winter snowIt seems that another holiday season is upon us! Last week we put up our Christmas Tree and this Saturday we’ll be celebrating the first night of Hanukkah by hosting dinner, complete with all of the Jewish classics. In our house, we celebrate both holidays and for that reason, December means a month-long celebration and lots of gift buying for our loved ones. Some people are easy to shop for and others, well, they’re a bit tougher. If you find yourself shopping for someone who loves food and you’re not sure what to get them, here’s some of our suggestions, for all different types of food lovers that may be in your life:

For the Cookbook Collector:

This is for your average, run of the mill cookbook reader. You know the type who heads right to the Cooking section of a bookstore and who reads cookbooks before they go to bed. Also for the home cook who might want to pick up some new tricks, here are some books that we found ourselves turning to frequently this year:

  • Plenty by Yotum Ottolenghi
  • The Art of Mexican Cooking by Diana Kennedy
  • Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotum Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi
  • A Girl and Her Pig: Recipes and Stories by April Bloomfield
  • Ancient Grains for Modern Meals by Maria Speck
  • How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman
  • Vietnamese Home Cooking by Charles Phan

For the Cookbook Collector Who Wants The Whole Story:

  • Yes, Chef  by Marcus Samuelsson
  • My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud’Homme
  • Life, on the Line: A Chef’s Story of Chasing Greatness, Facing Death and Redefining the Way We Eat by Grant Achatz

You can stop by Brookline Booksmith for these titles in hard copy or e-reader format.!

For the Kitchen Equipment/Gadget Collector:

  • Soda Stream: We laughed at these first before we ate our words because we use it all the time to make homemade sodas for cocktails or just for enjoying straight up. You can get a good one for around $100.
  • Juicer: We bought a juicer this year and we find that we use it nearly every morning to make fresh fruit and vegetable juices. We bought a Breville and can’t imagine mornings without it!
  • Whirely Pop: A favorite new addition to our kitchen, the Whirley Pop pops popcorn in about 5 minutes on your stove top. With a fun handle crank, it pops a perfect batch nearly every time. Popcorn kernels and fun salts round out the gift.
  • Molecular Gastronomy Kit: Fun for the food scientist in your life, you’ll be reaping the benefits of fancy foams, caviar beads and spheres before you know it!

For the Food Lover Who Wants to Show Everyone How Much They Love Food:

For the Food Lover Who Needs A Break from the Kitchen (Or Who Doesn’t Like to Cook)

A Gift Certificate to any restaurant!  Because who wouldn’t want a nice meal out? Here’s some of our current favorites:

Got a fun food gift that you gave or received? Or maybe there’s a food related gift on your own list – leave it here!

Contributed by Chefs Richard Chudy and Katie Barszcz of The Skinny Beet.  A native Bostonian, Richard Chudy graduated from the Professional Chef’s Program at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts in 2007 and started a private chef business.  When he’s not busy in the kitchen, he runs Boston Burger Blog, his ongoing quest for the perfect burger in Boston.  Katie started her blog, The Small Boston Kitchen, in December of 2009 as a way to document her hours spent in the kitchen, as well as her eating adventures throughout the Greater Boston area.  In January 2011, Katie attended the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, where she received her Culinary Certificate. Katie co-owns a personal chef and catering business, The Skinny Beet