Top Ten Tuesday: Cooking Gift Guide

I started a series last week with Top Ten Christmas gift ideas. Last week focused on items to get the Once A Month Cook; today is all about what to get any cook (or want to be cook).

Again, this isn’t a traditional gift guide where I have received all of these items to review. Some of these items I may have reviewed throughout the year but they have become staples in my kitchen nonetheless. All of these items are picked up and used on a regular basis in my kitchen no matter what I am cooking! (Yes, most of them are affiliate links.)

1. Hamilton Beach 6-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker – I know it was on last weeks once a month cooking gift list but it is a MUST for this gift list as well. Every kitchen needs one of these! They are so practical and easy to use and they make dinner time and taking dishes to carry-in’s a snap. Even the most inexperienced cook can be a success with a slow cooker. And like most things the price has dropped over the last year. I have seen this slow cooker for around $40 several places.

2. Cuisinart Rice Multi-Cooker with Fuzzy Technology – Don’t let that word Fuzzy scare you. It is a good thing! This rice cooker is absolutely amazing. It cooks rice, oatmeal, steams vegetables and works as a slow cooker. It is programmable which means that you can program it at before you head out for the day and have your rice or vegetables done when you return. It is as much of a help in the kitchen as the slow cooker! I did write a review on it last year if you want to take a look at some of the easy to use features. It has also come down quite a bit in price in the last year making it less than $100 now! Yay!

3. Pampered Chef Mix N Chop – I’m really not sure what I did before this handy tool? Okay, I used a cooking spoon. But that isn’t the point. This little gadget is perfect for breaking up cooked meats especially hamburger, I use it regularly.

4. Built Oven Mitt – I reviewed one of these for the Mother’s Day Kitchen Gift Guide and it has become my go-to oven mitt. It is stylish yet practical. And most importantly, I have never burnt my hand using it.

5. Fresh Wave Odor Neutralizer – so this isn’t exactly a cooking tool but it is a product I won’t be without in my kitchen any longer. Whether it is the smell of onions, overdue trash removal or cooked broccoli that is stinking up my kitchen, this product can eliminate it! I was highly skeptical but it really does work. And I have since purchased packages of it for garbage and diaper pails to help neutralize those odors.

6. Black & Decker Iced Tea Maker – I use to live in the South, I blame them for my sweet tea addiction. And I do mean addiction. In the summer months this thing runs constantly. A little less in the winter months but it does run. I love some sweet tea and having it ready in 10 minutes when I am having a *weak* moment is nothing to laugh at!

7. KitchenAid Stand Mixer – Of course, right? Who doesn’t have and love their KitchenAid Mixer. There are different varieties but by far this is the stand mixer to have! I love mine!

8. CUTCO Knives (not an affiliate link) – These are on last weeks list as well but I seriously don’t know how you get any cooking done without a good set of knives. I use knives in nearly every cooking adventure I pursue. Having good ones is a worthwhile investment.

9. Ninja Master Prep – I reviewed the last version as part of the Once A Month Mom Tweetup in 2009 and it has gotten A LOT of use! It is so versatile to use for chopping and drink making, whether it is a smoothie or a margarita. The multiple containers make it easy to chop different items in one swoop too!

10. Pressure Cooker – Okay, I have to admit, I haven’t received mine that I have ordered yet BUT I promise I am going to love it and use it at least once a week when it comes. You have heard of slow cookers, this is the opposite of that, it is a FAST cooker. You can cut the cooking time down to 1/3! Imagine a roast in 30 minutes instead of 90! And these aren’t your grandma’s pressure cookers. They have really been created with state-of-the-art technology for preventing explosions and burns. If you haven’t had a chance to try one out lately I encourage you to do so. They are A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. I reviewed a Fissler most recently.

And after all those, if you still don’t see the perfect thing for the cook in your life, try taking a look at the Once A Month Cooking Gift Guide, OAMM Suggested Equipment post, the Mother’s Day Kitchen Gift Guide, or the OAMM Amazon Store.

This post is linked up to Top Ten Tuesday at Oh Amanda.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 30th, 2010 at 8:00 am and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.