Gifts For The Foodie In Your Life

I first posted this last December, after Christmas, but this is the perfect time to repost and update this list, as there are only 11 shopping days left until Christmas!!

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It's no secret that I'm a foodie. Big time. I absolutely love to cook, and love to find new gadgets and tools to make my meals even more amazing.

My sweetie is my guinea pig. He eats each and every one of my experiments without question.....and usually without complaint.

There aren't many fails, although there have been one or two.

Not only does he eat all my concoctions, he encourages me to experiment more and more.

And he regularly gifts me with amazing kitchen tools to aid me in my efforts.

Last Christmas was no different, and I am so blessed. Sweetie consulted a chef friend of ours in order to find me the very best knives.

Let me tell you something, I really thought my knife set was a good one. I had a full set of Calphalon knives, which I've been using for about 6 years. I cooked a LOT of great meals using those knives!

But I have to admit they are absolutely nothing compared to these Shun knives. Oh my goodness, just amazing! The feel in my hand, the weight, the sharpness....oh my gosh, the sharpness. Do you know you are more likely to cut yourself when using a dull knife than when using a sharp one? True.

Shun Classic Chef's Knife on Amazon

My daughter will inherit my Calphalon set when she moves out....it's already boxed up for her.

Sweetie also surprised me with a new set of cookware - I guess he really, REALLY wants me to keep cooking for him!

This is the newest set that Calphalon makes, with a ceramic nonstick interior. Gorgeous cookware, and replaces an older Calphalon set that....guess who.....gave me as a gift about 5 years ago.

Guess who will inherit the older Calphalon set?

She's going to be in good shape, kitchen wise, when she moves out!

Calphalon Ceramic Cookware Set on Amazon

Isn't that a gorgeous set of cookware? They clean up so beautifully with  no effort at all - love it!

I have already shared a couple of my other favorite kitchen items in a previous post, but here's a reminder.

My red Le Creuset Dutch Oven is one of the most used items in my well stocked kitchen. I simply adore this pot, and I'm so glad I finally bit the bullet and bought it last year.

I also told you recently about the new toy I had discovered a while back - my Sous Vide. Well, I used it to cook my Christmas Dinner last year and it was so amazingly fabulous, without a doubt the most perfect cooking gadget I own.

I made a roast tenderloin of beef, and I wanted it to be between medium rare and medium, so I set the Sous Vide for 140 degrees.

I cut the large tenderloin in half, seasoned each half well with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Each half went into a gallon size freezer Ziploc bag with a drizzle of good olive oil, some rosemary from my herb garden on the deck, and 5 smashed garlic cloves.

When we were just about ready to sit down, I took out the tenderloin and browned it in a hot pan.

Recipe for Perfect Every Time Roast Tenderloin at Chef Steps

It was done exactly the way I wanted it - no guessing, just perfect! I served the beef with mashed potatoes, peas & pearl onions, a creamy horseradish sauce, and a beef demi glace. And warm, fluffy dinner rolls, of course.

Heaven....pure heaven. The perfect Christmas dinner, without a doubt.

The next night when I was heating up the leftovers, the Ziploc bag went right into the Sous Vide again. That beef was heated up perfectly, still amazingly moist, and still at the perfect temperature - pure genius, this thing, I'm telling you! Worth every cent and then some, without a doubt.

I bought mine at Amazon over the summer, using credit card points I had to bring the price down. But it truly is a gadget that's worth the money.

OXO Potato Ricer at Amazon

I also recently told you about my potato ricer which makes the whole process of making mashed potatoes super simple - I never peel potatoes any more, which makes me very, very happy! You can't keep an Irish girl from her potatoes, you know!

Another great gift for a foodie would be a really good pair of pepper and salt mills. 

William Bounds Salt Mill at Amazon

I have had my salt and pepper mills for a long time now, and they get  used daily. The William Bounds mills are wonderful, they are such high quality and grind the pepper and salt to exactly the right consistency for your taste with the adjustable mechanism. They also come with a lifetime warranty and are made in the USA!

One other gadget that I'm really enamored with is my air fryer. I first told you about it in this post, and my love for it has not diminished one bit!

Avalon Bay Air Fryer at Amazon

I'm telling you, you do NOT have to give up your 'fried' foods if you are trying to eat healthy! You just need one of these babies to 'fry' without any oil!!  My sweetie craves the buffalo wings I make with the air fryer, it's one of the few meal requests he makes regularly!

Even if you have already finished your Christmas shopping, there are always other gift giving occasions such as Valentine's Day, birthdays, anniversaries.

Keep these gifts in mind for the foodies in your life.

They will repay you with amazing meals, time after time!