I really love kitchen tools and what you’ll find in my kitchen is a good mix of super-specific items and general use. I don’t tend to get a lot of one use items, but when I do, I think long and hard before I purchase. This is my ultimate kitchen gadget-y wish list – a mix of high-end and affordable products. To make these products even more affordable, you might be able to find some voucher codes! I would love to receive any of these items this holiday season and I’m sure the cook in your life would too!
Ever since I tried rigging up a ghetto-sous vide machine to make Momofuku’s 48 hour short ribs, I’ve been wanting a sous vide machine. Nomiku just came out with a new wifi home sous vide machine and I backed it because I was so impressed with their past incarnation. Essentially, a sous vide machine lets you cook food (usually in a vacuum sealed bag) in water bath set at an extremely low temperature. The sous vide machine both heats and circulates water and your food is gently cooked to scientific precision.
If you’re going to ask for a sous-vide machine, the next thing you might want to add to your wish list is a Searzall. I don’t have one of these (they just finished their kickstarter and are gearing up to sell on Amazon), but it’s definitely on my radar. It’s basically a portable salamander – use to sear sous vide steaks, melt cheese, or finish dishes off with a blast of heat.
The above two items are things that I think I’ll love, but they’re definitely more things I wish I had rather than things I need. These spatulas on the other hand, I have in my drawer right now and reach for all the time. I’ve talked about my love for silicone spatulas previously and I’m still a big fan of them. These colorful guys from Get It Right make me happy every time I reach for them. They make a perfect little gift. They’re unibody (which means no grotty parts to clean), hold up to heat well, and are dishwasher safe.
One of my favourite kitchen tools is a garlic press. I actually like mincing garlic (I’m weird, I know) but I don’t really like my fingers smelling like garlic every time I do it. Garlic presses take that problem away. This press from Savora is both pretty and functional. It’s an excellent gift for a garlic lover.
I wish I could send everyone a holiday present but since I can’t, I’m doing the next best thing and hosting a little Le Creuset Giveaway!
Giveaway: I’m giving away a Le Creuset Cherry Wok, a Le Creuset Balti Dish and a cute little Le Creuset Condiment Pot. They’re cherry red and perfect for the holiday season – thank you Le Crueset!
Enter: Leave a comment letting me know what the best gift you received was and why and then use the widget to enter. Open to US residents only. Winner will be selected at random and contacted by email. Good luck!
Update: Congrats Vicky! Get ready to start cooking! :D Look for an email from me shortly.
My best holiday gift i got was an engagement ring.
My fave gift ever was a Le Creuset dutch oven. I can cook anything and everything in it and love it. Would love to have more of their products !
I dream of owning Le Crueset! I’m currently a little too post-college to afford to buy it yet.
this is a little sentimental, but it has to be a plane ticket home for thanksgiving. my first few years out of college making very little money, my parents would make sure i could fly across the country and get home for our favorite holiday. the older i get, the more i value those trips out west and the time spent cooking and hanging with my family.
my best gift ever was my winter uggs boots from my mom when i moved away from the west coast to the east coast for college. nine years later…still keeping my toes warm during the winter months :)
It would have to be the kitchen aid mixer. I don’t have to knead my dough so hard. although, now I have weaker arms from disuse haha.
The best gift I ever got was the America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook. The 15th anniversary edition with every recipe in it.
Mine was a Mother’s Ring with all my kids birthstones.
One of my favorites was an aeropress- before aeropresses had become hip. My boyfriend was the sciency type and when I opened the gift, I thought, “oh jeez, what is this?”- and it turned out to be one of the best researched gifts I’ve ever received! For a person who travels and backpacks as much as I do, it’s the ideal situation for coffee!
Every year my husband buys my gym membership. He knows that I need some “me” time but that I hate spending the money on myself. Love him.