“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of another.” – Charles Dickens
Give. That’s all you need to do with your time on Earth. Give. Without expectation. Without pressure. It doesn’t have to be a lot. It doesn’t have to be material. It could just be quality time with a loved one. Or an empathetic ear. Or working on your true purpose that’ll help shape your community, your business, your world. It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as it is genuine. So, give without abandon. Put in the effort. That’s how good karma finds you – because you’re not looking for it, you’re too busy spreading joy to the world. Below, in case you’re feeling stumped, we wanted to share our fun holiday gift guides filled with things that delight us. Happy Holidays!
Gifts For People Who Love to Cook
Cookbooks and food travelogues are the gifts that keep on giving. From niche lessons on approaching stocks to the rise in plant-based eating and California cuisine, there is a lot of love, hunger-inducing visuals and history here for everyone.
- Everything I Want to Eat: Sqirl and the New California Cooking by Jessica Koslow | $26
- Rice Noodle Fish: Deep Travels Through Japan’s Food Culture by Matt Goulding | $19
- Breakfast: Recipes to Wake Up For by George Weld & Evan Hanczor | $35
- MUNCHIES: Late-Night Meals from the World’s Best Chefs by JJ Goode, Helen Hollyman | $15
- The Basque Book: A Love Letter in Recipes from the Kitchen of Txikito by Alexandra Raij & Eder Montero | $20
- SymmetryBreakfast: 100 Recipes for Loving the Cook by Michael Zee | $16
- Mastering Stocks & Broths: A Comprehensive Culinary Approach to Using Traditional Techniques and No-Waste Methods by Rachel Mamane | $29
- Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine by Sarah Lohman | $14
- Salad for President: A Cookbook Inspired by Artists by Julia Sherman | $21
- Sweet: Desserts from London’s Ottolenghi by Yotam Ottolenghi | $21
- L.A. Mexicano: Recipes, People & Places by Bill Esparza | $20
- The PHO Cookbook: Easy to Adventurous Recipes for Vietnam’s Favorite Soup and Noodles by Andrea Nguyen | $14
Gifts For The Host/Hostess With the Mostess
Sometimes the best gifts are the ones you didn’t even know you wanted. These would fit that category well.
- Wooden Edobitsu Rice Jar | $139 (On Korin.com) A gorgeously hand-crafted Japanese-style vessel to keep your rice from drying out. A game changer.
- Brazilian Home’s Soapstone Cooking Pot | $68 (on WhiskNYC.com) Upgrade your cookware with this 800ml, heat-retaining pot, complete with stunning brass details.
- Chelsea Miller Chef’s Knife | $800 (on ChelseaMillerKnives.com) – Made by upcycling horseshoe files, these knives are truly one-of-a-kind.
- Victoria 8″ Tortilla Press | $35 (on Amazon.com) Buying masa is easy, the key to good tortillas is a heavy weighted press! Try something new in the new year!
- Dreilagenstahl Petite Knife | $490 (on Quitokeeto.com) Art comes in all shapes and sizes. In this case, why not make it functional, kitchen-friendly art, that just so happens to cut meat & veg with precise efficiency.
- Petrified Wood Cutting Board/Cheese Board | $88 (on ShopTerrain.com) A show-stopping, natural way to display cheese, cocktails or finger foods.
- Mollie Embroidered Apron & Duet Tea Set for Two | Both $38 (on Anthropologie.com) A way to keep your tea time and cooking time both feminine and cool.
- Sugar Pinch Pot | $45 (on NeedSupply.com) A very good reason to upgrade from a ball jar. I love the gold spoon it comes with too!
- Millie Cutting Board | $120 Hand-painted with modern, indigenous inspired symbols. These colorful kitchen cutting-boards sell like hot cakes online!
- Pico Brew Craft Beer Machine | $699 (on PicoBrew.com) Calling all craft beer enthusiasts! Give micro-brewing a try with this slick, easy-to-use personal home brewing machine featured at this year’s World’s Fair Nano.
- Mosser Glass Jadite Glass Cake Stand | $59 (on Food52.com) A proper way for your favorite baker to display the cakes they slave over.
- Amelia BK Tassle Containers | $65 The perfect gift for your Type-A organized friend. Good for storing food, spices or tea.
- Soul Magical Candy Coat Bowl | $225 Ice-cream topped ceramics. Yes! Mostly because it makes you smile.
- Minh Singer Ceramic Bowls w/Glass Geode | $100 (on Minh.nyc) This Brooklyn artist has figured out how to make geode art from broken glass. Your dining table needs this!
- Mud to Life Pour Over + Mug | $88 Because ceramic coffee pour overs are the future! Who said that? We just did.
- MQuan Ceramic Nesting Bowls – Set of 3 | $300 Another Brooklyn artist making spirituality a part of the kitchen. This is just one of her many cool designs.
- Little Bear Pots Ceramic Ring Dish | $40 We find the hand-painted B&W designs so stunning. Great for homes with a little ethnic/modern bent.
- Recreation Center Shop’s Rubber Dipped Raw Mark Mug | $35 Found at a local holiday market in Brooklyn, these will make early morning coffee rituals something to look forward to.
The Best Artisan Foods/Drinks for Gifting
Many of our food. curated. alumni have put together some cool packaged items for the holidays. We certainly didn’t want you to miss them, plus more recent product finds that would elevate your dessert trays or stocking stuffers!
- NYShuk’s Middle Eastern Spice Collection | $59 Handmade and designed with their unique love of Middle Eastern/Israeli spices, you need to start cooking with these STAT.
- Cafe Warshafsky’s Artisan Shortbread Cookie Sampler w/Rose Water, Lavender/Coconut, Black Currant/Anise & Orange Blossom/Sesame Flavors | $22 I just don’t think you’ll find shortbread cookies as fragrant as these!
- Mike’s Hot Honey 24oz Chef’s Bottle | $18 Our favorite condiment/game-changer gets supersized for your home pizzas, ice cream sundaes, fried chicken, pork chops, popcorn and more. You seriously could eat this on everything. The bottle size makes sure you don’t run out!
- Granola Lab’s Mason Jar Granola Gift Box | $30 Why eat plain cornflakes when you can have gourmet granola that is a million times better than cornflakes? Look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself. It’s important.
- The Baking Bean’s Rise & Shine Cookies (3-Pack) | $7 These breakfast banana pancake & oatmeal inspired cookies were the darlings of my recent documentary. Need I say more?
- Spread-MMMs Small Batch, Artisanal Olive Tapenade | $20 When you need a quick, umami infused way to present that crusty baguette, look no further.
- Big Gay Ice Cream Blueberry Gobbler Pint | $6 Blueberries, pie crust, vanilla and balsamic swirls, oh my! We betcha can’t buy just one.
- Dona Chai Turmeric Concentrate | $26 Literally, the best thing to happen to your steamed milk. Good for the mind & body.
- Charlito Cocina’s Dry Cured Black Truffle Salami | $37 Truffles are one of those things you love or you LOVE. For some reason, the way it blends with the heritage pork is pure, truffle magic.
- Greenhook Ginsmith’s American Dry Gin | $43 One of the more fragrant, beautiful gins I’ve had in a long time. Awesome for elegant cocktails. Made in Greenpoint!
- JoJo’s Sriracha Mini Sampler Box | $32 Because there is more to sriracha than the average rooster sauce. This proves it!
- MOMO Dressing Holiday Gift Box | $30 A perfect gift for your Japanophile loved ones showcasing Japanese food influenced caramelized onion dressing, fig confiture, apple miso or maple ginger marinate for your meats, vegetables or seafood.
- Noona’s “Sweet As Bae” Cinnamon Ginger Pear Ice Cream Pint | $11 With a knack for infusing beloved Korean flavors into small-batch ice cream, food artisan Hannah Bae is making the dessert world more interesting. I also HIGHLY recommend her Toasted Rice flavor which, if you are a vanilla freak, will blow your mind.
Good luck with your new giving mantra. We’ll be available on Twitter & Facebook if you need any personalized gift ideas. Thanks again for stopping by, and don’t be afraid to hit us up!
xxSkeeter