All I want for Christmas.
My husband is amazing – for so many reasons – but he has a particularly amazing ability to select perfect kitchen gifts. Our first year together I received 13 pieces of All-Clad (he’s a keeper). Two years later he bought me the set of the Revol caramel-colored, lion head bowls I had been lusting after (and I put a ring on it!). This year he asked, “do you want a gel mat?” (I would bear him children if I could).
What makes him a great giver of cooking gifts? He follows these rules of thumb.
Six rules to successful gifts for cooks:
We’re not THAT creative: Snooping through our cupboards, you’d discover the bottle of pink Himalayan salt you bought us two years ago. Cooks have each developed their own palette of ingredients and it takes inspiration to get us to stray. Next time you pick up a boxed set of infused vinegars, ask your local retailer for some recipe suggestions. If they don’t have any, you may want to move on to another store.
We don’t want to cook – right now: Cooks love cooking, but we’ve spent the last 75 days making everything from candied apples and Thanksgiving turkey to Christmas dinner and New Year’s brunch. A bottle of wine, artisanal cheeses or locally-cured charcuterie is just what we need right now. We’ll even open it up and let you taste some.
We’re hoarders: If you want to avoid that pained “thank you” delivered through clenched teeth, then please, no clever one-off contraptions or seasonal utensils. What am I going to do with that snowman spatula during the other eleven months of the year? Do I need really the amazing peeler, juicer or meat pounder you’ve discovered? Possibly. How do you know? Just ask! But if you give it to me I will treasure it for years which means it is taking up valuable drawer space.
The big stuff is big stuff: Screw wedding dresses and engagement rings, cooks have had their pans, knives and appliances picked out for years – and none of it is cheap! Before supporting the latest celebrity cookware branding efforts, make sure it will match our set. (Again, All-Clad Copper Core would be perfectly appropriate. Any piece, really. For any reason. Ever.)
Watch and learn: Want to surprise us with a gift -like that magic gel mat? Watch us in the kitchen. Many nights Jason sits at the counter while I cook and hears me talk about things I wish I had or would like to play with in the kitchen. Not sure what to buy? Just listen and watch for a few minutes and we’ll tell you.
We cook with love: Every time I lift a pot with my lobster pot holder, I remember Sandy. Her mom gave me Sarah-Leah Chase’s Cold Weather Cooking book, one of my staples. I have a tea towel from Jess, a skillet from my Godmother Alex, and a single plate from my Mom’s wedding set. Every gift we receive from you will add another story and another memory to the daily act of preparing food. For that, we will be truly grateful.
What’s on my list?
I need a new salad spinner, I broke mine. I’m ready to learn more about cutting meat and need a couple more knives. I would like grapefruit spoons and a self-freezing ice cream maker. I want a Windsor pan for sauces, and I will always take a new cookbook.
What I need most of all, though, is time. I want to master Crème Pâtissièri and Pâte à Choux. I have stacks of cookbooks that deserve thorough reading. We’ve put out more dinner invites than there are days in the year, and sincerely meant each and every one of them. So set a date, bring a bottle, and let’s toast the new year together.
Update 12/4/20:
I have a great salad spinner. I still want to learn more about cutting meat and I’m almost ready for a couple specialty knives. Mom bought me the grapefruit spoons and I ordered myself an ice cream maker. I’m solid on crème pat when I follow the recipe and don’t thicken it too much and my pâte à choux is still mediocre at best. But I’ll get there.
What’s on my list this year? A good wok and a boning knife, but I need to research them first. The top item on my list is still time. There’s never enough to learn everything, read everything and practice everything I want. Or to share it with the people I love.
