With the gift-giving deadline closing in, Nancy Leson and I offer our suggestions for the cooks on your list. I thought it would be a goof to start with some of the most exorbitantly priced items around. But don't worry, we've got lots of ideas for normal budgets, too.
First out of the gate was the SMEG toaster with decorations by Dolce & Gabbana. It's a nice looking toaster, but $650? And it only toasts two slices.
When I mentioned the Rachiele copper Ultimate Kitchen Sink for $7,000 Leson scoffed. "Ha! Call that expensive?" So, I was forced to get serious with the Sveid custom corkscrew, handmade of aviation-grade titanium and yours for a low, low...
...Seventy. Thousand. Dollars.
To which Nancy said "Let's get real" and so we did. For coffee lovers Nance likes the Bialetti Moka Express stovetop coffee maker for as little as $25. Here it is in action.
Even less expensive is the spray duck fat pictured above. Her friends Alan and Anne got it for her at Double DD Meats in Mountlake Terrace. Cookbooks? Leson loves Najmieh Batmanglij's exhaustive"Cooking in Iran." "Spendy... but if you have any interest in Persian cooking and culture, totally worth it."
For stocking stuffers I suggest a set of kitchen tweezers. They're inexpensive and versatile for all the stuff tongs are too clumsy to pick up.
Nance, tweaking me on my recent mandoline mishap, suggests a cheaper version along with safety gloves.
Happy Panic Shopping, eaters.
"I want a charge account for large amounts." – "Santa Baby"
