What kitchen gifts did you give others for the holidays?

Related to Jenise's thread about what we received.

I gave my best friend (and cooking co-conspirator) and her new husband (who is also a cook) a combined Merry Wedding/Christmas Congratulations gift of a Kitchen Aid Professional Stand Mixer, in Cayenne Red. And a kitchen scale for baking better bread at this altitude!

What great gifts did you all come up with for the cooks on your list? (Because my best friend's birthday is in two weeks and I am out of ideas! )

My wife wanted a plain, white, porcelain cake stand. That's not much to ask for but it was pretty tough to find. There are a lot out there made of crystal and a few china ones that are fairly elaborate but a plain white one turned out to be rare. It was too late to order from the internet when she mentioned it, but I was finally able to locate one here in town.


Mike

I gave my Mom a Riedel Burgundy glass. Now she has two and can drink all that Adelshiem with her husband.

Well I received a lot but I gave my wife a nicely decorated butter bell and a cookbook named Perfect Party Food by Diane Phillips, the so-called Diva of Do-Ahead. The employees at our local kitchen store raved about both. We have 2 children who are seniors, one in college the other in high school. So graduation parties loom on the horizon and this book will hopefully be useful.

On my side of the ledger, I received a subscription to Cooks Illustrated, Cooks Illustrated Guide to Grilling and Barbecue book, Karen MacNeil's Wine, Food & Friends, new grilling tongs, a jar of rib rub and a jar of herbs de provence. A rather nice haul!!

An inexpensive mandoline.

Not a !@#$%^&* thing.

Carole had to suffer with Tiffany & Co.

I gave two of my sons & SOs decent corkscrews (waiter style). It has always been an ordeal trying to open a bottle of wine at their houses.

[Jenise]

None here either. OH WAIT, I did give a friend Amy Sedaris' absolute riot of a how-to book for entertaining and cupcake making. It's the perfect gift for someone who professes to like being near a kitchen but never actually gets around to doing anything in it.

And I bought Bob Hermes cologne so he smells good when he's supervising me.

Basics that I observed were needed in my best friend's kitchen: A large plastic cutting board, an ice cream scoop and a nice pair of locking tongs.

[Robin Garr]

What great gifts did you all come up with for the cooks on your list? (Because my best friend's birthday is in two weeks and I am out of ideas! )

We're not really huge gift givers or receivers here, but we did give my sister a nice box of interesting spices with a book from Penzey's, and she seems delighted.

I forgot - we also ordered George Foreman grills for my brother and sister.


Mike