If you are shopping for a foodie this Christmas (or even if you are not) here is my broad guide to great Christmas gifts for the kitchen.  It’s a series of things that I love that make life in the kitchen better.  If you have any comments on things that I have listed or have things that I have missed, leave them in the comments.

Inexpensive Christmas Gifts & Stocking Stuffers: Under $25 

Wine Aerator

Adding air and slowing down the pour of your wine enhances flavor and bouquet. This unique aerator by slows the flow and gently adds oxygen into the wine by funnelling it through a series of channels inside.

Wondering if a wine aerator is worth the money and hassle?  It depends on the kind of wines that you drink.

Red wines intended to have earthy flavors or age for years in a cellar (and often cost more than $10 or $15) can get to their optimal flavor faster with aeration. Inexpensive and fruity red wines are often fruitiest and most enjoyable directly from the bottle and either don’t improve or taste worse with aeration. White wines (especially fruity white wines) generally don’t improve with aeration.

• Available from Amazon | $6

Soapstone Whisky Chilling Stones

Don’t let melting ice water down your drinks.  Instead use cold frozen soapstones to keep your whiskey cold and preserve it’s rich taste.

• Get it from Amazon | $3

Silicon Pastry Mat

Silicone's is both flexible and things won't stick to it.  It's ideal for rolling pastry and cookies.  It not only makes things easier on you but it means you can use less flour, resulting in a more delicate and tender product which means everyone wins.

• Purchase from Amazon | $10

Thoughtful yet Inexpensive Christmas Presents:  $25 to $50 

CucinaPro Pasta Fresh machine

Nothing beats a plate of truly fresh pasta. And now it's easy to roll out your own at home. Whether the craving is for spaghetti or fettuccine, this sturdy machine handles the job with efficiency and style. CuninaPro pasta maker looks great on the counter and is easy to use--there's nothing to plug in as this is the tried-and-true hand-crank variety.

The easy-lock adjustable dough-dialer rolls thick or thin pasta, and it comes with spaghetti and fettuccine cutters. Cutters for tagliatelle, ravioli and angel hair pasta are available separately

• Purchase from Amazon.com | $29

Aeropress Coffee Press

It makes one of the best cups of coffee you'll ever taste. This innovative uses the ideal water temperature and gentle air pressure brewing to produce coffee and espresso that has rich flavour with lower acidity and without bitterness. It makes 1 to 4 cups of coffee or espresso (enough for 1 or 2 mugs), features a micro filtered for grit free coffee, and takes just 1 minute to make coffee (actual press time takes only 20 seconds).

 Here is how it works

• Purchase from Amazon | $25

• Find it online at Amazon.com for $23

Belgium Waffle Iron

Enjoy delicious fluffy Belgian waffles with the Hamilton Beach Belgian Style Flip Waffle Maker. Made with easy to clean non-stick grids to bake the perfect waffle with deep pockets to hold butter and syrup. The indicator lights let you know just when to add the batter and the removable tray and grids make for easy clean-up.

• Purchase from Amazon | $35

Oxo Kitchen Scale

A scale is really necessary if you're going to do serious cooking because wherever possible, you should measure your ingredients by weight, not by volume. 

A given mass of flour can vary a lot in volume, depending on things like humidity, temperature, and how long it's been sitting.  A weight indicator shows the capacity left on the Scale before maximum capacity is reached. Press the zero button to offset the weight of a container or to set the weight back to zero to add additional ingredients. The display features large, easy-to-read numbers which measure in 1/8-ounce and 1-gram increments and the platform can be removed for cleaning. The Scale has a 5-pound capacity and two AAA batteries are included.

• Purchase from Amazon | $25

Cusinart Immersion Blender

Don't buy a cheap one--stick with Braun, Cuisinart, or KitchenAid.  They aren’t cutting edge but if you don’t have one, you don’t know what you are missing.  I use mine for my making Caesar Salad Dressing, mixing up packets of mix and pureeing soups

• Find it at Amazon | $35

With a stylish design and durable stainless steel carafe, this 8-cup coffeemaker is perfect for home, office or practically anywhere you want hot, fresh coffee at the touch of a button. All this, plus an easy-clean control panel and dishwasher-safe removable parts for effortless cleanup.  The advantage of the carafe is that you won’t be stuck with hot burnt coffee in case you don’t get it off the maker in time.  The coffee will be as hot and fresh later as it is right now.

• Purchase from Amazon | $48

• Available from Amazon for $57

The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking

 

With more than half a million copies of their books in print, Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François have proven that people want to bake their own bread, so long as they can do it easily and quickly. Based on fan feedback, Jeff and Zoë have completely revamped their first, most popular, and now-classic book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.

Responding to their thousands of ardent fans, Jeff and Zoë returned to their test kitchens to whip up more delicious baking recipes. They’ve also included a gluten-free chapter, forty all-new gorgeous color photos, and one hundred informative black-and-white how-to photos. They’ve made the “Tips and Techniques” and “Ingredients” chapters bigger and better than ever before, and included readers’ Frequently Asked Questions.

This revised edition also includes more than thirty brand-new recipes for Beer-Cheese Bread, Crock-Pot Bread, Panini, Pretzel Buns, Apple-Stuffed French Toast, and many more. There’s nothing like the smell of freshly baked bread to fill a kitchen with warmth, eager appetites, and endless praise. Now, using Jeff and Zoë’s innovative technique, you can create bread that rivals those of the finest bakers in the world in just five minutes of active preparation time.

• You can get it for $19 from Amazon

 Alcohol Dispenser for Vodka, Whiskey, etc

For centuries, whiskies have been aged in wooden kegs. The charring on the inside of the keg helps to filter the beverage from impurities while also giving whiskey its unique, brown color. 
To celebrate the advent of the slow, smoothing, and character building process of aging liquors, here is a handsome glass keg decanter complete with a wooden resting cradle. 

• Find it at Amazon | $60 

Lodge Pre-Seasoned Sportsman's Charcoal Grill

If you are a griller who loves to cook on charcoal, you will want to check out this cast iron hibachi grill.

• Measures 19 by 10-1/4 by 8-1/4-inch; limited lifetime warranty.
• 2 Adjustable heights temper cooking speed; wash by hand
• Draft door regulates heat; coals accessible behind flip-down door
• Cooking grate measures 17-1/4 by 9-inch; seasoned and ready to use
• Rugged, charcoal, hibachi-style grill made of durable cast iron

• Purchase at Amazon.com | $95

Bodum Tea Press

A lovely way to brew tea to your exact preference, the Bodum Shin Cha tea press combines elegant shaping with crafty functionality. The spherical glass pot features a stainless-steel plunge infuser inside and a stainless-steel lid. Fill the infuser with loose leaf or tea bags, add hot water, wait the desired amount of steeping time, then plunge. The plunger pushes the tea below the infuser holes, so brewing stops on a dime and tea does not over steep to the point of bitterness. To clean up, the unit goes safely in the dishwasher. With its glass spout, body, and handle, the Shin Cha showcases tea colors beautifully but does require somewhat careful handling. 

• Purchase at Amazon.com | $67

Burr coffee grinder

For grinding larger quantities of coffee beans for a coffee-drinking crowd, Capresso's commercial-grade Infinity grinder handles 8-1/2 ounces of beans at a time. Sixteen different settings--four each in the four categories of extra fine, fine, regular, and coarse--let you adjust the grind to the specific blend of coffee and method of brewing. The finest setting is ideal for preparing Turkish coffee, which is a rare feature to find in a grinder.

A built-in timer sets the grind for anywhere between 5 and 60 seconds so you can walk away without having to constantly press a button to continue the grinding process. The Infinity has an advanced conical burr design made of steel that is usually only found on commercial grinders. This burr design slows down the gears and reduces the amount of friction and heat to preserve coffee's flavour and aroma. The coffee container holds up to 4 ounces of grounds and remains sealed during grinding. For safety, the bean container also needs to be locked into place for the Infinity to operate. For easy cleaning, the bean container and upper burr lift off so you can clean the grinding chamber with the included brush and wipe down the exterior housing.

• Purchase from Amazon | $100

Cuisinart 5-in-1 Griddler

Yes you have a George Forman grill but this is so much more than that.  The Cuisinart Griddler is actually five appliances in one. A hinged, floating cover and one set of removable and reversible cooking plates turn the Griddler into a contact grill, panini press, full grill, full griddle, or half grill/half griddle. Dual temperature controls and indicator lights make this product easy to use.

Kitchenaid Convection Oven

It’s a great replacement for the stove in the summer and a supplement to the oven when you are making a big meal or for parties.  I am surprised how much cooking and baking I can do with it.

• Purchase at Amazon | $130

Kitchenaid Stand Mixer

The Professional 600 TM has a powerful motor that is crafted for commercial-style performance, the direct drive, all-steel gear transmission delivers unyielding power for professional results. The mixer can effectively mix up to 14 cups of all-purpose flour per recipe and produce up to 8 pounds of mashed potatoes. The Soft Start mixing feature helps minimize ingredient splatter and flour puff with gentle acceleration to selected speed after start-up. Electronic Speed Sensor monitors operation to maintain precise mixer speed. Commercial-style motor protection automatically shuts off the mixer when overload is sensed to protect the motor. Durable all-steel gears provide reliable service. The mixer includes a 6-quart-capacity stainless-steel mixing bowl with a contoured handle, as well as a professional wire whip, a burnished flat beater, a spiral dough hook, and a one piece pouring shield. Its multipurpose attachment hub with a hinged hub cover flips open to allow for easy installation of attachments. The Professional 600 Series bowl-lift design raises the bowl into the mixing position, and its solid, truly seamless one-piece motor head design is easy to clean and comes in a variety of fashionable colors.

• Purchase from Amazon.com | $329

• Full tang extends the length of the knife, adding balance and strength
• Triple-riveted, ergonomic handle ensures comfort and control
• Satin-finish, stainless steel blade provides precise cutting, peeling and slicing
• 18 Pieces Forged Premio Knife Block. Set Includes 3 inches paring knife, 5 inches serrated utility knife, 6 inches utility knife, 7 inches santoku hollow edge, 8 inches chef's knife, 9 inches sharpening steel, 8 inches bread knife, 5 inches boning knife, kitchen shears.Stamped Steak Knives (8 Pieces) Hardwood Block

• Find it at Amazon | $200

If you are looking for a set of knives a step up in quality, check out the Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Signature 19-Piece Knife Set with Block for $330.  If you want to go nuts on a knife set, you will want to look at the Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Pro-S 18-Piece Knife Set with Block

The J.A. Henckels Twin Professional S (or Pro S) knife series features trustworthy quality and classic three-rivet styling--it’s a line of knives admired by both professional chefs and home cooks of all skill levels. The Twin Pro S line contains knives for all tasks, including the following open stock knife types: parer, bread, peeling, sandwich, utility, carving, steak, chef’s, Granton edge slicer, santoku, and others. Twin Pro S knives are also available in a range of block sets and gift sets, to be sure that your cutlery needs are covered.

 

Out of Old Saskatchewan Kitchens

• Get it locally at McNally Robinson or from Chapters/Indigo for $25.

Canon Powershot S120

 

For the Foodie and food reviewer on your list, check out the Canon Powershot S120 camera.  Why do you want it?  It’s compact and great in low light which means that your food shots in a restaurant or even in your own home won’t need a flash.  No more washed out looking meals or annoying waiters and those around you.  Great photos also mean better reviews and more traffic to your blog.

If you are looking for more or past Christmas Gift Guides, check out my husbands excellent series of Christmas gift and idea guides that he posts each year on his website.  If you think I am missing something, let me know in the comments below.