(Pssssst....)

[Sparkly]

(Anybody got any great kitchen gadget birthday gift ideas for a certain chef who's 'got everything?' If so, please PM me!) Shhhh...

[Warpy]

1. Mandoline

There are plastic ones available that do just as good a job as the pricey metal restaurant types and will stand up to anything a home chef throws at it (or on it). It's one of those things you didn't know you needed until you got one.

Silicon pads for baking sheets. Nothing ever sticks to them, and you'll never have to buy parchment again (unless you want to cook en papilotte).

On edit: doing this on the forum will give him a lot of suggestions to respond to positively or negatively.

[Sparkly]

2. Believe it or not

he has both of those! Thanks though. :hi:

[lavenderdiva]

3. gift certificate for Williams Sonoma?

When we got married, I registered at Williams-Sonoma, but several people gave us gift certificates instead of actual gifts. I am still enjoying the luxury of selecting things (I'm very frugal and trying to eek out the experience some 3 years later!), and not having to actually fork over cash for them. I know some people have a thing about giving gift certificates in lieu of an actual gift, but they sure are fun! Do you have a Sur La Table in your area? They have cooking classes there all the time, and you could give him a gift certificate to be used to take a cooking class... If he's really into cooking, and got everything, maybe he would like learning something new?

I got a mandoline for myself, and the first time I used it, I cut the end of my thumb off. Literally. Had to go to the hospital, they couldn't reattach it, so now my thumb looks wonky, and I am VERY leery of using my mandoline ever again. I had gotten a really nice one from Williams-Sonoma, so I never imagined that I could actually harm myself with it. I have seen the new one by OXO that has a MUCH larger guard, that looks safer. I love the things you can make with a mandoline, so I have much angst over my reticence to use the darn thing now!!!

[Longhorn]

4. I think gift certificates are great to give and receive!

Let's face it -- it's quite a hassle to have to return a gift and where's the fun in giving or receiving a gift that isn't quite right? You can still acknowledge your interest in a person by giving a specialized gift certificate, such as you are suggested.

For example, I've even been giving online gift cards to Barnes & Noble (a blue company, by the way) to folks I know enjoy books or music. It's a great way to send gifts to my son in Japan, since I'm not always up-to--date on his latest purchases and wouldn't have a clue anyway what music, movies, or games he'd like to get.

Anyone who knows me would give me a gift certificate to a bike shop to contribute to my latest hobby! :D

[lavenderdiva]

5. I could spend HOURS in Barnes and Nobles...

and often do! Have you ever noticed, once you are in a Barnes & Nobles, that its sorta like Las Vegas? There are no clocks anywhere, and you just get lost in the books, and all of a sudden its been 5 hours and your husband is calling asking when is dinner? That has happened to me quite often, I'm afraid! Barnes & Nobles gift certificates: what a great idea!!

[Sparkly]

11. Yeah, the problem is he does too

and he buys cookbooks. We have nowhere to put any more cookbooks!

[fortyfeetunder]

6. Spatulas and spoonulas of different sizes

I found some of these nifty little devices, and they are fantastic for scooping the last little bit of whatever out of a pot. Make a bouquet of them and tie with a ribbon!

[Sparkly]

7. Ooh yeah

What's that gadget called that's advertised on TV? It's like a double spatula for turning things.

And what's a spoonula?

[Longhorn]

8. Ellen DeGeneres gave John Spencer (of The West Wing)

one of those when he was on her show. He apparently loves all things "As Seen on TV" and really wanted one.

Here you go: http://www.asseenontv.com/prod-pages/grip-n-flip_scoop-n-strain_set.html?gid=

I have a couple of the "6-in-One" spatulas and it doesn't work quite as well as I would hope. :(

[Sparkly]

9. That's the one!

Thanks! He's skilled in the kitchen, but some things are just hard to flip or turn without having them fall apart (or without him burning himself).

I never knew that site existed. So it looks like all the "If you call within the next TEN minutes, we'll also give you..." are actually standing offers?

[Sparkly]

10. Okay, this gives me another idea.

Has anybody seen ads for a food storage system where all the lids are the same size? It's not a very romantic gift, but he hates the different sized lids and containers that don't stack. This one had square containers that fit on a lazy susan thing. Anybody know what I'm talking about?

[Sparkly]

12. I found it!!

Shhhh...

http://www.smartspinsystem.com/indexg.html

[eleny]

13. I want one of those!

I've seen them on tv and thought I'd wait till they hit Target. I'm not the biggest sucker for stuff I see on tv. But the fact of all lids being the same size is so helpful. I hate hunting for the right lid, too.

Edit: They do have them at Target! http://www.target.com/gp/search.html/ref=sr_bx_1/602-0056442-9435850?field-keywords=smart+spin&url=index%3Dtarget&x=19&y=7

[Sparkly]

14. Aw phooey

I already ordered from the TV site, which was weird. As you check out they hit you with "We'll give you another set for 25% off!" NO. "Just for ordering today, we'll give you another set for 50% off!" NO. "Special Offer: completely unrelated item FREE - shipping $7.95." NO. "Congratulations! You can have two of this other item free, shipping $7.95." NO!!!

It was actually pretty funny -- kind of like some mattress stores and NYC electronics stores where the closer you get to the door, the lower the price gets. ("But wait!") Pretty soon you're just pissed that the guy was gonna charge $395 for something that now costs $50.

But I digress.

[eleny]

15. Oh, don't fret

You've got it taken care of and tht's what matters! One down!

[Sparkly]

16. Yup!

You know how you always want to get people things they wouldn't get for themselves? The problem is he's pretty self-indulgent, but mostly about stuff that's on the shelf at Bed Bath & Beyond. I like getting things he wouldn't have thought of. (Usually, if he's thought of it, he either got it or decided against it.)

[Longhorn]

18. I got one of those.

I think that's how I ended up with the "6-in-One" spatulas, come to think of it, one of the special offers. ;)

I like the Smart Spin. It's not Tupperware but there's lots of them, even more than will fit in the holder. And it is pretty handy to have the different sizes available like that. Hope Mr. Sparkly enjoys! :D

[fortyfeetunder]

17. Looks like a spatula

but has a concave shape like a spoon. You can get out about a tablespoon of liquid with the smaller sized ones.

[Sparkly]

19. Tomorrow's the day!

Thursday is the birthday -- I ordered stuff, but I'm not sure anything will be here :(... I have a couple of little things already, but since it's a birthday gift of a lot of little things, I think they'll be trickling in for the next month.

Maybe I'll post pictures here anyway, one at a time.

[Longhorn]

20. I should have warned you that it took forever for me to get the

spinning container thingy -- whatever it's called. It took so long, I forgot I had ordered it! Maybe a Father's Day present instead? ;)

[Sparkly]

21. That'll work!

Okay, now I'm a step ahead!! :D