On the Third day of Christmas... Ruth Reichl

For the third day of Christmas I want to share a gift I already have and cherish entirely, the gift of Ruth. 

Within the time frame of the past year I've become a serious fan of Ruth Reichl. Sure, I love her ethereal tweets and I think Gilt Taste is great, but its her trilogy of memoirs that has made me a proper fan of Ruth. I devoured Tender at the Bone while on vacation in Cape Cod, I gobbled up Comfort Me With Apples shortly after and now I'm onto Garlic and Sapphires, hesitating to move too quickly through it for I know there is no immediate book to follow (I will probably get to For You Mom, Finally at some point, though). When I read in the recent WSJ interview with her that there are three more books on the way I was overjoyed.

She is an inspiration to me, to the possibilities of my own life - in my career, in my love life, in my geographical location. Her three memoirs follow her journey from childhood through to the offer to be editor of Gourmet. Reichl is one of the true greats we are lucky enough to have among us in our lifetime. Her three books together will make an excellent present (whether they know it or not) to any food lover or aspiring writer. Start by getting Tender at the Bone from Gilt Taste that comes with a bookplate signed by Reichl herself (half wishing I didn't already own a copy so I could get this!). 

On the Second day of Christmas... Ultimate Ice Creams

The second day of Christmas adds two more items to my wishlist: an Ice Cream maker and the Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams cookbook.

Among some combination of an unair-conditioned apartment and reading a slew of tweets over the summer about everyone running their ice cream machines I decided I will require one of my own someday soon. I've had my eye on the Cuisinart one which goes for around $50 on Amazon and which I've heard good things about from others who have it. It would be highly impractical for me to acquire one now since I lack even counter space for my beloved Cuisinart Food Processor(last year's major present) in that same steamy apartment. Someday.

If you are thinking of getting an ice cream maker for someone this season, be sure to pair it with the Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams book. The joy of tasting Jeni's ice creams has yet to be mine, but the best way to try these raved about treats if you don't want to order them is to make them at home using the cookbook (coolbook?). (Sidenote: mailing these ice creams would make a really excellent gift, less so around the holidays and more so on birthdays, Valentine's day, special occasions, when someone you love is under the weather etc.). I first heard about Jeni's after seeing a tweet from Suvir Saran about a macaron ice cream sandwich. Jeni's isn't the only one slipping ice cream between those maddeningly wonderful French cookies, but she was the first person I heard of who was (You can also have the sandwiches shipped!).


A few other things that would pair well with these two: plastic quart containers (for storing the ice cream when its made), a great scoop, sundae toppings, cones and maraschino cherries.

On the First day of Christmas... *The* Kitchen Appliance

For the first day of Christmas I want to talk about the kitchen appliance. The one that makes a kitchen feel more complete, more whole, more invincible: The KitchenAid Stand Mixer.

It seems like I've wanted a KitchenAid Mixer of my very own for as long as I can remember. Sometime while I was living with my parents my mother replaced her old Oster mixer after a few parts had started breaking (after years and years of being well worn in her kitchen) with a grey KitchenAid stand mixer. It seemed like everyone was excited about it, but especially my mother and I. I used it every chance I got. I made cookies and cakes and when she got some attachments I used it to speed up mundane tasks like grating cheese for macaroni and cheese. Many people get a KitchenAid when they get engaged or married. A friend who was recently married in November remarked to me that she's so happy when she looks at her KitchenAid on the counter because its symbolizes her new life as a married lady. Odds are I won't get one until I myself marry (which seems like light years from now), but maybe Santa is a reader of The Culinary Librarian and I will find one under the tree this year. If you are looking for a super special gift for someone who is in the kitchen all the time, especially a baker and especially if they currently use a hand mixer for all their mixing needs (or an egg beater!) this would be a great option for them. 

My desire for a KitchenAid mixer increased exponentially when the new Raspberry Ice products were released. Pink is my favorite color, and this bright punchy shade is one of my preferred hues. Hopefully when a KitchenAid comes into my life, it will be in this gorgeous color! 

Photo courtesy of KitchenAid USA

The 12 Days of Christmas

I've been wanting to come up with a gift guide/wish list for the past few weeks. There are a mix of things I want to recommend you as great gifts or ways to use up your holiday gift cards but then there are a fair amount of things that I love and hope Santa will be bringing me. So I am presenting you will the 12 days of Christmas. Each day starting today and ending December 23rd I will give you a list of great gifts and just like the song the number of gifts each day will depend on which day of Christmas it is. Enjoy!

Happy Holidays from The Culinary Librarian!

"Les Petits Macarons" signed copy WINNER!

Bonjour my macaron lovers! I am happy to announce I have selected the winner of the signed copy of the Les Petits Macarons book. Thank you to everyone who entered and who shared the giveaway with friends and followers. There were a handful of entries by email in addition to those left as comments on the giveaway post. I used a random number generator to pick a number between 1 and 25, 25 being the total number of entries. Here are the results: 

Entry #25 is....