Ooh, aah: Holiday gifts
In addition to a very ugly necklace handmade by Indian women, I received some food related gifts:
A bento box (so cute! I'm in love with it)
A Mr. Bento (nice, but I'll never, ever use it. It's too large for me to want to carry it, and I already own a hot-cold thermos)
A loose-leaf tea brewing teapot
Pastry bags and decorating tips
A dessert cookbook (which I will exchange for something I'll use)
A cookbook from my aunt's church (which should be burned. I don't know why Southern Methodists think that Jesus blessed Velvetta)
What did you get for Christmas? (If you say a KitchenAid Mixer, I will track you down, hurt you, and maybe take it).
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23 Comments:
ooooh, jealous of the bento boxes!
well i'm young and still working on outfitting my apartment so i got a few basics -
muffin pans
bread pan
9" springform cake pan
then i got some mini torte/quiche pans and a hand immersion blender (yay!) and i also got a cookbook - Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food.
also got truffle oil and Indian black salt.
was a very good christmas!
oh, and let's not forget the leftovers to take back to my apartment :)
ceforrester at 8:57PM on 12/25/07
One of my clients gave me a lovely gift set of soap and lotion in a stainless steel rack from Williams-Sonoma. I returned it yesterday and got a gift card worth almost $40. Now I'll just wait for the sales and/or use it throughout the year as I run out of vanilla, peppercorns, and the like. :-)
Curlz at 9:25PM on 12/25/07
Two madeline pans, a food processor (to replace the one that broke last week), and a jar to hold kitchen toys on the stove.
Now I *gave* -- cookbooks (American Pie by Peter Reinhart, Nancy Silverton's La Brea Bakery Book and a book on cooking in a wood-fired oven), lots of condiments (mostly for wood-fired pizzas, including onion confit, fig & olive spread and some good olives), smoked salmon, balsamic jelly, cast iron pans (for said wood-fired oven, can you guess the newest feature in our backyard yet?) and cheese plates ...
I know I left off something bit I am full of food (Zuni Roast Chicken & Bread Salad cooked in -- you guessed it, our wood-fired oven :-) and good wine and feeling happy!
kjgibson at 12:28AM on 12/26/07
Merry Christmas, SE'ers! Hope your day was filled with joy, good health and wonderful eats!
Santa was berry, berry good to me...
A new copy of Joy of Cooking (so I can pass my old one to my daughter, as it was passed to me by her recently deceased grandmother)
All-Clad Electric Slow Cooker
deLonghi Stand Mixer
The Ramos House Cafe Recipe Book by John Q. Humphries, local chef
Eight new 16oz. wine glasses 'for hubby 'cuz e just loves 'em big
D-i-L gave us a Rabbit Wine Opener (we're not sure we fully appreciate this gadget -- our old fashioned corkscrew seems just as fast/easy... did we miss something here?)
Oh. And, how could I forget... drumroll please...
Two big 'ol bars of Valrhona Chocolate all to myself
(think I'll go sample some of that right now)
LoCo at 1:24AM on 12/26/07
BTW, I'm in Calif, so I'm actually gorging on chocolate at 10:30 p.m., not 1:30 a.m.!!! yikes~
LoCo at 1:32AM on 12/26/07
Rather than tell you what I got for Christmas (a lot of gift certificates) I will tell you what I gave.
For my mom some Cuisinpro stainless steel whisks in 18/10, A Cook's Illustrated Best Recipes Cookbook (fabulous collection from Chris Kimball and the gang at CI), A Rival Cool Touch Deep Fryer for our dear friend Barry who loves to make some catfish and frites for me when I am tired.
The Williams-Sonoma peppermint gift set of soap/lotion in stainless steel rack for Barry's wife and my mom.
Jacque Torres Chocolates for a few people on our list. The Box-O-Love to everyone near and far. The Sonoma Syrup Co Vanilla Crush for those who bake that I picked up on Adam's suggestion. (great choice Adam)
Neoprene Wine Bags (triples) for all the men who love wine. Some rabbit style wine opener gift sets. Some wine as well.
JerzeeTomato at 6:18AM on 12/26/07
I got nothing for my kitchen which makes me happy for I prefer to outfit it myself.
I did give food gifts, though. My own personal subscription to "Soup of the Month Club". Each person given this gift will receive five (3 C) containers of homemade soup every month throughout the year. The first installment was Split Pea with Spinach and Fennel (interspersed with humungous chunnnnnks of ham) (the nnnnn was a mistake but I like it so will keep it).
Beautiful Soup, so rich and green,
Waiting in a hot tureen!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Karen Resta at 10:27AM on 12/26/07
Jack and I agreed not to go too crazy this year, as the kids were with their dad. So we gave each other the following: Christmas dinner at Danube and a promise to buy a new, better digital SLR with directional flash for Redacted Recipes. Then Jack snuck in a bottle of very good armagnac, some leg warmers (my knees ache in the winter), a flat whisk, and The French Laundry Cookbook.
We celebrate with the kids next weekend... so xmas is still a happening thing around here.
Ann Fisher at 10:57AM on 12/26/07
I have to say that I was quite pleased with the gift I brought to my friends' annual 'Yankee Swap' (aka the game where you can 'steal' gifts from one another until the stealing stops)...I wrapped a lemon in a big decorative box filled with tissue and straw, then wrapped a Microplane as a separate item. It was stolen more than a few times, and the woman who ended up with it was thrilled!
Curlz at 11:39AM on 12/26/07
My mom and dad bought me a Cuisinart "boat motor" and a panini press -- I've used them both already.
My sister got me the Zuni Cafe cookbook and I am very much looking forward to reading through it and making some of Judy Rogers' recipes.
My wife splurged and got me a new Weber Genesis gas grill -- so excited by that one! Luckily, in Florida it is always grilling weather :-)
Dominic
the zen kitchen
dvchurch at 12:57PM on 12/26/07
I received a nice carbon steel wok with a steamer basket. I've been wanting one for ages, so I'm thrilled with it. I also got a very large gift card to my favorite grocery store. Only a foodie would be thrilled with a grocery gift card, but I cannot wait to make my way down the ethnic aisle and load up with all things necessary to wok with.
I wouldn't be too quick to knock the church cookbook. While there are always a lot of processed ingredients, I have found many treasures hidden within.
ErikaWaz at 1:37PM on 12/26/07
$100 gift card to Whole Foods (yay~!)
3.5" parer
Little Baby Leather Black Backpack (I use backpacks as purses)
Spa Day at Safety Harbor Spa
That's all from one person.
Tix to upcoming Matchbox 20 and Alanis Morrisette Concert
Tix to Sweeney Todd performed live! (This flier was wrapped around the Sweeney Todd Johnny Depp soundtrack.)
Starbucks Gift Card
Piece de resistance from my brother...A first printing of Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads from 1973. He knows how I am about vintage cookbooks.
Had a great holiday with friends and family. That's the best gift.
chiff0nade at 1:58PM on 12/26/07
I gave my partner all 3 kitchen related items his list: Rosle Waiters corkscrew, a new wire cheese cutter & a 14" Mezzaluna for cutting pizza
For my parents, we bought them a decent vacuum sealer system & a box of bags in every size. Between freshwater fishing, hunting & gardening, they really needed (and deserved) a good quality system.
For my mom, I created full size recipe cards of those no knead bread recipes, & had them laminated. Additionally we gave her some new loaf pans, mixing spoons, measuring cups and a giant tub to make/store the dough in.
As for me...I got more toys for the kitchen: Wusthof oyster knife, global fish bone tweezers, a tortilla press, several cookbooks I had been wanting, an AeroGrow hydroponic garden for my herbs & the best thing.....a swan mold that you fill with water & freeze....when you unmold it, it looks like a miniature swan ice carving....
2qrs at 1:59PM on 12/26/07
My mom and dad got me a "chopper" as they had given me a bag of walnuts, and I said I didn't have anything to chop them with (I ended up crumbling them with a 5-pound dumbbell, in the meantime!). They also got us a huge pack of Swiss Miss hot chocolate mixes. Last year we got a creme brulee set, which we haven't used yet because it didn't come with the butane for the torch!
I gave my mom gluten free cookbooks for her newly discovered gluten intolerance. I also made a flourless chocolate cake, which turned out funny looking but tasted heavenly.
misseditor at 2:10PM on 12/26/07
***tiny little whisper***....igottakitchenaid..........
Please don't hurt me Karyn! I know you said you might but I've wanted one for so long. I can't just act like I didn't get the most wonderful gift ever from my hubby. Ah, well. Injury in the name of all things food. I'm making bread I won't have to knead by hand tonite. Wanna come over? ;-)
coffeefrappe at 2:33PM on 12/26/07
coffefrappe - No worries. My mother has promised, *promised* me a KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer, with attachments, when I move out. I begged for one as my college graduation present, but my mother doesn't want to deal with me + a KitchenAid in her kitchen.
ErikaWaz - I did look through the cookbook. It's mostly crap, though I plan to closely scrutinize the pie and cake section for old-time recipes.
KarynMC at 3:51PM on 12/26/07
Forgot to mention that I gave my daughter her first cookbooks, The Joy Of Cooking (as my mom gave me) and The Cake Bible as she has more than a passing interest in baking.
chiff0nade at 4:27PM on 12/26/07
It is just heartwarming to see so many get joy from what brings me joy.
@Chiff that is so great you must be so proud.
@Loco the rabbit is the best one I have ever owned, and amazingly they are not as expensive as they were when I bought mine over a decade ago and paid over 100 bucks for it.
JerzeeTomato at 6:11PM on 12/26/07
my stellar roommate got me a le creuset :D
and my mother got me the "southeast asian specialties" cookbook--apparently it's out of print and she had to special order it. this excites me because my friend just told me about a fab store in brooklyn that sells all the hard-to-find ingredients...
what did i give? i've cooked christmas eve and christmas day dinners, and sent a box of homemade marrons glaces and chocolate peppermint bark cookies to a couple of friends around the country.
tirinstar at 10:42PM on 12/26/07
I got three Alice Waters cookbooks: Chez Panisse Vegetables, Chez Panisse Fruits, and The Art of Simple Food. Three classics for my cookbook collection!
I gave my dad a thermometer for cooking on the outdoor grill that has two wireless components that will tell him the temperature of the meat from 350 feet away, totally eliminating the need for him to go outside every 2 minutes to check the temp, while the rest of us eat our salad! My mom got a panini press and a panini cookbook from her sister, which I plan to use liberally!
ChristineB at 10:49PM on 12/26/07
Sounds like we all made out like bandits! I got:
a silicone rolling pin w/rings so I can finally roll pie dough evenly
a 12 inch calphalon skillet w/lid (fabulous!)
a viking immersion blender (also fabulous!)
Rick Bayless and Daisy Martinez cookbooks
Adam Roberts first book (shout out to the AG, I read the entire thing Christmas Day and loved it!)
a church key (no more opening beer with the can opener!)
I think that's all the kitchen related gear I got. I also got a pair of Pittsburgh Steelers Crocs w/Steelers Jibbitz! Woooo hoooo!
AuntJone at 11:30AM on 12/27/07
*quiet whisper* I gotta KitchenAid too...
And a Barnes and Nobles gift card too. My mom says she wanted me to be able to pick out the cookbooks I wanted.
SparklingDiamond at 3:52PM on 12/27/07
In my stocking, I got a Cuisinart chrome 7-cup food processor.
It still makes me tear up, thinking about it.
lorelei76 at 4:19PM on 12/27/07