Holiday Gift Guide: Foodies
I never thought I’d become a foodie. I attribute that to Michael and his influence. Foodies are picky and they usually like kitchen gadgets, or things to inspire them in the kitchen. Here’s a short list of some of my new favorites.
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Global Knives– I never had nice knives on my own. I had that $30 knife set that you buy at Walmart or Target. It worked well enough for me. When I moved in with Michael the first thing to go to Goodwill was the dull, old knife set. Not just because it was old but because it was pretty worthless. AND Michael had an amazing set of Global Knives. These things are amazing and beautiful. They are such a pleasure to use in the kitchen too. Worth the money for sure.
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Baking Rack-Give a foodie some utensils and maybe they’ll reward you with some freshly baked cookies! Most people don’t have a lot of counter space. These stacking racks are perfect for that.
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Baking Trays-I don’t think you can have “too many” baking trays. I use mine a lot for like everything. Michael uses them for bacon. I use them for roasting veggies, making cookies, toasting nuts…it’s nice to have nice, new ones too.
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Kitchenaid Mixer-I used to be one of those people that scoffed at Kitchenaid Mixers. I just didn’t see the point. I was old-fashioned. I made cookies, brownies, cake all by hand. Michael had wanted one of these for years and finally got one. Wow! What a difference. It’s so much easier and faster to make things in the kitchen when you don’t have to hand mix everything. Love this baby.
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Pizza Peel-I wrote a post on How to Rock Homemade Pizza and in it I recommended a few pizza gadgets. A pizza peel is a must. It works great for transferring pizza dough.
Pizza Stone-Worth the investment if you’re making pizza at home.
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Digital Thermometer-A few years ago I got Michael one for Christmas. It was by far one of the best kitchen tools we owned. Since we were both reformed vegetarians, neither of us really knew how to cook meat. We especially didn’t know how to cook meat without overcooking it. This taught us both how to be better cooks.
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The Joy of Cooking-When I moved out on my own at age 19 my dad gave me this book as a birthday present. I love the book for sentimental reasons. But it’s also a good guide for newbies. Besides recipes (basic ones and advanced ones) there’s instruction on HOW to cook too. Useful!
Finally, I really want some of this lady’s books:
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I’m both intrigued and intimidated by Julia Child’s cooking. Someday I will buy her books and muddle my way through them!
QUESTION: What are your favorite foodie items? What’s on your wish list?
Carrie @ Season It Already!
My current favorite foodie item is my food processor. I don’t even have a blender! But I can do so much with it!
Lisa Eirene
Good call, I forgot about that. Michael has a food processor and it’s such a great thing to have! Speeds up lots of kitchen stuff.
Lynn @ Learning Curves Blog
I live in an extremely small space (a 32 foot RV) so my kitchen tools have to prove themselves to be useful on an almost daily basis to make the cut. Current “can’t do withouts” Vitamix, Pampered Chef garlic press, mandoline, and food chopper. Oh, and I just got an Aerobie Coffee Press. No electricity needed and makes the BEST cup of coffee and espresso ever. Absolutely love that one!
Lisa Eirene
I know what you mean. While my boyfriend and I have a huge kitchen, he is a firm believer in not having any tools that are not multi-use. Like, why would you get a melon baller if you have a spoon or ice cream scoop? It just takes up space.
Michelle @ Eat Move Balance
I’ve never heard of Global knives . . . I would love a set of really nice knives. I feel like I’m CONSTANTLY sharpening mine.
Lisa Eirene
Our knives are amazing. They’ve ruined me forever for cheap knives.
Marc
It used to be my two fry granddaddy’s. One day I came home from work and both my fry granddaddy’s were gone! My wife took it upon herself to look after my cholesterol by taking them to the trash. Well, I didn’t want to divorce her over a couple fry granddaddy’s. But I mourned their loss for a long time.
Lisa Eirene
My best friend got her husband a deep-frier for Christmas one year and he got her the SAME exact one for her that same year!!
Lori
My favorite food item is my espresso machine. We got a good one this time and love it!
Lisa Eirene
I’d LOVE an espresso machine. Lucky duck!
Deb
My food processor! I use it to slice and shred all sorts of things, as well as puree the cooked apples when I make applesauce. Having eggs? Shred some carrots or rutabagas and toss them in! Fried potatoes? SLice them up in there!
My mom got it for me for Christmas a few years ago. I never imagined as a kid that my best Christmas gifts would be a vacuum and a food processor! LOL
Lisa Eirene
That’s a great idea. I don’t use our food processor nearly as often as I should.
Biz
I have a pretty well stocked kitchen – I have to say my digital meat thermometer is my favorite though – I take beef out at 125 for a perfect medium rare every time, no more raw insides to beer can chicken – I have become the grilling queen using that device!
My pizza peel is also another favorite. I had my husband drill a hole in the handle and put a hook on the inside of my pantry so it has a nice place to hang.
And a few years ago I asked my Mom how many times she actually used her kitchen aid mixer, that she got in 1986, and when she said “maybe once a year” I ahem, “stole” it and I use it all the time.
Enjoy your Sunday!
Lisa Eirene
Great addition! The digital meat thermometer is a great tool. It really helped both of us learn how to cook proteins better. We used to overcook a lot of things.