2018 Gift Guide: Kitchen

GUYS GUYS GUYS. 

This is my way of shopping this weekend without actually shopping. You know? I want so much to take advantage of every.sale (because you can't save money if you don't spend money, that old chestnut), but I don't need a thing and our house needs to be organized and emptied and NOT filled with more things. But you should definitely be shopping for the cooks in your life! Or maybe...people who need to start cooking a little bit more? People who like hanging out in the kitchen and letting other people cook for them? You know your audience. 

I love kitchen gifts because they can be food cooks or non-cooks depending on what you get (there's frozen pizza on here!), and everyone 1. eats and 2. has a kitchen. So! Here are some of my favorite things + things I'd be thrilled to get. They aren't sponsored at all, just things I've bought for myself or have my eye on and would love to get. 

1. Le Creuset pot. Start swinging for the fences, right? There are so many sizes and colors to choose from, and they change all the time, which is fun and super hard because I WANT THEM ALL. I'm obsessed with the Matte Navy color at the moment. I have three (I know) other sizes of Le Creuset dutch ovens and honestly use them all three year round. We make stock, soup, stew, or big pieces of meat in ours. They clean up well (I don't put them in the dishwasher) and have a lifetime warranty in which the company will actually send you a brand new pot with no hassle - one of ours got super scratched on the bottom and they replaced it quickly. Tons of places sell Le Creuset but this time of year I find a lot of great deals at TJ Maxx-types of places, and the warranty is still honored through Le Creuset. 
2. Wustof knives. All of my knives are Wustof Classic, an important distinction because they have a ton of different lines. I've collected an entire set slowly - I did this to end up with exactly the knives I wanted rather than a set that I wouldn't use everything out of. I buy lots of things on sale at cutleryandmore.com and keep an eye at Bed Bath and Beyond for any in the clearance sections. The other Wustof lines aren't as sturdy and sharp, so I'd go for Classic and just get one or two instead of a larger set that wasn't as nice. 
3. Lou Malnati's pizza. You mail it frozen, it arrives with dry ice which feels fancy, the recipient ends up with a yeasty, deep dish marvel that is WAY better than any other frozen pizza I've ever had. I love this for Christmas or any other gift-giving time of year! Hint: when people have babies they like to receive this. 
4. Kitchen towels. True story, CURRENTLY in my kitchen some towels are covered in Thanksgiving grease, breastmilk, baby spit up, dog...fluid (is it drool? is it that weird bile puke? is it water from walking outside in the rain?), melted plastic from a sad knife-on-burner situation, and crumbs from Beck eating pie, which is never a tidy affair. I have a gazillion kitchen towels and wash them often, but I love gifting new ones to people because after a certain amount of bleach you just...give up and use them forever, right? Fresh new towels are so much fun. I always take a look at Target's clearance section for anything fun/cute, and I have recently gotten a set of these flour sack towels from William's Sonoma - they're massive, which I love, but thin so they don't take up a ton of room in drawers. 
5. Table runner. Similar to above, do people buy these for themselves? Maybe, I don't know. I have a thin striped one Food52.com that isn't available right now (but they have tons of others!) and get so many compliments because it can be dressed up or down for the entire year, no joke. 
6. Wine glasses. I don't have any particular favorites here, but I find that I can almost always get nice but affordable sets at TJ Maxx types of places. We have three sets of wine glasses and NONE of them are complete because we USE our wine glasses, so having new ones as gifts is always nice. 
7. Scented candles. Of course! Especially in the fall and winter, I love seasonally-scented candles. I buy bunches of Nest candles at Sephora sales in small sizes for presents, and locally I get these Modern Forestry soy candles. They're on Amazon now, too! 
8. Flaky salt. Weird, maybe, but how nice is a kitchen towel (for wrapping bread) gifted with flaky salt and a fancy bottle of oil or vinegar? My favorite is Maldon and I get it from Amazon because I prefer not to hunt around grocery stories with screaming kids. 
9. Staub braiser (pictured above full of weeknight chicken parm YUM). I got this this year on a huge sale from Food52, and use it several times per week. My brother in law has his eye on one too because we've taken it to so many family gatherings. It's large enough for bigger batches of side dishes for potlucks, and pretty enough to use as a serving dish. I have the grenadine color but love them all. 
10. Gift cards. My sister hates this one, I love it. This is kind of my ultimate picky person gift, or for the person that seems kind of discerning in what they like to use. They're also perfect for someone who might be about to move, it's FUN to pick out new stuff for your own kitchen (unless someone hates it, and then don't get them a gift card). Williams Sonoma, Crate and Barrel, Amazon, Food52, and Target are all places that I love to shop for kitchen items. 

What else is on your list to get the home cooks in your life?