Gift Giving Guy

Welcome to Christmas Day! I hope you enjoy some festive time with family and friends this holiday. After a wonderful breakfast, my wife and I opened presents nestled under the Fraser fir this morning. I chose a Top Chef theme for my wife’s gifts. She is a taste-of-home triple threat: a cooking/baking/hosting guru. Since we are both fans of this Bravo TV cooking competition, I knew a series of chef-inspired gifts would fulfill a few of her Christmas wishes.

I introduced the gift theme with a Photoshopped note card featuring the Top Chef logo (pictured above). It read: “To my Top Chef, Merry Christmas!” I printed this message on 4×6 glossy paper using my Epson PictureMate Deluxe photo printer. Then I signed the note and sealed it in a stationery envelope. Below you’ll find the list for her Top Chef Christmas in the order I presented the gifts.

		I attached this mini whisk key chain to the note card. My wife recently tossed her old key chain after the metal fob tarnished from years of use, so she was very pleased to see her chef-style replacement.
		Tom Colicchio serves as head judge on Top Chef, so I included his hardcover, Think Like a Chef. Although the book features over 100 recipes, Colicchio offers more than a cook book. He writes essays on cooking theory, such as when and how to stray from the recipe.
		Our old plastic spaghetti spoon is no match for the WMF Profi Plus 12-1/2-Inch Stainless Steel Pasta Spoon. I like this spoon’s clean lines and dishwasher friendliness.
		Every chef needs a handy immersible mixer with easy clean up. The KitchenAid Hand Blender (KHB300WH) comes in white, matching our other white-colored appliances, including the KitchenAid heavy duty mixing stand.
		We both love pasta, so this All-Clad LTD 7-Quart Stockpot with Pasta Insert will get plenty of use in our kitchen.
		Our current Calphalon pots and pans are showing their age. This All-Clad LTD 8-piece Cookware Set comes in a easy-to-open wooden crate, reflecting the quality inside.

I also received great Christmas gifts from my wife:

• Better Homes and Gardens New Grilling Book
• John Grisham’s new novel Playing for Pizza
• An emergency hand-crank radio from one of my favorite stores, Restoration Hardware. A 24-hour power outage in August 2007 left me wanting for this gadget.
• A red analog clock shaped like an oversize escape command key from KarmaKiss.com. My wife must have seen this post; this is quirky gift #7.
• A cashmere scarf in black
• Six great choices from Eddie Bauer:
  • a mocha-colored mock turtleneck
  • a red pullover fleece jacket
  • a V-neck sweater in navy
  • a half-zip sweater in sage
  • a light blue long-sleeve oxford-collar shirt
  • a sky-blue-and-green plaid long-sleeve shirt