Cooking books make really good gifts. They are useful, creative, personal and not too expensive. In other words..almost as good as it gets for a gift!
Now, having said that, what’re good cook books to give?
Of course you can give one from any of top chefs from the food network: Racheal Ray, Mario Batali, Barefoot Contessa , Emiril Lagasse, Bobby Flay, Giada DeLaurentiis, just to name a few. These are somewhat easy bets, especially if you know that the gift recipient likes their shows. My favorite in this mix is Mario’s "The Babbo Cookbook". It’s also important to highlight that as previously reported Racheal Ray’s "365 No Repeats" is the #1 book wished for on Wishpot!
Now, you could go more upscale and uber-gourmet and get either the one by Adrian Ferre "El Bulli 1998-2002" or the one from multi three-Michelin-stars Alain Ducasse. I personally have the El Bulli one in my personal wishlist. I mean, it’s impossible to get a reservation to Ferre’s restaurant and at least I want a chance to try a recipe (assuming I can find the ingredients!).
There are some good alternatives in the dessert area (or should I say "course"). I have read high praises for the "Sweet Life" by Kate Zuckerman. The pix look amazing and the Lemon Tart is supposed to be the best ever.
One last idea could be to give a book about the fundamentals of cooking and food. Two books that come highly recommended in this subcategory: Cookwise and "On Food and Cooking".
I included the recommendations above plus a few others on a new list "Cooking Books Wishlist" on the Wishpot’s GiftGuru page.
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With the holidays just around the corner the most popular woman in television (the one whose name starts with "O") released her list of favorite products. So, yesterday we watched her show and now we’d like to share the list with you!
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Our friends at zenhabits have compiled a list of 30 gift ideas to show your appreciation. What’s behind the list?
In their own words:
"Let’s first identify what’s essential: that we show the person who has done something nice for us how much we appreciate them. It’s not essential that the gift be big, or expensive, or anything like that. It’s a token of our appreciation … and let me tell you, no matter how small, the person will likely appreciate the gesture.
The gift should also be appropriate to the person — if it’s personal, it’s likely to mean more. So while wine is always a nice gift, if the person is into other types of drinks (such as coffee), that would make a better gift. So take a moment to consider the person, what they like, and the times you’ve spent together."
We wanted to make this even easier by searching where you can get these items. We’ve also created a gift ideas list in our giftguru account (it makes it easier to add to your list). If you have any comments or suggestion…feel free to contact our giftguru.
- Frame a picture of you with them
- Lotions or bath oils.
- Journal. A nice journal can be beautiful. It’s one of my favorite gifts.
- Gourmet coffee with a personalized mug.
- A nice pen.
- Photo album or scrapbook, with memories already included.
- Homemade cookies you bake yourself.
- Or brownies
- Spice gift basket. Get some small jars and fill them with exotic spices.
- Gift certificate for the person’s favorite hobby store.
- A burned CD with all the person’s favorite songs.
- A letter, hand-written on nice paper, from you. Make it heart-felt, with all the reasons you appreciate the person.
- A small plant.
- A movie pass and a small container of gourmet popcorn kernels.
- Soup mixes or cookie mixes in nice clear jars.
- Personalized T-shirt.
- Stationery and stamps.
- IOU booklets, with whatever services you are willing to perform. Obviously only good for someone you know really well.
- Knit or crochet something for someone (I can’t do this, but I know people who can).
- An “I appreciate you because” jar. Fill a nice jar with slips of different colored paper, each with a reason you appreciate (or love) someone.
- Jams and jellies.
- Good bread (home-made works great).
- Books (my favorite).
- A blank recipe book … write some of your favorite recipes on the first few pages.
- A keepsake DVD with a video of special moments, edited (and captioned) by you. A slideshow presentation with music burned on a DVD works too.
- Create your own art (and put it on nice stationery or in a frame). By “art”, I mean a sketch, painting, poem, short story, whatever.
- Scented candles.
- Make-up set
- Shaving kit.
- Box of good tea and a teacup.
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