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Sad we cant get bramleys cooking apples here :( oh well. I got mystery apples in my CSA and used those, lets hope they work!

I like Ida Reds but can't find them anymore. I use a mix of Gala, Granny Smith and Macintosh. Not really much variety here in the stores, lucky to get those. The best way to get great tasting heirloom apple varieties is to plant a tree or two in your yard. If you are lucky enough to have a yard. We have seven acres and went a little crazy. Here are two great nurseries with excellent quality and service :
http://www.vintagevirginiaapples.com/
http://www.raintreenursery.com/

We have planted 30 or so fruit trees and we're waiting....in 3 more years they should start producing. What we're going to do with it all I don't know, but we just couldn't resist all the different varieties!

Maybe, if possible, the seeds of those far-flung 800 apple varieties should be carefully collected and saved in the deep cold seed bank up in ?Finland?Sweden? Future generations may need them along with all the other vast varieties of foodstuffs our planet used to provide. Sadly, our modern-day food delivery system just can't handle the variety and logistics involved in providing them to us readily. Another reason for "back to the land"! We must seek them out...farmer's markets etc. Just as an aside...anyone remember when the Shriners, dressed as clowns, used to sell big delicious Macs on city street corners as a fundraiser? One of my treasured memories of the 50s!!

Regarding the knives: I'm getting married in a few weeks and there are LOTS of knives on our registry, except no one has purchased them yet. Maybe they've heard this bad luck thing?

As for what to give them, I vote for an excellent pan (such as an All-Clad non-stick skillet) OR a good knife + cutting board + food products - maybe some excellent imported dried pasta, a can of San Marzano tomatoes, a bottle of good extra virgin olive oil, and a recipe for a simple - yet better than anything they've ever eaten - sauce?

As everyone else has said, really good knives. I'd get them some Kyocera ceramic paring knives - they're AWESOME.

Cast iron skillet! Not only is it the greatest cooking utensil ever, but it will last them for their whole marriage, even if they're married 60 years!

$100 doesn't buy much LeCreuset or All-Clad, but, as luck would have it, retailers are currently offering the All-Clad 12" stainless fry pan with matching lid on special right now for only $89.95, a great deal.
Knives are matter of personal preference, I think (I like Henckels Four Star), but someone that has nothing would certainly welcome one good 6" or 8" chef's knife.
Failing that, how about a couple of pieces of nice, Emile Henry ceramic bakeware, or an Oster blender, or a John Boos cutting board. I also love my Jaccard meat tenderizer and my Unicorn Magnum pepper mill (under $50 each).

i'm 24 and i will also second and third the knives. once i tried my co-workers wusthof knives, i was amazed.
also a good cutting board, as well as something that goes stovetop to oven (dutch oven or a skillet that can do that).
also a 10 or 12 inch cast iron skillet. i looove mine and do everything in it. so much that i bought a two-range reversible lodge griddle, which is perfect for anything from breakfast (pancakes, french toast, hash browns) to dinner (searing steak, fish, burgers...)

I like the idea of random small items. I only started to get serious about cooking last October when I moved to my current place. I had basic pots and pans, dishes, a crock pot and a rice cooker. Here are things I didn't know I would need and I've purchased or put on my ever-growing wish list to pick up as I have the money: Microplane, fish spatula, a spider, small prep bowls, fine mesh sieve, pepper grinder, silicone pastry brush, good knives, and various spices that I didn't use when I relied on take out and packaged foods. (Or before that when I usually lived with someone who did all the cooking.)

Larger items that could be found for under $100: skillet that goes from stovetop to oven, grill pan and toaster oven.

My favorite Christmas gift last year was a dutch oven - given to me by my sister who loves to cook and knew how indispensible it would be as I learned more. It never leaves my stove top.

definitely a le creuset. maybe a waffle maker and a french press. or a pizza stone with good olive oil and a stand mixer.

The gift boxes from Penzey's spices are great - they have a good variety (starter, baking, grilling, even wedding), and they come packaged wtih whole nutmeg and bay leaves, with a card that describes why - I only remember that you must keep a whole nutmeg in the house at all times, but I don't remember what happens if you don't!

My main bad habit is that I'm a terrible, terrible slob. Not just in the kitchen - EVERYWHERE. I don't even have people over. Who wants to see my mess of a house? My excuse is that I'm a single mom... whine, whine...

I keep thinking if I decorated it and made it homey, I would be so much more motivated to keep it clean, but I totally suck at that.

All of my smaller bad habits get eclipsed by this one. Although, I also tend to do too much cooking (I just get kinda inspired, and carried away with it!).

I love hearing everyone's little confessionals. :) It's like postsecret, only for cooking!

I too lick knives and every time I do it I think, "one of these days, I'm going to cut myself and realize how stupid this is" yet I continue to do it lol.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who reuses the same water glass! As long as the rim of it looks clean, I'll keep using it. Usually for about a week.

A lot of times if something doesn't have crusted on food or any remenants like oils stuck to it after I've just used it, I'll just rinse it with really hot water and put it away. I don't see much sense in washing it when I only used it for a few minutes. That is, unless it's something like raw eggs. I get all freako about that kind of stuff.

I also tend to leave things out on the table, especially any sort of new kitchen gadget or baking pan/tool I've just bought. Same goes for any sort of special ingredient recently purchased. For some reason I just like to see it for a while and not put it away. Next thing I know, I've got a massively cluttered kitchen table and that's usually when some sort of organization is done.

one of my biggest pet peeves that other people do, besides not cleaning up after themselves, is when they throw garbage in the sink! Gah that drives me nuts. Nothing like fishing out a wet, nasty used napkin from the sink while cleaning up. Or a piece of plastic wrapper that's all wet and having it dribble all down your arm as you're throwing it away. yeah. that's gross.