OOoooOOOooh bay-by! (it works if you sing the title)

Anyway, here’s the second installment of our last-minute gift ideas! I can vouch for each of these, so no need to get them for me, but I gladly accept other presents!

For the Baker: The first one is twofold: Baked and Baked Explorations, both by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. Both of these are wonderful books, and will suit either the well-versed baker or someone a bit more on the beginner’s side of things. I made the Devil’s Food Cake with Angel Frosting recently, and it was seriously heavenly. It looked really gorgeous just mixing the ingredients together. And out of all the things I’ve baked in my day, I think the frosting is one of, if not the, creations I’m proudest of. These books also just make for a good read, they delve into the history of the dishes and give a little more context, which I found interesting.

For the Entertainer: Tapas. Dim Sum. Sushi. Amuse Bouche. Appetizers. If you do much of any entertaining, whether it’s casual game nights, elaborate dinner parties, or sophisticated cocktail parties (or, more likely, you dream of those things and in reality just have people show up sometimes), you will wind up feeding people. For me, the desserts and entrees are easy, it’s the sides and apps that I just can never figure out. So Small Bites, by Jennifer Joyce, is a very helpful book. It’s full of little things people can munch on, and the recipes come from all over the world, so you don’t need a different book for each kind of cuisine.

For People Who Could Use a Little More Mise en Place: It’s sort of the French equivalent of “a place for everything and everything in its place.” Having your tools, ingredients, and work surfaces clean and organized when you’re cooking is probably the hardest thing for me, but so worth it. And measuring out all your ingredients in advance in appropriately-sized bowls will cause fewer “Oh crap, I don’t have enough flour” moments, which always makes things better. Nesting bowls is the trick, this set from Crate & Barrel is my favorite because it means I also never have to have the realization that I have nothing clean to mix things in, and have to hurriedly set myself to scrubbing.

For Just About Anyone: Really, even the least cooking-inclined person wants a margarita once in a while. And blenders take a lot of space, and can be pricey for a whole lot of inconvenience. Immersion blenders, however, I find to be a lot more practical. You can blend up something while you’re cooking it on the stove, you can aim better at stubborn chunks of ice, whatever. There are plenty of pricier models out there, with interchangeable attachments for whisking, etc, but I think this basic Cuisinart model suits me just fine. And clean up is a breeze, just detach the blending arm and throw it in the washer.

Stocking Stuffers: Not for kids’ stockings, but who says they get all the fun? Urban Accents has come out with these great little spice packs, called Gotta Cook Tonight, each with a fabulous (and fabulously easy) recipe on the back. Obviously, they can be used however the chef desires, but for those nights when you still want something delicious & exotic, but really, really can’t be bothered to put all that effort in, these little buggers are a Godsend. They come in Puttanesca, Goulash, Moroccan Tagine, Tandoori, Madras Curry, Santa Fe Mole, and American BBQ.

Hostess Gift: I love popcorn: I don’t care if it’s the kind you pay your life saving’s for at the movies, microwaved popcorn, or air-popped, it’s delicious. However, it’s also an easy thing to class up, just by using different salt. So for a hostess gift, truffle salt (or jalepeno salt, garlic salt…any number of other options) and popcorn in a nice bottle is one of my favorites. If you don’t know if the hostess in question has an air popper, you can add in a brown paper bag: microwave the popcorn in the bag, toss a little olive oil on there, and sprinkle with the flavored salt. Easy!

As with Lucy, none of the manufacturers or stores mentioned in this entry have sponsored or are even aware of us or this post. I’d love it if they would give me free stuff, but they didn’t, I’m just posting about them because I love them even if they don’t bribe me!