HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
Gadgets and gizmos for kitchen gods or goddesses
November 20, 2008
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Jennifer Brown
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
There are dozens of perfect gifts for the gourmet god or goddess in your life, starting with a colourful apron from domistylegifts.com ($39), which can be embroidered with any one of several slogans.
The Graviti pepper mill ($35) from Trudeau automatically begins to grind when it is flipped upside down. Gravity sensors start and stop the grinding, based on the movement and position of the mill. Available in several colours. Visit trudeaucorp.com for local retailers.
The Chef's Choice SmartKettle ($130) features a digital thermostat that heats water to exactly the desired temperature, then keeps it there until you're ready to pour. It even remembers your last setting, and has a low-water-level warning. Go to chefschoice.com for local retailers.
Take the guesswork out of cooking rice with a Cuisinart rice cooker ($100), which steams fluffy rice, then automatically keeps it warm. At Williams-Sonoma and other stores.
Brew up a steaming mug of decadence in the electric Hot Chocolate Pot ($120) from Bialetti, the Italian designers of the original stovetop espresso maker. The pot ($120) produces rich, frothy hot chocolate crowned with creamy foam. You can also use it to heat and froth milk for cappuccino, latte and chai tea. Exclusive to Williams-Sonoma.
Tidy up with a battery-operated crumb sweeper ($15) from Trudeau, featuring one-hand activation and soft non-scratch nylon bristles. Also available in red, yellow and orange. Visit trudeaucorp.com for local retailers.
More compact than traditional pizza slicers, the Elite pizza cutter ($18) is a durable zinc die-cast cutter with an ergonomic finger-thumb rest. Visit trudeaucorp.com for a list of retailers.
When the baking is all done, show off your creations in an elegant, glass Trifle bowl ($47) from pamperedchef.com.
William-Sonoma carries several utensils and tools to make life easier in the kitchen. Silicone spatulas and spoonula ($13.50 to 15.50 each) have wide scraper heads moulded from flexible silicone that won't chip or crack and can withstand heat up to 426C. The heads can be removed for cleaning in a dishwasher.
Stylish and durable Ici silicone tools ($15 each) can withstand temperatures up to 315C without absorbing flavours or odours – and they won't scratch non-stick cookware.
An open wire-loop design of Williams-Sonoma's potato masher ($32) acts as a spring to incorporate air while gently breaking apart cooked potatoes.
Forget wine charms, give your guests their own special splash of colour with a fun set of four wine tumblers from Riedel ($48), each with its own pastel colour. Made in Austria of non-lead crystal, they are available at CSNStores.com.
In her new cookbook, A Taste of Canada: A Culinary Journey ($35), veteran author Rose Murray shows how distinctive Canada's cuisine really is, and how the land, climate and people shape it. Available at the Cookbook Store (cook-book.com) and other book shops.
Serve everything from salad to chips in an attractive bamboo bowl ($21.25) from Pampered Chef. It holds 6 1/4 cups (1.5 litres).
For the backyard chef, the 300-ml basting bottle ($17.25) from Pampered Chef combines barbecue sauce and basting brush in one container.
Trudeau's three mini salt pigs ($35) add the perfect gourmet touch. They come with three flavoured sea salts.
Toronto Star