Williams-Sonoma Christmas Catalog

From the cook who has everything to the budding chef who is just discovering his culinary creativity, the Williams -Sonoma December 2007 catalog is worth a long "look see". By the time you reach the end of the catalog, it is a fair bet that you will have found a gift item that is both exquisite and practical for both seasoned and inexperienced cook and perhaps yourself. The catalog is laced with cookware, kitchen linens, monogrammed accessories, recipes and a myriad of mouthwatering confectioneries. Warning: ( Browsing this catalog is not for the diet conscious. One look at the baked holiday treats will spin your best diet intentions into a downward spiral).

EDIBLE TREATS
Glancing through the pages, you will find tasty treats in the edible category. Allow yourself to fall prey to the Panettone cake. Legend states that panettone originated with a poor Italian baker named Tonio who formulated a special Christmas bread recipe to earn money to supply an adequate dowry to marry off his daughter to a nobleman. The bread was successfully received and came to be called Pan de Tonio, thereby making him a wealthy man. The Panettone has raisins and glazed chestnuts and is high, light and moist. Panettone bread is delicious toasted and buttered for break fast or served with tea. At $34.00, it is packed in a two pound tin.

Peppermint Brownie Mix is another holiday treat that is not the usual stock found in the neighborhood supermarkets and grocery stores. The peppermint brownie mix contains Guittard chocolate chips and all natural oil is blended into the mix. Peppermint oil lends a holiday flavor to a popular favorite sweet treat. According to the catalog, only butter and eggs need to be added before baking. A reasonable cost of $16.50 will place this treat into your baking pan and your kitchen with the aroma of peppermint wafting through the air.

Let it snow, let it snow.... Peppermint Snow? This item will add a lovely festive topping to your brownies or other holiday baked good. The "snow" comes is a glass 6 ounce jar and is reasonably priced at $10.00.. Only your imagination limits how you can use peppermint snow in your baking projects.

Nothing beats a relaxing moment sipping a cup of hot chocolate while the weather outside is frightful! The William-Sonoma catalog offers a whimsical Snowman Hot Chocolate Frother and four snowmen mugs set. The hot chocolate is sweet ground chocolate and is added to hot milk. You cover the snowman's hat lid and place the pencil frother inside the mug and whisk to desired frothiness. The frother needs two AA batteries that are not included in the set. The ground sweet chocolate is made from Guittard chocolate and reportedly is ground using a grindstone. The chocolate is sweetened with sugar and flavored with natural vanilla. Kiss the diet goodbye when drinking this beverage!

INTERESTING INEDIBLE TREATS
Glancing the pages of another section of the Williams-Sonoma Catalog, our eyes are caught by the unusual gifts and monogrammed items that can be purchased. At a cost of $30.00, you can purchase a monogrammed Screw pull black nickel Champagne stopper to delight the connoisseurs of taste on your shopping list. For the wine lover, an exquisite gift would be the black nickel wine opener. Brushed stainless steel pans are more expensively priced from $600-$2400. A Flexible finger Guard is a thoughtful and practical gift to the novice cook as well as the experienced gourmet chef. Protecting your fingers from cuts and nicks is the designated purpose of the Flexible finger guard. Its shield fits over your middle finger and the hinged design allows the guard to bend with your finger while the bottom half of the finger guard holds your ingredients securely in place. Last, but not least, I find the Christmas Crackers to be a lovely and fun addition to the table setting. The crackers are shaped in gaily decorated tubes which are pulled at each end. When pulled, the "cracker" pops and out falls a trinket, a hat, a joke or the like. It adds fun to the dinner and guests enjoy the novelty of pulling apart the cracker. The crackers come in small and large and are priced $16.00 and $27.00 respectively.

Williams-Sonoma offers gift cards and maintains a wedding & gift registry. They also demonstrate social responsibility by supporting the Recycle 100 program. So, when you are finished ordering from your Williams-Sonoma catalog, don't just toss it in the garbage can. Recycle the catalog by going to the website www.williams-sonoma.com/recycle to find out how you can assist the company in their recycling efforts.

If your curiosity has been piqued, visit the website at www.william-sonoma.com for more information and to view their current offering of products. Orders can be completed on line or 24 hours by calling 1-800-541-2233.