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Written:
11/2006
We’ve asked 10 members
of our editorial staff to recommend a special
item for the serious home cook.
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Every year we ask our editorial staff to
recommend gifts for home cooks. In 2004, we
asked them to recommend stocking stuffers, and
in 2005 we asked them to recommend items between
$20 and $50. This year, we asked the test cooks
and editors to suggest items that home cooks
aren’t likely to buy for themselves—either
because they’re specialized or a little costly.
Here are their
suggestions:
Christopher Kimball,
Founder and Editor: Stovetop Cappuccino
Maker
This device won’t make great, foamy
cappuccino for a crowd, but it is extremely well
suited for one large cup of café au lait, as it
steams the milk and makes the coffee all at the
same time. A great gift. (Click here for
our roast coffee tasting.)
Bialetti Mukka
Express Stovetop Cappuccino Maker
$89.95,
item #0698, www.amazon.com
Jack
Bishop, Executive Editor: White Truffle
Honey
Frankly, most truffle products
don't deliver. I hate truffle oil, for instance.
This stuff, however, is amazing. I put out a jar
with my cheese board. It works especially well
with aged cheddar and is also great in a simple
grilled
cheese sandwich.
Truffle Honey,
$18.95 (4.5 ounces),
www.amazon.com
Rebecca Hays, Managing
Editor: Instant-Read Digital
Thermometer
Sight, touch, and instinct
are age-old ways to gauge when food is done, but
for consistent results, none is as reliable as
taking the food’s temperature. We use our
top-rated instant-read thermometer, the
ThermoWorks Thermapen, many times a day in the
test kitchen. Recently, a Super-Fast Thermapen
came out, and it is indeed a little faster than
the standard version, which is no slouch. (If
you already have a Thermapen, click here for
information on how to calibrate
it.
Thermapen, $85.00,
www.thermoworks.com
David Pazmiño,
Test Cook: Digital Scale
Weighing
ingredients produces the best results,
especially in baking recipes like our
Classic Pound
Cake. I prefer digital scales, as they're
easy to read. I especially like Soehnle's new
model 65055—it's even sleeker and lighter than
the Soehnle Futura model that it
replaced.
Soehnle Scale 65055, $27.95,
model #65055, www.chefscorner.com,
Erika Bruce, Associate Editor:
Revolving Cake Stand
Revolving cake
stands really help make frosting easy. They
elevate a cake like our Tender Yellow
Layer Cake, giving the baker a better view
and making it possible to hold the spatula
steady while rotating the stand. I like Ateco’s
cake stands. The Professional Icing Turntable (a
metal table over an enameled cast-iron base) is
for the professional or very serious home cake
decorator, and the plastic version (Deluxe
Revolving Cake Stand) is just as good for
occasional home use.
Ateco Professional
Icing Turntable, $64.95, item #
CD0910W
Ateco Deluxe Revolving Cake
Stand, $26.50, item #
CD0610
www.kitchenkrafts.com
Katherine
Bell, Web Managing Editor, Salt
Caramels
These chocolate-covered caramels
topped with smoked Welsh sea salt and gray salt
from off the coast of Brittany are unusual and
addictive—I love the combination of sweetness
and saltiness.
35 Piece Gray and Smoked
Salt Caramels, $48 ($22 for 15
pieces)
www.franschocolates.com
Lisa
McManus, Senior Editor: Knife
Sharpener
We used to send all our knives
out to be professionally sharpened, but now we
use the Chef’s Choice Model 130 Professional
Sharpening Station. It's the Rolls-Royce of
knife sharpeners and basically foolproof. And
click here for
help in choosing a carving knife.
Chef’s
Choice Model 130 Professional Sharpening
Station$139.00, Item #: CC130,
www.cutleryandmore.com
Kenji Alt, Test
Cook, Immersion Blender
My hand blender
is a real timesaver and easy to clean,
especially after making our marinara
sauce. There’s no need to blend in batches,
wash a food processor, or cope with the blades
at the bottom of the blender. Just rinse it off
and toss it back in the drawer. We’ve found that
the KitchenAid immersion blender does just as
good a job as many traditional
blenders.
KitchenAid KHB100 Immersion Hand
Blender,$43.00, www.amazon.com
Lindsay McSweeney,
Web Editor, Caviar
The classic New Year’s
treat—champagne and caviar—is not unreasonable
if you serve American caviar, an eco-friendly,
reasonably priced alternative to Caspian Sea
caviar that's still really tasty. To buy caviar
that won’t bust the bank, look for paddlefish
caviar (paddlefish is a relative of sturgeon). I
like Gourmet Direct International’s Fresh
Malossol Paddlefish Caviar, which has a buttery,
briny, fresh, and clean-tasting flavor. And if
you're serving the caviar with chilled vodka,
here's our favorite cocktail
shaker.
Gourmet
Direct International’s Fresh Malossol Paddlefish
Caviar, $15/ounce (not including shipping),
www.911Caviar.com
Sandra
Wu, Associate Editor, Paella Pan
You can
make great paella without special equipment (my
recipe for Paella
calls for either a Dutch oven or a paella pan),
but a paella pan makes a great presentation and
really helps develop the socarrat, the
distinctively crusty bottom layer of rice that
characterizes a traditional paella. The
13.5-inch La Ideal Enameled Paella Pan combines
a traditional appearance with an enameled
surface that requires little maintenance. La
Ideal Enameled Paella Pan, $24.00,
www.spanishtable.com.
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