Terrific Gifts for the Cook(s) on Your Gift List

You're in luck if you have a cook or two on your gift list this year. There are several terrific gifts for your favorite cook(s) in a wide price range. Look for your gift items in discount/club stores, big box stores, department stores, online sites, Ebay and keep yard sales in mind. My friends find lots of unopened, brand new items at yard sales. Check online prices quickly at pricegrabber.com. Remember to check how much shipping and handling will add to the final cost of your gift. When buying for someone out of town, have the gift shipped directly to the recipient.

Below are some terrific gift selections, listed least expensive to most expensive -

Stainless Steel Turkey Lifters - $12.99 **Author's choice

Wonderful Stainless Steel Turkey Lifter Forks easily turn and lift roasts, poultry, and other entrees. Versatile lifters make great carving forks, too! Heavy-duty stainless steel will last a lifetime. 10" long. Dishwasher safe.
(chefscatalog.com)

Mozzarella Slicer - $16.99 **Author's choice

Handle fresh mozzarella the easy way. With just the right dip in the base, this slicer holds a ball of the soft, moist cheese steady while-with one simple press-you cut perfectly even slices. Stainless steel. Dishwasher safe. Imported. 6 ¾" L x 6" ".

Pasta Drying Rack - $17.95

Pasta Drying Rack made of wood, & includes 4 18" dowels, sturdy 7.5" square base. Easy to assemble. Perfect for drying fresh pasta. 16.5" H.
(cooksnook.com)

Italian Mortar and Pestle - $19.99

The original way to prepare herbs and spices for your cooking. This beautiful mortar-and-pestle set is made of solid marble, with delicate veining that adds a classic, Old-World touch to your kitchen counter. Great for grinding hard spices such as cloves or cinnamon, or use it as a stylish cache for ingredients as you create your house specialty. Hand wash. Imported. 4 1/2"H x 4"W x 4D".
(target.com)

Voice Alert Thermometer - $29.99

This digital thermometer precisely monitors cooking temperatures and lets you know with a voice alert or beep how much cooking time remains, from 30 minutes to 1 minute from fully cooked. Preset done-ness levels based on USDA- recommended temperatures or can be programmed for personal preferences. 42" stainless-steel probe. Uses 3 AAA batteries.
(chefscatalog.com)

Bialetti SpazioSystem Pasta Pot - $34.99

Just pour the water out without lifting the lid. The Bialetti SpazioSystem Pasta Pot delivers a practical 2-in-1 cooking system. A patented click-on lid and specially designed handles guarantee total safety while you pour the water out through the holes. It's perfect for all kinds of pasta and just what you'd expect from Italian quality and design.
(virtualitalia.com)

Nature's Cuisine Roasting Planks - $39.95

Capture the extraordinary flavor of the ancient Native American cooking method of "planking." With these cedar and alder planks, designed for use in modern ovens, you need no oils or fats to permeate your seafood, meat or poultry with the tangy, woodsy flavor of the Pacific Northwest. The cedar plank measures 10.5" x 17" x 1.5". The alder plank measures 7" x 17" x 1.5"
Cedar exudes a sweet, spicy flavor with a mild smoky edge. A wood of exceptional beauty and durability, cedar has a richly textured, tactile grain combined with a palatte of warm, mellow tones ranging from light amber to deep honey brown.
Alder delivers a robust smoke flavor coupled with a light vanilla overtone. Western Alder is the wood traditionally used in the Pacific Northwest for smoking food. Because of its rich, pure smoke flavor, it is known as the premier wood for smoking.
(cooksnook.com)

Other items to gift your favorite cook(s) include gourmet dipping oils - two nice bottles of flavored olive oil is a welcome gift. Another choice would be a bottle of olive oil and one of balsamic vinegar. You might create a gourmet basket filled with specialty food items - some special jellies, gourmet mixes, flavored and/or colored pastas, exotic spices, a bottle of wine, a box of crackers. (Tip: Last year Trader Joe's had Italian Panetonne at five or six dollars. This makes a terrific gift, a tasty hostess gift, or great to put into a gourmet basket.) Create a theme basket - a package of spaghetti, a jar of gourmet Pasta Sauce, a bowl to hold the spaghetti or a silver plate spaghetti server, etc., all put into a basket, wrapped in cellophane with a pretty bow.

You might also buy a cookbook, mark the page for the selected recipe. and make the recipe up as part of the gift. This works well with cookies, candies, sauces, etc. You can also buy the ingredients used in the recipe and include it with the gift.