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

[zilla369]

I got Nanny Ogg's Cookbook by Terry Pratchett, which I'd been lusting after for a couple years. Nanny Ogg is a character in the Pratchett's Discworld series (she's a witch, albeit a benevolent, hard-drinking, carousing one). A chapter entitled "Nanny Ogg's Philosophy of Cookery" begins thusly:

They say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, which just goes to show they're as confused about anatomy as they gen'rally are about everything else, unless they're talking about instructions on how to stab him, in which case a better way is up and under the ribcage.

I also got a camera with which to develop my food photography skills: an HP r507 with a memory card that holds 947 shots; a color laser printer, a camera dock, and a ream of glossy photo paper. Look out, eGullet.

[Basilgirl]

A bright orange silicone/stainless steel rolling pin

Orange kitchen towels

A Le Creuset pumpkin soup bowl

Shared a Smithfield Charles Henry Gray ham with my co-workers - best country ham I've ever had - not too salty, nice and sweet

2 pounds of yummy aged Wisconsin cheddar

A ton of stuff from Nueske's

Lots and lots of goodies from various food gift baskets we received at work

Garlic olives made by my sister

A very good Pinot Grigio my boss gave me, consumed last night while watching Season 1 of 24 on DVD - Merry Christmas to me from me, Seasons 1 - 3

It's been a blessed holiday - hope it has been for all of you too

[LikestoEatout]

My SIL gave me two pans from Pampered Chef, a bar pan and a deep dish roaster. I have never used this type of pan so I am not certain about seasoning them. Actually, I'm not certain I have any use for them, I generally use glass for roasting or baking.

[Luckylies]

From my Boyf I got the Bouchon cookbook. It's such a wonder to behold.

and an Alessi corkskrew.

I also got cashmere sweatpants, 'cause he was tired of seeing me dragging my butt too and from work in yucky sweats...

I made off like a bandit!

[Bombdog]

Large Le Creuset dutch oven, 3rd printing of The Joy of Cooking (circa 1936) and a shiny stainless Bradley smoker!

[Okbrewer]

Not much in the way of cooking or food related gifts this year, but I did receive

The Cook's Book and a bottle of Laphroaig 10yo. Oh, also some kitchen towels.

Bob R in OKC

[redglass]

A new grill pan

a cuisinart (I too enter the food processor era!! Yippee!)

TWO huge,yellow cookbooks: Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything and the Gourmet Cookbook, as well as a baking cookbook from the Williams Sonoma series (but don't tell- I'm not a big baker)

A griddle large enough to cover two burners (except it will have to go in storage b/c we have no where to put it in our tiny kitchen!)

Carving knives (now is a good time to start on my resolution of making large hunks of meat more often)

All in all, a very nice Christmas.

[Kim Shook]

I just made a huge, huge haul ! Everyone was very generous and I didn't get any clunkers at all!!!

9 qt. Lodge cast iron dutch oven

2.75 qt. le creuset pot

Best Food Writing 2001, 2002 & 2003

Mark Bittman's 'The Best Recipes in the World'

A hand mixer (my old one heats up when I mix egg whites!)

heavy gauge set of graduated biscuit cutters

stacking cooling racks

Marion Cunningham's 'Lost Recipes'

'The Silver Spoon' cookbook

A 14"x 20" Henkels cutting/carving board

A 4 cup Oxo side/above view measuring cup

Sur la Table gift certificate

1/2 dozen plain white waffle weave 100% cotton side towels

and the coolest of all:

A laser thermometer like this: laser themometer

I just love this thing!!! I made a batch of peanut brittle yesterday and used it instead of a candy thermometer and it worked wonderfully. We measured the temperature of everything in the house, including body parts !

[andiesenji]

I got Nanny Ogg's Cookbook by Terry Pratchett, which I'd been lusting after for a couple years.  Nanny Ogg is a character in the Pratchett's Discworld series (she's a witch, albeit a benevolent, hard-drinking, carousing one).  A chapter entitled "Nanny Ogg's Philosophy of Cookery" begins thusly:

They say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, which just goes to show they're as confused about anatomy as they gen'rally are about everything else, unless they're talking about instructions on how to stab him, in which case a better way is up and under the ribcage.

I also got a camera with which to develop my food photography skills: an HP r507 with a memory card that holds 947 shots; a color laser printer, a camera dock, and a ream of glossy photo paper. Look out, eGullet.

←

A great gift!

I am also a big Terry Pratchett fan. Love the cookbook. He is a master of satire, not just fantasy!

[Katie Nell]

I got:

two Scanpan titanium pans... I really don't know anything about these, so I'm hoping that they are good ones!

a new, much needed, springform pan

a new, much needed, 12x9 cake pan

Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

a new salt and pepper grinder... not as nice as the Penzey's one I got my parents for Christmas, but that's okay!

a digital camera, so I can actually post pics of food now!

and my favorite, an embosser from Williams Sonoma, that says "From the Kitchen of Katie!!!"

[lesfen]

I hate you guys.

I got a new cast iron skillet, which I don't know what to do with. I have one that my MIL gave me that's 40 years old and is as smooth as glass! I don't know what to do with this new, and very rough, one.

I also got a cheap Santoku, but I haven't pulled it out of the package yet. My own fault for wish listing online. My mother is not a traveller of cyber space. I did get the whisk that I asked for. I really needed one with a proper handle. All of the ones that I have are the all wire variety. What else? Oh, a Rachel Ray cookbook. I didn't ask for it, but I do love cookbooks. As long as she's not narrating it, I'm ok with it. Oh, and my brother got me a great pack of Christmas Blend coffee from Susan's.

I know, I know... it's the thought that counts. Sigh.

[Marlene]

4 qt and 6 quart All Clad saute pans. The 4 qt comes with a splatter screen and tongs

Chef's choice 120 professional knife sharpener

Several cookbooks including the Silver Spoon, The Cook's Book, Molto Italiano and a neat book by Anne Willan, A Cook's book of Quick Fixes. (for when I make those really dumb cooking mistakes.)

Oh and a rather large cheque from my mother, with which I'm going to purchase a Le Cruset cast iron pot stand and a flip waffler.

[Arianna]

I got a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer, and 5 inch Santoku, a nice nonstick griddle pan (so we only dirty one dish when making eggs and bacon and potatoes, hooray!), two cookbooks from cooks illustrated, and a tiny little paring knife!

Hooray!

[Octaveman]

270mm Kikuichi Elite carbon gyuto

240mm Hiromoto High Carbon gyuto

3k grit Naniwa sharpening stone

1 pound tub of Demi glace

8 ounces of dried porcini

8 ounces of dried chanterelles

Juniper berries

pizza stone, peel and trays

[andiesenji]

I hate you guys. 

I got a new cast iron skillet, which I don't know what to do with.  I have one that my MIL gave me that's 40 years old and is as smooth as glass!  I don't know what to do with this new, and very rough, one. 

I also got a cheap Santoku, but I haven't pulled it out of the package yet.  My own fault for wish listing online.  My mother is not a traveller of cyber space.  I did get the whisk that I asked for.  I really needed one with a proper handle.  All of the ones that I have are the all wire variety.  What else?  Oh, a Rachel Ray cookbook.  I didn't ask for it, but I do love cookbooks.  As long as she's not narrating it, I'm ok with it.  Oh, and my brother got me a great pack of Christmas Blend coffee from Susan's. 

I know, I know... it's the thought that counts.  Sigh.

←

Take your skillet to a metal shop and ask them to grind and polish the inside bottom (the sides do not matter so much). They can make it as smooth as you want and it doesn't cost all that much.

[jilli42]

- Gourmet cookbook

- Joy of Cooking (to replace my old one which somehow got lost in our last move)

- $100 Trader Joe's gift card

- 2 boxes of chocolates

- various cookies, from various people

- $50 gift certificate to Le Gourmet Chef

And on the non-cooking end:

lots of DVD's, a bunch of gift cards, stereo for my I-pod, perfume, lotions and a gorgeous ring !

I did not get the mandoline that I asked for though...

[onehsancare]

A thermapen!!! ChefSource Thermapen

Two pairs of Messermeister kitchen shears

Baking with Julia

In the Sweet Kitchen

a Silpat

a big propane torch

and

the scale I've been wanting! Save on Scales KD-600

(It really helps to have a specific wishlist!)

(and a great family!!)

[TMus1111]

I think my friends and family are finally figuring out that I really DO want food/cooking related gifts. I received a beautiful collection of OXO wooden spoons, turners, etc.; some silicone pot holders in black to match my appliances; a slow cooker; a can opener, spatula and spoon rest - all by kitchenaid in orange to match my kitchen. I even got some bath products that smell like food although they are not edible (eggnog, hot chocolate and ginerbread stuff). Oh and some marshmallows from Bath & Body Works (pink and white covered in white chocolate) that were edible.

[Jenikaye]

I think I did pretty well this year.....I got a 5 qt. Le Crueset French Oven, an All-Clad Roasting pan, a mini cheesecake pan, two cake stands (but I'll take one back), and two cookbooks (The Bread Bakers Apprentice, and a chocolate cookbook).

My husband got a light for his grill and a Spyderco knife sharpening kit. My kitchen knives have never been sharper!! Scary!

[annecros]

I got a "rollpat" silicone pastry mat, dish towels (sorely needed, I am murder on kitchen towels), two silicone pastry brushes that I really like - these were a surprise stocking stuffer, and they work very well so far, of course I have only egg washed with them - a 10 inch Caphalon "Everyday" Pan that I have so far used every day since Christmas.

My favorite, about 10 lbs. of dungeness crab, trapped by my sister and her family, boiled, frozen and FedExed two days before Christmas! Great stuff.

I wanted a couple of cook books, but no dice.

[tsquare]

Best Food Writing 2005

strange measuring cup - Wonder Cup - that has a plastic sleeve over an inverted cup - you slide it up and down to measure and empty - good for shortening and peanut butter, as well as wet and dry ingredients. Also, has metric measures.

Wonder Cup

oops, forgot the food: marcona almonds, quince marmalade, two cheeses - both goat, one hard, one brie, a bottle of red wine, and cherry pumpernickel bread.

Edited December 28, 2005 by tsquare (log)

[andiesenji]

I also got a Trader Joe's gift card for 100.00 and an assortment of English cheeses from IGourmet.

Edited December 28, 2005 by andiesenji (log)

[*Deborah*]

Chef Santa was pretty good to me this year, I got a 2.5 qt KitchenAid 5 ply stainless saucier (yay!!), and a Wusthof Grand Prix Japanese Chef's knife, and of course the Advanced Serious Foodie class. I also got a beautiful Ravenscroft wine decanter

I hope to be cooking for some of you long into the New Year!

ETA: A bottle of 2003 Osoyoos Larose from Moosh, I haven't heard about it but evidently it's Some Wine, and needs to wait even longer than the 2003 Nota Bene (). And I also got the Molto Italiano cookbook to add to my Mario collection. It looks like an excellent book at first glance

←

Can you tell I'm sick? I keep forgetting things!

I also got an Exopat silicone mat thing, and two silicone pastry brushes (is that what they are? or sauce brushes)

I think that's all...

[Mottmott]

Santa was good. Generally I prefer to get my own kitchen equipment, but this year I did get a lovely haned painted wooden serving dish and Hidden Kitchens from my kids. I also got a really useful, attractive set of cheese knives from my kids' stepmother. (And I did buy myself an AC copper core 12" fry pan.)

[FistFullaRoux]

I hate you guys.  

I got a new cast iron skillet, which I don't know what to do with.  I have one that my MIL gave me that's 40 years old and is as smooth as glass!  I don't know what to do with this new, and very rough, one. 

I also got a cheap Santoku, but I haven't pulled it out of the package yet.  My own fault for wish listing online.  My mother is not a traveller of cyber space.  I did get the whisk that I asked for.  I really needed one with a proper handle.  All of the ones that I have are the all wire variety.  What else?  Oh, a Rachel Ray cookbook.  I didn't ask for it, but I do love cookbooks.  As long as she's not narrating it, I'm ok with it.  Oh, and my brother got me a great pack of Christmas Blend coffee from Susan's. 

I know, I know... it's the thought that counts.  Sigh.

←

Take your skillet to a metal shop and ask them to grind and polish the inside bottom (the sides do not matter so much). They can make it as smooth as you want and it doesn't cost all that much.

←

Or, you can season the hell out of it, and it will fill in some of the gaps. I've always been a fan of the open fire version of seasoning, either in a hole in the ground or on the charcoal grill.

Don't give up on that thing yet. You can always use it for panfrying or home security. There are no bad cast iron pans...

Edited December 28, 2005 by FistFullaRoux (log)