The Ultimate Gift Guide for the Cook

Finding gifts can be overwhelming to some and an awesome challenge to others. With the holiday spirit in full force, Inspiring Kitchen is sharing our favorite gift ideas for anyone who enjoys cooking and entertaining. You will find everything from top quality Kobe beef gift sets to stunning hand blown stemware to 3 different types of cookbooks to spirits for your bar to the newest in wine openers to the most useful in serving platters to ways to stay organized to documenting your bucket list and to the newest in flatware. There is something for everyone on your list.

Snake River Farm

For any meat lover, this is THE gift to give and receive. Snake River Farms and Double R Ranch are the premier producers of American Kobe (Wagyu) beef. In fact, their Wagyu beef is graded higher than USDA Prime. This family owned business was founded in 1968 producing the highest quality beef and pork in the United States. What’s unique about this company is their involvement in every aspect of the beef lifecyle. This comprehensive ranch to table approach ensures the products that arrive at your door are the best available.

Whether you choose hamburgers, Kobe beef or their Northwest Beef, you will be getting perfectly aged beef that is hand cut by a master butcher and individually wrapped. 

Snake River Farms beef is considered among the very best being served at the most sophisticated restaurants in the US, including the French Laundry and Per Se among others. The meat’s flavor, quality and texture are incredibly memorable and will have you savoring every bite of the meal.

If you are looking for a gift for family, friends or as a corporate/customer appreciation gift, Snake River Farms and Double R Ranch offers something that will exceed your expectations. Please contact their Gift Specialists at 877-736-0193 to learn more about the exceptional gift sets they are showcasing for the holiday season. http://www.snakeriverfarms.com

 

Brie Brulee Toppings and Cheese Baker Set

Celebrating the holidays continues with this creamy delectable appetizer and dessert set from my new favorite online retailer, Olive and Cocoa. Bringing friends and family together with this delicious gift set that comes with a festive red ceramic cheese baker, is a tradition that can be used over and over for lasting memories.

 

 

Included in this beautifully arranged gift are:

3 toppings:

• Gourmet chocolate fleur de sel with hazelnuts
• Peppered honey orange
• Cherry pistachio brulee

Red ceramic cheese baker with lid

Wooden spreader

The excitement when the box arrives is only enhanced once you see how lovely the packaging is as you open the shipping box. The Olive and Cocoa crate is wrapped in a pretty brown ribbon with a personal note attached. Each of your items is purposefully placed in the crate making the unwrapping a part of the anticipation of the gift.

For anyone who enjoys entertaining with wine and cheese, this is a lovely gift to welcome in the New Year. For more information and to order, please visit here. 

 

Premier Cru Collection Stemware

For the person who has a true appreciation for fine wine, Premier Cru Collection Stemware is the gift they will never forget. This stunning lead-free crystal stemware is designed to truly enhance the bouquet of the wine. The Premier Cru Collection is handmade (hand-blown glass) designed with an artistic vision by Paul LaRussa, the creator and chief designer. These elegant pieces are crafted in Germany and sold through Premier Cru Wine Cellars out of California.

The brand’s philosophy of old world quality and world class design aligning with the love of fine wine can be seen in the beauty and durability of the stemware. If you are searching for a gift for someone with an eye for artistic design, quality, sophistication and a love for wine, please visit Pemier Cru Collection’s online boutique for more information. They offer stemware for Burgundy, Bordeaux, White Wine and Champagne. There is an offer right now for complimentary shipping on the Premier Cru Collection Stemware set orders of 12 or more in the continental U.S.

 

 

 

Coravin Wine System
For the wine lover, this is THE gadget to have. The biggest frustration when it comes to opening a bottle of wine is the realization that you only want one glass but the rest of the bottle will now be compromised once the oxygen hits it. The Coravin wine system is your solution to this problem and it is brilliant! Instead of removing the cork, this tool extracts wine from the bottle without having to open the bottle. Here’s how it works. A hollow needle is inserted into the foil and cork and a small spray of argon gas (totally safe), allows the wine to come through the Coravin and into your glass.  When you remove the needle, the cork will reseal itself preventing oxygen from entering the bottle.(Coravin 1000 Wine System, Black)

Now you can have a glass of your favorite cabernet today, and tomorrow, it’s the Sauvignon Blanc. Both bottles remain sealed thanks to the Coravin wine system. If you are looking for the most innovative gift to give the wine lover, the Coravin wine system is just perfect. You can find more details and to order it here.

 

Kweichow Moutai

The holidays are a time to celebrate our friends, families and anticipation for the New Year. In China, Kweichow Moutai is served to toast foreign diplomats and other elite guests visiting China. In fact, Chinese embassies have presented Moutai as gifts to foreign countries. The brand, Moutai, is the leading luxury baijiu in China. When having guests to dinner in China, guests are offered Moutai (known as baijiu or white wine) to create an atmosphere of warmth and respect. The flavors and aroma of this revered drink have hints of miso, pear, walnut and almond.

 

For the discerning host (and world traveler), bring a bottle of Kweichow Moutai to start the holiday season off with joy, happiness and an international flare.  

 

Lucid Absinthe Superieure

For the person intrigued by alcoholic spirits with a history, introduce them to Lucid’s Absinthe. There are stories about Absinthe from way back to the 1800’s that may fascinate the home bartender. Lucid’s Absinthe is made with real Grande Wormwood and the first to be legally available in the United States following a 95 year ban. Made in France using neutral spirits and only whole European herbs, there are no artificial additives, oils or dyes. Flavor profiles of anise and fennel followed by earthy textures with herbs rounding out the taste. You may have heard of the “louching” method of preparing a cocktail with Absinthe. There is now a wide variety of ways to create recipes with Lucid Absinthe that you will find on Lucid’s website that incorporate traditional and modern methods of drinking Absinthe. Add a touch of history and intrigue by giving Lucid Absinthe for the holidays or as a hostess gift. 

 

 

 

Reading cookbooks is a source of enjoyment for those who enjoying the creative process of cooking. Inspiring Kitchen found three cookbooks that share delectable recipes as well as stories and beautiful photographs to make each book a welcome addition to a kitchen library. 

The Art of the Burger

Anyone who loves burgers is going to be fascinated by this book. From the recipes to the photos, the diversity of ways in which to create a burger is endless. Michelin-starred Chef, Jens Fisher, offers innovative patties, inventive bread choices and imaginative toppings to combine together to build a truly better burger. You will find a range of options that begin with the spicy, cheesy garlicky burger named by Men’s Health as the perfect Super Bowl Fare to sandwiches like the Cordon Bleu burger made with veal tenderloin to dessert burger options. Whether on a grill, cooktop or in the oven, any burger lover is going to be very excited to receive The Art of the Burger cookbook. 

(The Art of the Burger: More Than 50 Recipes to Elevate America’s Favorite Meal to Perfection)

 

Sally’s Baking Addiction: Irresistible Cookies, Cupcakes and Desserts for your Sweet-Tooth Fix  

Sally McKenney loves to bake. Anyone that follows her highly popular blog by the same name knows this. From cookies to pies to cakes, you will find more than 75 well written recipes in Sally’s Baking Addiction that are geared for the home baker to make and share with those they care about. Sally is known for her Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Cookies (they won the Nestle Dark Chocolate Baking Competition in 2013!), Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies, and her No Bake peanut Butter Banana Pie among a list of delicious choices.  She offers recipes that indulge your sweet tooth but take into consideration lighter desserts, vegan and gluten-free lifestyle options. She has also just launched her candy cookbook which you can find here.

(Sally’s Baking Addiction: Irresistible Cookies, Cupcakes, and Desserts for Your Sweet-Tooth Fix)

 

Annabel Langbein: The Free Range Cook Simple Pleasures

As a highly respected and celebrated New Zealand chef, Annabel Langbein has published 22 cookbooks at this point. Her style of cooking is based on the seasonality of the food grown in her amazingly gorgeous garden seen in the opening pages of the book. This book showcases more than 200 recipes offering photos and in some cases, a QR code where you can watch a video of her making the recipes to learn her tips and tricks. She prepares healthy meals that are made with ingredients that are available to everyone in what is known as the farm to table method. Her book talks about life with her family and living in New Zealand. It will make you want to visit there very soon once you see the stunning photos. From vegetables to meat to seafood to dessert to cocktails, you are going to try these recipes after you finish reading the stories in the book. Anyone who enjoys home cooking utilizing fresh ingredients would love to receive this cookbook. It is just going to be the start of their Annabel Langbein cookbook collection! 

 (The Free Range Cook: Simple Pleasures)

 

My Bucket List

For the person who has it all, what do you buy them? How do you choose a gift that has meaning to them? Well, this gorgeous book by Axel and Ash is exactly what we ALL need. My Bucket List.

This beautifully presented, black fabric hard cover book is intended to make you document (and fulfill) what is on your personal bucket list. To think beyond your everyday life collecting all your dreams, desires and goals in one place. Statements prompt you to think about what you are most passionate about and then gives you the ability to document the details of when you accomplished them. The book encourages you to think big by giving you room to document 100 achievements for your own bucket list.

There are stories of inspiration from those have fulfilled their bucket list, sharing their motivation tips with readers.

Here are a few prompts from the book:

1. This idea came about when….
2. Doing it is going to be….
3. To make it happen I need to…And then after you have accomplished your goal, you document it by completing the following types of statements:
4. Date completed….
5. Place….
6. This made me finally go do it….In this very complicated world, having your own goals and dreams is so important. Create your own Bucket List with this thought provoking book. Inspiring someone to live life fully by capturing their goals is why this is the perfect gift for the person who has it all. Whether it is traveling the world, sky diving, going to culinary school, learning to ride a motorcycle or living on a boat for a year, My Bucket List is a wonderful gift idea. For more information and to order it, please see here. Word. Notebooks: OrganizersThe best gift we give ourselves is time to do what we want to do and with those we want to be with. Staying organized to make this happen is one of the most challenging things these day. We are all working and living crazy busy lives. That is why these Word. Notebooks are the perfect gift for the holidays. These clever and very useful notebooks are small, attractive and so convenient to use. Each book comes with a system to keep track of the tasks and notes you want to remember and then document when completed. Their small size fits in any backpack, purse or work bag and is compact enough to fit in a car console area.Keep track of your groceries shopping, favorite restaurants, errands, kids schedules and to-dos with their easy to implement organizing system. 
   (Word Notebooks Black)All Word. Notebooks are:
   • Made in the USA
   • 3.5” x 5.5”
   • 48 pages, lined
   • Sold in packs of 3

   They sell for just $9.99 for the three-pack and come in a variety of colors and patterns. To order and for more details, please see here.

   The Adventure Log

   The smart folks at Word. Notebooks in collaboration with Bradley Mountain have another series of notebooks called The Adventure Log. These are designed for travelers to keep track of their excursions, favorite sights, restaurants, places to go and experiences to remember. As you fill out pages in the Adventure Log, you are able to share anything about the places you are visiting that will be personal reminders for you when you return home. That might include dates, locations, people you met, shops you visited, and specific memories from each stop. It’s your own personal history book filled with remembrances of your travels. 

   
   (Word Notebooks Adventure Log (Yellow))

   All Word. Notebooks are:

   • Made in the USA
   • 3.5” x 5.5”
   • 48 pages, lined
   • Sold in packs of 3

   They sell for just $9.99 for the three-pack and come in a variety of colors and patterns. To order and for more details, please see here.

   

   Knork Flatware

   Setting the table for everyday or holiday celebrations needs just a few basic pieces. Quality flatware is the first thing to set the table’s look. Knork’s innovative flatware has a purpose beyond its attractive look. Created with an ergonomic approach, this flatware won’t fall off your plate due to its balanced design. With their unique beveled look, you are able to use the sides of the fork to easily cut food in a rocking motion. The Titanium finish on this series is modern and elegant. Knork Titanium flatware is dishwasher safe. For more details and to order, please see here.

   
   (KNORK Titanium 5 Piece Flatware Set, Matte Black)

    

   Umbra Serving Ware

   Anyone who entertains knows the importance of having a variety of serving platters to accommodate your menu. What I love about this Umbra Spun Lazy Susan is how it offers 4 individual plates surrounding the center dish that has two purposes. It can be used as an additional bowl or add the wood cover to act as a cutting surface. The base of the serving piece is made of acacia wood adding a touch of modern and traditional to this purposeful gift. This piece will be utilized  at both fancy and casual get-togethers.

   

   Consider serving any of your favorite dips and having each plate filled with vegetables or meats or using the Umbra Spun Lazy Susan as a cheese tray or charcuterie. Each dish may hold crackers, meats, nuts or fruits while the wood center has your favorite cheeses. Since the Lazy Susan is designed to spin, it makes it very convenient to have it on your coffee or dining tables.

   There are so many uses for this Umbra Spun Lazy Susan serving tray that your recipient will be thrilled. This would also be ideal for a wedding gift. For more information or to order, please see here.

    

    What is your favorite gift to give or receive this holiday season?