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I've got a big, Southern family and since there are 8 cousins in our generation, we do a one person each swap of gift giving. I got my cousin who is late 20's, enjoys things but hasn't quite got domesticated yet. I'm also the one guilty of overspending every year because I, frankly, can- I just do it with things that no one can easily google for how much it cost and aggressively check for sales. Each year I tend to go with something culinary, because when we all get together I'm often cooking up a storm for everyone and want to encourage them to do even the basics in their own homes, and it always goes over well (or with the best possible manners). So! This year I hit the jackpot, because the cousin I got just got engaged (yesterday!), and that means I can tack his gift into an engagement gift.   So I wanted to solicit your opinions, advice, death threats, and general non-shitposts about what recommendations in the "inexpensive but well made" sections of; Beginner's All-Around Cookbook (is the Food Lab too much science for non-dorks? Is How to Cook Everything woefully imprecise?) If you had one knife, and you weren't going to sharpen it very often, what would it be? Then I'll probably get a handsome cutting board because god help me if I find out they're cutting on glass or similar. If you have any suggestions, please post them! For others, I'm pretty sure those three things are the bare minimum it takes to start learning to cook, but other ideas are welcome. Or post your own requests. 
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Dec 11, 2017 18:49
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 05:09 |
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https://smile.amazon.com/Victorinox...ords=chef+knife Victorinox Chef Knife. It doesn't have the gravitas of a forged chunk of German steel, it's not elegant, but it holds an edge and the baby jesus doesn't cry if you throw it in the dishwasher. https://smile.amazon.com/Update-Int...set+bread+knife Cheap offset serrated for bread and bitchy tomatoes https://smile.amazon.com/Victorinox...aring+knife+set A couple each of straight and serrated. I love these things- they are wickedly, wickedly sharp, just the right size for everything a chef knife is not just the right size for. If your giftee likes eggs, give them an 8" slope sided ceramic nonstick saute pan. Don't pay more than $20. This is the egg pan. It is only for eggs. It is never touched by metal https://smile.amazon.com/Fox-Run-38...lt+cellar&psc=1 Pretty marble salt cellar. It will make you feel special when you season your food. That's important.
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Dec 11, 2017 19:33
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bloody ghost titty posted:Beginner's All-Around Cookbook (is the Food Lab too much science for non-dorks? Is How to Cook Everything woefully imprecise?) bloody ghost titty posted:Then I'll probably get a handsome cutting board because god help me if I find out they're cutting on glass or similar. My wife's birthday was yesterday. This cutting board was not cheap ($105), but it lived up to ATK's hype:  It's a full 1.5 x 2 feet. Get a couple rulers out in front of yourself so you can appreciate that. It's a glorious luxury not to have to constantly clear your cutting board. Broke down 2 lbs of broccoli and had plenty of room for the florets, stalks, scraps, with work room left over. Supposedly teak is soft enough that edge grain vs. end grain isn't a big deal in this case. Probably just marketing  but the wife wants what she wants.Note: this thing is a bear to clean. It doesn't fit all the way inside our split sink, but I can rest it on the divider and wrestle it without getting water everywhere. Now, we used to have a normal bench scraper (ours was $1 plastic from a kitchen supply, but this image shows the concept in action):  But to go with the monster cutting board, I bought a cake lifter for $12:  Which is 8" x 8" (2.6x larger!), not counting the handle. The cutting board is too unwieldy to take it and scrape veggies into skillets, but this thing solves that problem  Question for y'all: does anyone have a cookbook stand that they like? We have enough counterspace to lay our cookbooks flat, but it might be nice, yeah?
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Dec 11, 2017 21:18
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What's a food you can make as a present that will keep nicely for, say, a week and travels well? My partner and I have to travel for a few hours between families using the train so things that are easy to carry and make in advance are really helpful. I've kind of exhausted the mileage from fudge, chocolate bark, that sort of thing. Savoury ideas that don't involve canning or putting stuff into jars would be useful.
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Dec 12, 2017 21:47
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Spiced nuts should be able to hold up well for a week. Freezer is the best but as long as you're starting with fresh from the store / your freezer ingredients you should be fine. These spiced pecans (scroll down to "Viv's Addiction") are our go-to. The process is sticky and doesn't look good until the last 2 minutes of baking, but they disappear fast Our favorite granola If you have an NO2 whipper, you can infuse alcohol or bitters on short notice. DIY, high spice or high sugar condiments (mustard, ketchup) should be fine for a couple-hour train ride, especially if you can have a lunchbox-sized cooler. DIY hot sauce Lemon zest sugar Spicy honey - never tried it, but it was FOTM a year or two ago Homemade baking mix
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Dec 13, 2017 16:41
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 05:09 |
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Bollock Monkey posted:What's a food you can make as a present that will keep nicely for, say, a week and travels well? My partner and I have to travel for a few hours between families using the train so things that are easy to carry and make in advance are really helpful. I've kind of exhausted the mileage from fudge, chocolate bark, that sort of thing. Savoury ideas that don't involve canning or putting stuff into jars would be useful. I bought 16lbs of belly and I'm making bacon for a few people. I'm gonna have to buy another 20lbs I think.
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Dec 14, 2017 03:49
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