Socks and Undershirts…

These are the LAME gifts I usually give people in my family when I can’t decide what to give them. At the very least I know they are things they need.

This year I am all about them things they WANT. To help me on my mission to giving gifts that excite I have revamped my buying strategy (which was clearly non existent) and decided to group my friends and family into categories based on their interests.

In this post, I have focused on gift ideas for the food/cook enthusiast in my life. I can almost guarantee you will have some chef on  your list as well.  And we’re not talking pots and pans, forks and knives, the perfect egg maker, or any, “As Seen on T.V.” ideas, we’re talking “a cure your own bacon” types of gifts. I can’t wait to give some of these gifts to my friends and family and hope they help you to elevate your gift game this year as well.

1.    Cuisinart Stainless-Steel Ice Cream Maker

All my closest family and friends can tell you that I am known to randomly shout, “I could really go for some ice cream right now.” And usually one of these “loved” one replies with, “where are we going to get ice cream right now?”. The dialogue continues with me telling them that if they really loved me they would go out to the store and get me some. But anyway, this awesome creation eliminates this exact dilemma, that I know others often find themselves in as well, because now you can make ice cream at home! This thing is super easy to use and super easy to clean, which means it’s good in my book.

2. iPad & iPhone Protective Covers

Can you believe how far we’ve come in the world? Today they have things like protective, disposable, sleeves for your devices to use when doing things like cooking with messy hands. No more scrolling through the recipe with that pinkey finger (does anyone else rely on the pinkey finger to be the least dirty of all the fingers)because the sleeves will protect your device from getting dirty and can be thrown out after the delicious creation is finished.

3. Stuffed Hamburger Press with Lifter

Burger + Delicious Stuffing=YUM for ANYONE!

“Designed to make burgers better than ever, this innovative tool shapes perfect meat patties, then stuffs them with your favorite savory fillings.” Say no more!

4. The Instant Marinator

I can’t remember how many times I’ve heard my parents say in anguish, “Oh, I forgot to marinate the meat!” Well my friends, this device takes out stress of having to marinate your meat, poultry, whatever, for hours in order to get that delicious flavor you want. The Instant Marinator claims to only need five minutes to transform your food into mouth watering delicious-ness.

5. Twelve South HoverBar Stand

How many times have you or someone you know been cooking and they have to tirelessly go back-and-forth leaning over the iPad screen to try and read a recipe? Chances are, a few times. So, help a cook out and get them the HoverBar which allows them to suspend their device from relatively anything, taking out the hassle and wasted time of not being able to see the screen. (Bonus: You get brownie points if you pair this gift with #2 on this list)

6. The Original Baconkit

Okay friends, we left the best gift idea for last. I don’t know too many people who don’t love bacon. Honestly, this gift can be given to anybody, not just a cook/food enthusiast. This kit allows you to cure and and season your own bacon, which is incredible! After you make this do-it-yourself bacon, you may never go back to the store brought kind (just warning you).