It’s official. It’s time to start shopping for holiday presents. While many of the more insane Americans of this country had slap fights in Wal-Marts over flat screens and Nintendos this past Black Friday, we nursed our Thanksgiving hangovers and racked our brains over the best gifts that any foodie would die to have in their kitchens.
Some of these tools are ones we personally own, use, and love. While others are sitting collecting cyber dust on our Amazon Wish Lists. Others are basically pointless, but incredibly cute, and sometimes that’s enough.
Rachael Ray Bench Scrape
Love her or hate her, Rachael Ray has quite the empire. This simple tool of hers makes transferring your chopped food into a pot so much easier. You can also use it to just scrape messes onto the floor for the dog to clean up. rachaelraystore.com $8
Qualy Winter and Summer Salt & Pepper Shakers
These quirky salt and pepper shakers add a touch of whimsy to any tabletop. fab.com $19
Knuckle Duster Mug by Thatbo
We all have those mornings the we wake up feeling a little bit gangster. Now, we have finally found a coffee cup that gets this. Drink your joe like a real bad ass. fab.com $15
Miyabi Kaizen 8″ Chef Knife
Quite possibly the last knife you’ll buy. A workhorse blade that is great for any job in the kitchen. surlatable.com $170
Mandoline Slicer
This little gadget is an excellent tool for slicing fruits or vegetables or shredding cheese. It’s a GRATE tool. These can be found many places at various prices and come with a series of blades that can meet all your needs. However, one of your needs is knuckles and fingertips, so don’t #$^* around with this thing. It’s basically a mini-guillotine. williams-sonoma.com $40
Sansaire Sous Vide Circulator
Turn any pot into your own countertop sous vide machine. This is a great way to cook food sealed in airtight plastic in warm water. The juiciest and most tender meat you’ll ever eat. From the kitchen anyway. uncrate.com $200
Infused Salts from The Filling Station, NYC
Spice up your sodium with one of these flavored salts. Our favorite flavors are the bacon (think bloody mary) and the bourbon (on almost everything). The filling station also has a great selection of flavored oils and vinegars and offers a “refill” service. tfsnyc.com, $9-$17
White Marble Rolling Pin by Crate & Barrel
This heavy rolling pin is perfect for anything from rolling out sticky doughs to crushing whatever needs crushing. Plus it looks nice enough to leave out on the countertop year-round. The price ain’t bad either. crateandbarrel.com $20
Joseph Joseph Elevate™ Gift Box Set
Spatulas, ladles, and spoons! Oh my! Cute and hygienic, these colorful tools’ weighted handles and clever ‘rest’ keep the tips of your utensils clean and off your cooking surfaces. They also are sold individually if you can’t commit to a whole set. josephjoseph.com $40
Giant 750 ml Wine Glasses
If you’re like us, and have wine GUZZLING friends with indiscernible palates, this gift is for you. Simply empty the “good” bottle into your glass and decant the garbage wine for everybody else. Each glass holds an ENTIRE bottle of wine.No one else has to know. amazon.com, set of 2, $20
While this grill/smoker/oven would be a HUGE splurge, it’s way more useful than any unicorn pajamas or Epilady’s you’re going to gift someone this holiday. The Egg has become an essential part of a lot of our favorite recipes. There’s literally almost nothing you couldn’t cook on this thing. Find a dealer at biggreenegg.com, $400-$1200
Pickle Ornament by Crate and Barrel
For all your friends, foodies or not, this pickle is a real crowd pleaser. Who doesn’t need more gherkin in their life? crateandbarrel.com, $7
Le Creuset 6 ¾ quart French Oven
Talk about a workhorse in the kitchen. This is a perfectly sized pot for any soup/chili recipe you’ll find. Also, it perfectly holds an entire chicken for the showoffs more ambitious cooks on your Christmas list. lecreuset.com, $315
The Science of Good Cooking Book by Cook’s Illustrated
This is the book to buy anyone who cooks. Whether it’s a seasoned chef or a novice bean-burner. This book breaks down what happens to food during the cooking process and gives you simplified methods to make any recipe your bitch. It also has a ton of great recipes testing out each methods it outlines. amazon.com, $32