. I'd mostly use it to serve cocktails at dinner parties.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

It's a vessel designed for infusions, mostly cocktails. It was created for Alinea, or their bar The Aviary, to create liquids whose flavor profiles would change over time. It's mostly a beautiful service piece to pour small amounts from over the course of a meal (or a single course). I had a cocktail served in one when I visited the Aviary, which was as tasty as it was delicious. Modernist Cuisine recently posted a couple of dashi broths designed to be infused in the porthole. I'd mostly use it to serve cocktails at dinner parties.

 

Thanks, that explains it better, though I use the Dave Arnold method for my dashi.

[Naftal]

Hello- I need at least one bottle of shaohsing

[c oliver]

Shelby, thanks for the reminder to get started on some gift planning before things get too crazy.  Which I think will happen next week!

 

Last year, I ended up pulling together some very, very last minute gifts by rummaging through my bookshelves and pantry.  A pasta cookbook was wrapped up with a couple of packages of fancy pasta and some sun-dried tomatos.  My homemade limoncello went out with Kathy Casey's Sips and Apps or Lisa Loeb's Shake, Stir, Pour and a few pounds of Rancho Gordo beans accompanied my Heirloom Beans cookbook.  The books were all in like-new condition and I put them together in pretty baskets so I don't think it was too obvious but I should do some better advance planning this year! 

 

Yesterday, I ordered a copy of Dorie Greenspan's new Baking Chez Moi: Recipes from My Paris Home to Your Home Anywhere with the intention of getting a peek at it before giving it to a friend.  Hopefully I'll identify some sort of speciality bakeware that can accompany the book.

 

Edited to add:  This is on the silly side, but I forgot to mention that I recently gifted copies of the little Will it Waffle cookbook to a couple of waffle-iron-owning friends who have reported having fun with it and getting more use out of their waffle irons.

Dorie's new book looks great...and I don't really bake. The recipe are almost all quite straightforward.

[c oliver]

I will add my vote for the Charles Viancin silicone THINGS - not just the lids.

 

I have several of the specialty gadgets and love them all.  I recently bought a couple of the wine bottle stoppers - they work beautifully.

 

I used the Boilover Safeguard last evening to prevent a nasty spill on my newly-cleaned stovetop (it always seems that as soon as I do a full cleanup of the stovetop there will be a spill of something incredibly messy immediately afterward...

Off-topic but my several year old induction cooktop range has an additional benefit of being a breeze to clean.