Gifts for the Culinary Badass on Your List

Foodies should be easy to buy for, but they're not. You know they already cook a lot, so what if they already have that nifty new gadget you're eyeing in Crate & Barrel? You know they love cheese, but what if that fabulous wedge of Vermont cheddar turns out to be something entirely pedestrian and they never invite you to their holiday party again?

Never fear, the Culinary Badass Gift Guide is here. We'll go in descending in order in case there are any big spenders left in this economy.
Overdoing it
Caviar -- Truly, all I want for Christmas is this creme de la creme sampler. And some little buckwheat blini and creme fraiche. Oh, and some Cristal.

Really, I'm not high maintenance. Just expensive.

Cooking Lessons -- Not just any community ed cooking class, of course. I know I have a lot to learn and I think I could learn a ton from the pair of chefs behind Ideas in Food. They not only revel in the curiosity endemic to cooks and cooking ("what would happen if I braised this turkey in duck fat?," hypothetically, which I attempted to answer last week), they drop some serious science on you in the course of exploring and answering such questions. A night in a "Hands on with Liquid Nitrogen" class would doubtless yield some good ideas for revving up the occasional dinner party.

Custom-made pastry: Bryant Stuckey made a lovely croquembouche for my wedding, and I think a tasty tower of beautiful cream-filled pastry accented with spun sugar would make an equally festive New Year's Eve option.

The good stuff
Respect your Elders: St. Germain elederflower liquer adds a festively flowery kick to a gin and tonic, or mixes beautifully with champagne (not the Cristal!). Light a clove cigarette and get all Rive Gauche.

Scrape-free baking: The beater blade features little rubber fins that scrape the batter from the sides of your mixing bowl without your having to do the tiresome dance of stopping the KitchenAid, ratcheting down the mixer bowl, and scraping down the sides yourself. If you're a badass baker with places to go and people to see, you need this.

Luscious lushes, on the go: Since you can't take your bottles on the plane with you, bring a couple souvenirs from Napa bag safely in your checked luggage the Bottlewise way.








Nice for the Price
For potheads: How cute are these little clips that hold your spoon while you're cooking? How much time would I save cleaning off my countertip if I had one of these?!
Shrooms: This little jar of truffle salt adds a nice little hit of black truffly goodness to eggs or starches without the cloying, exaggerated flavor of truffle oil. Chardonnay oak-smoked salt is a beautiful accent to oysters, knocked back with a glass of Cakebread Cellars chardonnay.

Cheeseball: I'm waging a subtle campaign for liptauer and rye bread to replace hummus and pita as the hipster cocktail party snack fo 2010.
The kicker
This t-shirt by Married to the MOB, with its simple, acronymic question, would be the envy of any straight-up badass, not just a culinary one.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good meal!