Holiday gift guide: What to buy your favorite foodies and home cooks
Holiday shopping for your favorite foodie or home cook has never been easier. With so many great items—from grills and blenders to cookware and gadgets—kitchenware is fun to give and receive. Here are six products we think the food-lovers on your list will find delicious. And, if you’re lucky, maybe they’ll test them out for you, too!
Boy meets grill
Can’t decide if you should buy your friend who loves to cook a waffle iron, griddle, muffin-maker or grill pan? Get ‘em all—and more—with this grill system that comes with removable (and, yay!, dishwasher-safe interchangeable plates) that allows you to grill and bake with one space-saving product. The grill features a 500-degree searing burst, perfect for restaurant-worthy meals. Our favorite plate is the slider insert for shaping burgers, George Foreman Evolve Grill System, $79.99, walmart.com. Additional plates, available at georgeforemancooking.com, include waffle plates, a bake dish (think lasagna or even deep-dish pizza), a griddle, omelet plate (makes brunch is so easy!), slider plate and muffin pan. We’re so happy with our own grill system, we’re thinking we might just need to get them for everyone on our list. Shopping? Done.
Smoothie operator
Know someone who can’t start the day without a morning smoothie? Or maybe someone who can’t end the day without a frothy mixed drink? Or someone who just likes to whip things up in the kitchen? Well, they need this blender. It features four speeds, but we were particularly taken with the pre-programmed smoothie setting, that crushes ice and blends up fruit in a mere 30 seconds. Maybe the best part: It comes with a 20-ounce blending jar, so you can grab your drink and go, and the included 1-ounce measuring cup lid insert helps cut down on dirty dishes. Win-win! Black & Decker digital blender, $49.99, target.com
Slice and dice
If your list includes someone who’s ready to take his kitchen skills to the next level, this gizmo will soon have him prepping food like the pros. Three included blade attachments allow users to Julienne, slice and grate into the box, keeping things neat and tidy with perfect cuts every time. What time is dinner? Kuhn Rikon Box Mandoline and Grater, $40, amazon.com
Stocking stuffers
We don’t know about you, but we still get pretty exciting Christmas morning when we find our stockings brimming with goodies—especially kitchen goodies. This year, we’re asking Santa for items from Crisp, a new sleek and colorful line of cooking tools that has us looking forward to food prep. On our list: this adorable trio of berry baskets in purple, green and red, $10.99; this mini cutting board we’ll probably use daily, $9.99; a wavy knife, $12.99 (our veggie trays will look amaze!); and corn stripper, $11.99, that already has us dreaming of next summer’s harvest. Check out the entire line, priced from $5.99 to $19.99, at crispcooking.com.
Black and white
Is it time for a new salt and pepper mill for someone on your list? Yeah, it probably is. We advice picking up this elegant set, made in France, that combines wood with stainless steel. Easily adjustable, the mills give a finer grind when turned clockwise, and a coarser grind when turned counter-clockwise. Perfect, oui? Peugeot Saveurs Fidji salt and pepper mills
Fry it up
It’s amazing the difference a new frying pan make. This stainless non-stick version is safe to use with metal utensils and features a raised stainless steel pattern over a recessed layer of nonstick coating. Frieling Black Cube 8-inch frying pan, $59.95, wayfair.com