Kitchen wishes: Goodies galore for that chef on your holiday gift list
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Cooks can expect a colorful holiday season this year.
After being burned on avocado-green blenders in the '70s, "colors are coming back," said A.J. Rathbun, kitchen editor for Amazon.com. "For a while, people expected appliances to only come in black or white. Now they're trying more colors. I think it's an offshoot of iMac. People see colored gadgets and appliances as being part of their whole kitchen theme or style."
One example is the popular George Foreman Champ Grill with bun warmer, which comes with a white or bright purple, ruby, indigo, orange or teal-colored top. The indoor grill is designed for burgers, fish or veggies ($24.99, The Bon Marché). In appliances, KitchenAid offers an "ultra power" toaster, handmixer and blender in bright red, green or cobalt blue ($79.99-$119.99, J.C. Penney). Even smaller KitchenAid gadgets, such as pizza wheels, ice-cream scoops, peelers and can openers, come with handles in different colors ($8.99-$14.99, Bed, Bath & Beyond).
For those with wilder tastes, Sur La Table offers jaguar coasters, square acrylic table protectors decorated with spotted animal prints (set of 4, $8.95).
The retro trend continues with food items at Sur La Table, with fondue and bar sets selling well, said spokeswoman Susanna Linse. A fondue and chocolate set featuring gourmet chocolates, marshmallows, a ceramic fondue pot, eight tea lights and two fondue forks runs $36.95. Other fun, blast-from-the-past items include ribbon candy, old-fashioned peppermint candy and a jelly-doughnut-making kit.
Lest shoppers think they've warped back in time, a few high-tech gadgets will plant them firmly in the 21st century. The Lectrix Intelliblend blender, for one, comes with a built-in database of 400 recipes for cocktails, food and smoothies. Each electronic recipe, from zucchini-cream soup to a papaya smoothie, gives an ingredient list and directions on using the blender's six speeds and 450-watt motor ($99.99, Amazon.com).
Here are more kitchen and food gift ideas, all under $50.
Gadgets
Instead of using a mandolin, a Kimpera julienne peeler slices hard vegetables into squared chunks the perfect size for salads ($14.95, City Kitchens).
Tongs are great when you want to turn a steak, but they're a bit bulky for delicate items such as scallops. Stainless-steel sauté tweezers, which look like 12-inch-long eyebrow tweezers, give you more control with thin or flat foods ($9.95, City Kitchens).
Twist the Citrus Trumpet into a lime or lemon and squeeze the juice through the stainless steel tube. It strains the seeds and since the fruit isn't cut, the citrus stores well in the refrigerator until juice is needed again ($6, Williams-Sonoma).
Two-for-one
The Hamilton Beach 52204 blender/food processor comes with a 350-watt motor that attaches to either a 3-cup food-processor bowl or a 40-ounce blender jar ($39.99, Sears).
The Villaware multi-baker bakes two waffles, toasts two sandwiches or makes two pizzelles when you insert different plates ($49.99, Chef's Catalog — www.chefscatalog.com).
Ideal for small kitchens, the over-the-sink prep board is made of maple and has a hole cut through one side. A stainless-steel basket attaches under the hole for washing veggies. When they're clean, move them over to the cutting board side to chop and dice ($39.99, Chef's Catalog). The over-the-sink organizer features a paper-towel rack, cutting board, paring knife holder, wire baskets and three feet of shelf space ($29.95, J.C. Penney).
Lectrix takes the simple salad spinner and gives it a new, uh, spin with the SaladXpress. Owners can use this "multitasking" electric spinner to dry washed lettuce, then slice or grate carrots, cucumbers and other veggies fed through a trough into the lettuce basket. Remove the bottom bowl, carry it to the table and the salad is ready to serve ($49.99, Amazon.com).
The Aroma wok with fondue set comes with a wok body and fondue pot that attach to a heating base. The wok can be used for stir frying, deep frying or steaming foods ($59.99, J.C. Penney).
The 250-watt motor on Braun's hand blender can be used with different attachments to whisk or chop ($29.99, The Bon Marché).
Wine lovers
Wine Spectator put together a wine-tasting kit with bottle bags (to cover wine for blind tasting), note pads and stemware tags for up to six people. The kit also includes three books: "Essentials of Wine," "Pocket Guide to Wine" and "Quick Guide to Wine Tasting" ($40, Sur La Table).
That Wine is Mine wine-glass charms come in sets of six with different themes, including golf items and flowers and bugs. The vineyard set, for example, has a miniature corkscrew, leaf, wedge of cheese, wine glass, grapes and wine bottle. The charms hook around the stem of a glass, helping guests know which is theirs to sip from ($19.99, Amazon.com).
For wine aficionados who also love the outdoors, the GSI Lexan wine-glass gift set combines a fleece tote with virtually unbreakable glasses (the stems and bases unscrew and snap inside the cup for packing) and a corkscrew. Add a favorite bottle of wine and they're set for a picnic or hike ($29.95, REI).
Adults only
Buckley's Original Liqueur Cakes come in four flavors — amaretto, Irish whiskey, triple orange chocolate and Swiss chocolate almond cake ($5.95, iGourmet.com).
The Tipsy Trio features vermouth-flavored olives and onions and whiskey-spiked cherries in 5.3-oz. jars ($19.95, Sur La Table).
Retro bar accessories include a deco-style shaker in polished stainless steel, a polished chrome ice crusher and a faucet-handle corkscrew ($34.99, $44.99 and $14.99, J.C. Penney).
Hot drinks
Backpackers and campers who don't want to give up their fancy java can find solace in the GSI espresso maker, a lightweight aluminum European-style machine ($19, REI), or the Big Sky Bistro, a French press that doubles as a travel mug ($15.95, REI). Add hot water to ground coffee, steep, push the plunger and drink the coffee straight from the 16-oz. unbreakable mug.
Pour hot water in Bonjour's Brew 'n' Touch, add loose tea or ground coffee, then watch as the filter system strains the drink as it drips into a glass, cup or pitcher ($19.99, Chef's Catalog).
The Twelve Cocoas of Christmas pairs chocolate with flavors such as hazelnut, cappuccino, butter rum, amaretto, mint, Irish crème, raspberry and cinnamon in this box of a dozen gourmet cocoa packets ($14.99, Bed, Bath & Beyond).
Outdoors
Make pizza, bread, cake or casseroles in the Backpacker's Pantry outback oven, an Editor's Choice gold award winner in Backpacker magazine. The kit includes a 10-inch pan, pan cover, diffuser plate, reflector shield, thermometer and a backcountry baking booklet ($51.95, REI).
The REI Kitchen Essentials kit organizes utensils, can opener, whisk, salt-and-pepper shakers, pancake turner, storage bottles, measuring spoons and a serving spoon in a waterproof nylon pouch for camping or backpacking ($37.95, REI).
A stainless-steel compost pail by Endurance stores vegetable scraps until they're ready to go out into the compost pile. A lid with charcoal filters contains odors in the gallon-size pail ($39.95, City Kitchens).
Bakers
The Matfer Exopat baking-mat set brings together the popular silicone mat (which lies on top of a baking sheet and keeps cookies and pastries from sticking) with a Pelton spatula that can withstand heat up to 430 degrees Farenheit, a metal whisk and a pastry brush. The mat wipes clean with a sponge ($39.99, Amazon.com).
Instead of worrying about vanilla spilling out of the teaspoon, try a mini-measure, a 2-ounce glass that measures up to two tablespoons or six teaspoons of liquids ($4.95, City Kitchens).
Edible gifts
For people who simply don't need any more clutter in their kitchen drawers or cabinets, consider a gift that gets consumed. This could be a theme basket (breakfast, Italian food, fruit) filled with their favorite munchies or a food-of-the-month club. A hard-to-please teenager or senior citizen might be thrilled for with a gift certificate for a restaurant.
The cook who has everything
Make homemade cones in two minutes with a Chef's Choice Wafflecone Express. It comes with a cone-rolling form and recipes ($49.99, Sears).
Press a button and the stainless-steel battery-operated pepper mill grinds your pepper fresh. A cover on the base keeps pepper off your table and a light illuminates food so you know how much pepper you're putting on ($39.99, Bed, Bath & Beyond).