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Xmas Loot.... (merged w/ "Santa" topic)

Fay Jai

By Fay Jai
in Food Traditions & Culture

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Malawry

Malawry

Posted
Posted

My MIL sent me a cool laminated Paris street map and a copy of the latest Parisian Zagat, for use in our January vacation. She also sent this interesting little hand-carved wooden condiment set from Hawaii. It has two very long-handled spoons with tiny tiny bowls at one end and big carved flowers at the opposite end. There are also two small small bowls to go with, carved from the same sort of wood. They're about half the size of your standard sushi soy-sauce dish, if that gives you a sense. I'm not sure what to use them for, but they sure are pretty.

I love my MIL. She's the only one who gives me Christmas presents. (I'm Jewish.)

Rochelle Reid Myers aka "Malawry"

Diary of a Cooking School Student

Foodblog: 34 Hungry College Girls

Foodblog: Expecting a Future Culinary Student

Lots of Everything

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Fay Jai

Fay Jai

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Real Quickly (so that my wife doesn't yell,) Alan Richman's "Fork it Over" (YES!!!)

ac ouple of very old cookbooks, the aforementioned mandoline, and a book on food writing.

Very Cool!

"So, do you want me to compromise your meal for you?" - Waitress at Andy's Diner, Dec 4th, 2004.

The Fat Boy Guzzle --- 1/2 oz each Jack Daniels, Wild Turkey, Southern Comfort, Absolut Citron over ice in a pint glass, squeeze 1/2 a lemon and top with 7-up...Credit to the Bar Manager at the LA Cafe in Hong Kong who created it for me on my hire. Thanks, Byron. Hope you are well!

http://bloatitup.com

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bentherebfor

bentherebfor

Posted
Posted

Alan Richman- Fork it over

Pat Conroy- The Pat Conroy Cookbook

Mario Batali- Recipes from my village

Deep Fryer :laugh: (evil laugh)

Food Processor-my years without one are finally over!

New Griddle

Some oils, spices and vinegars

Some other cookbooks

Great stash for me this year!

Some people say the glass is half empty, others say it is half full, I say, are you going to drink that?

Ben Wilcox

benherebfour@gmail.com

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David94928

David94928

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Posted (edited)

A graphite gray, 5 quart, 800 watt Viking Mixer. Did someone say "let's make some baked goods?" :biggrin:

David

I know that it is early, but I know that I got...I mean, my wife got an OXO Mandoline from her parents.

More after X-mas!

What about you?  :laugh:  :laugh:  :laugh:

Edited by David94928 (log)
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YKL

YKL

Posted
Posted
Well ... I won't know for certain for another 14 hours (have a rule that I have to wait till Christmas Eve is over) but one of the most intriguing mystery presents is a gift from a friend - a square box of about 8cm x 8cm with a gift tag that says something like "For the person who has everything useful for the kitchen!"

Can't imagine what on earth that will be ...

turns out it was a set of novelty rings to make interesting shaped fried eggs!

Also got a beautiful stripey breakfast set with a very cool egg cup, breakfast bowl and plate. plus a few boxes of chocolate and some christmas shortbread ...

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oneidaone

oneidaone

Posted
Posted

A scallop dinner with lime buerre blanc & gremolata over Nalo Greens with North Shore tomatoes

after church last night with a great Sauvignon Blanc. Brunch a frittata of basil, sun dried tomato

and 4 year old aged Asiago cheese from the middle of nowhere in WI with a tasty cranberry bread that we got as a gift quenched with some Nicholas Feulliate champagne. The same friends

who made the bread gave us a beautiful bottle with homemade citrus infused vodka with this

really cool skewer threaded with thin ribbons of citrus peel, very cool and decorative!

Got some spice rubs that smell pretty good. There are several cookbooks I would like but no one

got me them - probably think I have them already, so I bought myself the "From the Neighborhood of Rao's" by Frank Pellegrini which was pretty steep at $40.00 but is quite interesting, need to now go get myself Bourdain's book since that is what I really wanted too.

I smell my neighbor "Johnny Cash" smoking a pork roast in his garage which I must make my

way over for later, he marinates it and lets the skin get nice and crispy, makes 2 and hides one

in the garage so everyone doesn't eat all the skin part but I go in there with him and snarf it down with some Belvedere while he drinks Jack Daniels and ginger ale....My husband's cooking

rocked this weekend and there's still another day left!!!!!! Mele Kalikimaka to all and a hui ho..... :cool:

"You can't miss with a ham 'n' egger......"

Ervin D. Williams 9/1/1921 - 6/8/2004

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nwyles

nwyles

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I got a huge, beautiful ~very fresh~ white truffle from my new BEST FRIEND!!

I am going to have to make some fresh cappellini to have with it next week.

Best gift I ever got! I sniff it every 1/2 hour.

Hey pal, that new best friend is my wife. I think you have explaining to do.

I did not get even a black truffle. What is up with that ?

Neil Wyles

Hamilton Street Grill

www.hamiltonstreetgrill.com

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Luckylies

Luckylies

Posted
Posted

my boyfriends mom gave me a nutmeg grinder! it's so pretty. Stainless steel with a little heart (awwwww) it's very cool looking and grinds very nicely. now I just need to find ways to use nutmeg... man, the sweetest gift...from a woman I barely know.... :wub:

does this come in pork?

My name's Emma Feigenbaum.

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culinary bear

culinary bear

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I also got book tokens, which have just this last hour been rendered down into Dan Lepard's "The Handmade Loaf" and, wonderfully, Harold McGee's "McGee on Food and Cooking".

Happy bear.

Allan Brown

"If you're a chef on a salary, there's usually a very good reason. Never, ever, work out your hourly rate."

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lovebenton0

lovebenton0

Posted
Posted

Earlier in the month I received a lovely box of artisanal goodies from a very generous eG friend. :biggrin:

Dried fruits: delicious Red Flame grapes, Laila figs, Black Mission figs, and dried orange peel. :rolleyes:

Also the absolutely best candied ginger I have ever had. :wub: and lakhoum (which we love).

Coming up in the future, but still my Xmas gifts are a new gas cooktop to replace the truly piece of junk electric cooktop that was in the house when we bought it, and two kitchen workstations to be built by my DH. Gotta love having a cabinetmaker in the family. :wub:

Judith Love

North of the 30th parallel

One woman very courteously approached me in a grocery store, saying, "Excuse me, but I must ask why you've brought your dog into the store." I told her that Grace is a service dog.... "Excuse me, but you told me that your dog is allowed in the store because she's a service dog. Is she Army or Navy?" Terry Thistlewaite

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mrsadm

mrsadm

Posted
Posted

I bet no one got the same gift that I did! It's a TEA-BOY!

gallery_7158_514_1104085086.jpg

You place a tea bag on the lever and turn the dial. The lever lowers the tea bag into the cup. Then, you set the minutes you desire to steep the tea. The timer clicks away until done and then it lifts the tea bag out and sounds an alarm!

How did I EVER live without this? :laugh: Thanks to my DH for this clever gift.

*****

"Did you see what Julia Child did to that chicken?" ... Howard Borden on "Bob Newhart"

*****

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andiesenji

andiesenji

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Posted

My best friend gave me (besides several non-food items) a glass cutting board with a savannah scene with basenjis on it.

This is not for use with kinves. It will work as a trivet if I can bring myself to use it.

It will probably be hung on a wall in my kitchen as it is much too pretty to use.

Her brother and his wife gave me a set of cheese spreaders with porcelain handles that are the little fat French chefs character figures - I have a set of the canisters with the same design as well as some towels, hot pads and a pepper grinder, but I have never seen these little cuties.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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Curlz

Curlz

Posted
Posted (edited)
...She also sent this interesting little hand-carved wooden condiment set from Hawaii. It has two very long-handled spoons with tiny tiny bowls at one end and big carved flowers at the opposite end. There are also two small small bowls to go with, carved from the same sort of wood. They're about half the size of your standard sushi soy-sauce dish, if that gives you a sense. I'm not sure what to use them for, but they sure are pretty.

I love my MIL. She's the only one who gives me Christmas presents. (I'm Jewish.)

Malawry, could those be salt dishes? I have a set of four crystal bowls that belonged to my maternal grandmother; each is about as big as half a sake cup, and they each have a tiiiiiny spoon with slightly long handle. My mom tells me they were salt dishes to be placed along the dinner table, as a salt shaker would have been way too tacky for fine dining...don't know if that's the case or not, but it sounds like a legit explanation! I can't think of another thing you'd need so little of.

I've gotten to the point with friends that we don't exchange gifts, so luckily I'm not too overwhelmed with stuff I don't want or need this time of year. Food-wise, gifts from me to me were a coffee grinder, an immersion blender (a cheap one, but I love it so far!), and a few books...Eating My Words (Mimi Sheraton) and Slow Cooker Cooking (Lora Brody) b/c I had seen it recommended by lots of folks. Mom gave me a novel called The Epicure's Lament (Kate Christensen). The caterer that I use a lot for work sent a nice pkg from the Dancing Deer Baking Co. with a small cake and some cookies in it (GREAT packaging from them, btw). And last night, my best friend's mom sent me home with some of her lasagna and sausage bread! :biggrin: I was the one giving food and related gifts to cooking challenged friends and family (cookies, cutting boards, wine, etc.).

Oh, and did I mention that my folks sent my sis-in-law (who can a) afford it and b) isn't a great cook) a Le Creuset pot? Grrrrr :hmmm:

Edited by Curlz (log)

"I'm not eating it...my tongue is just looking at it!" --My then-3.5 year-old niece, who was NOT eating a piece of gum

"Wow--this is a fancy restaurant! They keep bringing us more water and we didn't even ask for it!" --My 5.75 year-old niece, about Bread Bar

"He's jumped the flounder, as you might say."

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little ms foodie

little ms foodie

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I feel that I totally scored!

FL cookbook, cuisinart food processor, digital kitchen scale, new Henkle Twin slicing knife, duck foie gras in armanac from Fouchon (mmmmmm!), 'Kitchen Confidential', gift card to Williams Sonoma.

Wendy aka little ms foodie

Seattle Cocktail Culture iPhone App

Luggage Tag...

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pam claughton

pam claughton

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Now the family knows to get me cookbooks, so I scored this year! Two Johnson and Wales Master Class books, Thomas Keller's Bouchon, Bourdain's new Les Halles cookbook, and The Year's Best Recipe, 2004-2005. Got this one early and made two appetizers, the Amanda Hesser cheeseball, which was VERY time consuming, and was barely touched. Not a big hit... but the other one, huge hit, and ridiculously simple, recipe actually from Whole Foods, uses their Fig Spread, on Puff Pastry, with chopped proscuitto, fresh thyme and goat cheese. This disappeared in minutes. Made the same thing on flour tortillas the next day, and they gobbled that up too, a bit lighter than the puff pastry, and just as good.

:raz: Pam

My new blog

http://efoodie.typepad.com/efoodie/

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dknywbg

dknywbg

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Posted

I've got a late-December birthday, and Hanukkah, and Christmas, so I cleaned up this year:

The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion

Jacques Pepin Fast Food My Way

Roul'Pat Silicone Pastry Mat

Flour sifter

Cookie scoop

Pizza cutter

Farberware Millennium 12" nonstick skillet

Silicone spatulas

Bag of goodies from Trader Joe's

That's it, I think, but I may have forgotten a cookbook or something...

thoughts on food, writing, and everything else: Words to Eat By

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Daddy-A

Daddy-A

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Posted (edited)

Two new Wusthof knives: a 3.5" paring knife, and a filet knife! :biggrin: Used the paring knife to prepare roasted cauliflower & brussel sprouts for Christmas dinner.

Books! Rhulman's The Soul of a Chef, The Best of Food Writing 2004, & The Cheese Companion by Judy Ridgway.

We've also received some GC's for The Bay, so a new le Creuset dutch oven is in our future.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays everyone!

A.

Edited by Daddy-A (log)
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