Thanks all for you wonderful suggestions for our holiday gift guide. We could simply have written this ourselves but since FBC is all about community, we thought what better way to get to know you than by asking for YOUR picks for a holiday gift guide.
First up....
Great Reads for Cooks
Calantha at Piecurious says: "One of my favourite types of things to give, as well as to receive, are magazine subscriptions. They are literally the gift that keeps on giving (for at least as long as the subscription!). One of the magazines on the top of my wishlist this year is Where Women Cook (1). Not only is the magazine visually stunning, but it is full of inspirational stories about women pursuing their dreams of cooking or baking. It's a great gift for those of us (women) who either dream of doing the same, or are embarking on the often scary path of actually doing so! It's also nice to see a magazine dedicated solely to women in the industry." I couldn't agree more Calantha - though now I feel I MUST subscribe to this magazine (like I need another subscription, right?!)
How about this Penguin Great Food Series (2)? A Penguin staffer is even blogging about making recipes from the books, which is really cool. Renee from Sweet Sugarbean is hoping to read "Blood, Bones and Butter" by Gabrielle Hamilton; and "Heart of the Artichoke"(3) by David Tanis. She loves food memoirs and would be thrilled to find these under her tree 🙂 (Note to Renée - I have both and they are brilliant reads!) This book isn't out yet, but for someone who grows their own veggies, Food and the City (5) would be a great gift! Looks like a thought-provoking read, for sure!
We couldn't go past mentioning some of our members' books as perfect holiday gifts and a great way to support our very own blogging community in Canada: How about Elizabeth (Guilty Kitchen)'s Holiday Bites (6) or Redawna (Nutmeg Disrupted)'s Everyday Delectable? Marie at Celebration Generation 's The Spirited Baker (4) and Evil Cake Overload are available on her site. Each are $17.99, and she has a link at the top of each order page for Canadian orders, specifically!
Go on.... you know you want to!
Moving out of the realm of books and into the kitchen, here are some neat gift ideas any home cook would love...
Making Things Easier in the Kitchen
Heather from M is for Mommy loves these little prep bowls (1) 🙂 but also says "I'm all over Dutch Ovens, and I love these cocottes from Tweed & Hickory (2) Renee from Sweet Sugarbean was clearly on a roll with this contest because she found a whole host of gifts for Santa to choose from - like these measuring cups from MOMA (3). Her big ticket item this year has got to be an ice cream maker - like this sweet Cuisinart. She was super jealous of everyone posting amazing ice creams in the summer and notes that she "really really" wants one!
Natalie from Once upon a Cutting Board wants something a little unusual this year - onion goggles (5)! She says: "I cry a river every time I chop onions and the reviews on this product seem to indicate that they prevent any tears, so I can't wait to try them! They come in many different colours!" Sounds very fashionable Natalie and I might have to look into these for my Petits Chefs who complain when they have to chop onions or shallots!
These canisters also from the MOMA Store (7) are beautiful and would make a great prop for blog photos too! And always a welcome gift for foodies - a great knife, like this Santoku from Williams Sonoma (6) (Pssst Santa - it's on sale!).
Ok, so we have our readers and cooks covered but what about all those host(ess) gifts you need for all the parties this season?
Gifts Any Host Would Be Happy To Receive
Amy from Family Feed Bag wanted a pepper mill (2). And lo and behold, the holidays came early to Amy's house because she won one from Trudeau. Congrats again Amy! Genevieve from Vanilla and Spice has a rather practical gift on her wish list - an unspillable wine glass (3), so that she never has to worry about staining the white carpet in her dining room! What a great idea for your holiday party! And let's not forget the whole host of items that Trudeau offer which are perfect for hostess gifts - check out their gift ideas bar, wine and cheese and kitchen gadgets sections for fab gifts that won't break the bank this holiday season!
All We Want For the Holidays
Melissa wants a Canon 100mm f2.8 macro lens (5). This Canon lens is an L grade 100mm, 2.8 macro lens. L lenses are Canons top of the line professional grade glass and it has their new IS that compensates for both horizontal and vertical shake, which is awesome in a macro lens as shake is so noticeable even with fast shutter speeds. If Santa's on more of a budget this year, Melissa will settle for a Wilton Non Stick 3-tier Stackable Cooling Rack (1) - because she simply doesn’t have enough counter space (join the club!).
Ethan says: "Between a laptop that sometimes doesn't work and editing software that I downloaded for free, I want a MacBook Pro (6) and Adobe Lightroom (2) from Hanukah Harry."
I think that's it - PHEW! - from us this week. Hopefully you picked up a few gift ideas from these wonderful suggestions - and stay tuned next week - there's a fabulous guest post by the folks at Toronto's Cookbook Store for you to enjoy!
* A special thanks to Melissa for the stunning graphics on this post.
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So many cool ideas! Onion goggles…too funny.
I love chalk board canisters and I would love everything on the FBC Crew list, except make that a Nikon macro lens. 😉
Awesome, you just gave me an idea…. hehehe!
My wishlist just got exceptionally longer. As for the boring old chest freezer – not boring at all. I picked one up used this year and am so happy I did. It works like a charm and is great on energy – so check out used items (I found mine on Kijiji) before shelling out the big bucks for a new one!
The delivery guy is gonna get a huge smooch from me when he gets here with my pepper mill!
That Santoku knife would be a great surprise in my stocking too. On second thought, jamming my hand into a stocking to find a sharp knife isn’t the best idea I’ve had this week…
I saw the chalkboard cannisters today in a funky home store on South Granville and was sooooo tempted to buy a few… I think they’re adorable! I showed great restraint though!
Love the post – would have loved to have seen Dinner with Julie’s newest cookbook “Spill the Beans” on the list, or even on a sidebar somewhere… or a page? Canadian bloggers publications? It is so easy to give ideas when doing none of the work, right? I know as it happens all the time here with my volunteer work. 🙂 Loved reading it all.
I love my chest freezer and my upright. Every food person needs both. 🙂
Love my macbook pro and buying the three year warranty and tutorial help was the best investment I ever made.
My list has an all clad brunch frying pan on it and a Mauvie copper risotto pan. The later is a pretty hefty wish! I cannot believe I even have a wish at this phase of my life!
I want to collect money for a woman in the Balkans to get her own teeth. That is my project for 2012. She is lovely and I am doing that, for sure.
🙂
Valerie
Hi Valerie, we would have loved to have included Julie’s book but we didn’t know about it! We often ask in the news that if any of you know of a Canadian food bloggers accomplishments to please let us know because we love to give them a shout out! Sometimes people are a bit shy to tell us themselves 🙂
Your idea for a page for Canadian bloggers publications is a great one. We’ll add it to our list of things to work on. Thanks!