In Good Taste #004: An Amuse-Bouche Gift Guide

Good, great, amazing, and perfect gift options for the food lover, homebody, home cook, host, or hostee in your life <3

Of all of the love languages, gifting is easily the lowest on my list, both in the way of giving and receiving. I find that it’s riddled with a tension and an awkwardness that sends a shiver down my spine. I think it’s why I hate birthdays and why I much prefer Thanksgiving to Christmas. A few years ago, my family all agreed to pull back significantly on the gift giving of it all and pool that money instead to buy ingredients for a really wonderful meal that we all cook together, if that tells you something about our collective stance on the nature of the holidays. (Highly recommend this as an approach if you too have reached your wits end with gifting).

So when I was thinking what it meant to make a gift guide for the holidays, I felt inclined to add this certain disclaimer: gift-giving at its finest comes down to deeply knowing and/or intentionally listening to the people in your life. Because it’s true, I cannot tell you what color scarf your aunt might like. I can’t say what kind of whiskey to buy your father. I can’t suggest what to buy for your sister since mine returns most of the gifts I buy her anyway. I can’t even say for certain if your dog likes one particular kind of chew toy.

What follows—my first ever gift guide!!—stems instead from a more general love of beautiful things, thoughtful things, sentimental things, small things, “this made me think of you” things. A love for a really good smelling candle, lipstick in a shade I wouldn’t pick for myself, kitchen utensils, a stunning salad bowl, really nice tea, socks as an accessory, any book or bottle of wine you’ve ever loved. Most of these things, to no one’s surprise, will be things for one’s home. Because if it’s true that gift giving is a language of love—even if it’s not mine—no better place to express it. How we share the things we love with the people we love, is what makes gift-giving a carefully constructed art, the difficulty of which is not to be overlooked. Below, I share ideas of what I love and what to buy with the hope of make gifting a little easier this holiday season. xx

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One practical note: The following is listed in descending order based on four categories according to the way I think about gifts and their various use cases:

1. something I wouldn’t buy myself and/or something that’s one of a kind (niche)

2. something I probably already have/should already have (mainstream)

3. something everyone needs (need-to-have)

4. something extraneous but that enhances one’s life (nice to have)

Scroll to the bottom for some homemade gift ideas as well <3

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Need to Have x Niche

1. KitchenAid Stand Mixer ($400)

2. Duck Wine Decanter ($150)

3. Goldilocks 6qt Dutch Oven ($85)

4. Savino Vita Extra Virgin Olive Oil ($49)

5. Forthave Spirits Craft Amaro ($30-$50)

   • American Amaro is Having its Moment

6. Algae Cooking Oil Infused Oil Duo ($32)

7. Sardine Wine Key ($35)

8. Cutino Spice Co. Craft Hot Sauces 4 pack ($34)

9. Customizable Travel Journal from No Particular Order ($28)

   • For when one inevitably tires of being home

10. Marvis Whitening Toothpaste ($10)

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Nice to Have x Niche

1. Hand Made French Linen Tablecloth ($250)

2. Fellow Stagg Electric Kettle ($140)

3. Smeg Immersion Blender ($120)

4. Set of 4 Monsieur / Madame Silver Napkin Rings ($90)

5. Kinfolk Magazine Annual Subscription ($80)

   • Beautiful coffee table accessory

6. Gooddee Salad Tossing “Hands” ($68)

7. Gemini Espresso Maker ($55)

8. Yuzuco Yuzu Duo ($35)

9. Edmond Fallot Bucket of Dijon Mustard ($20)

10. Fish Lemon Squeezer ($10)

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Need to Have x Mainstream

1. Bastian Wolber Laisse Tomber Bourgogne Rouge and Blanc ($225 or ~$110 each)

2. Wonderboom Portable Speaker ($90)

   • Bonus: Make a DIY flip book of a few playlists you think someone will like for a variety of different moods. Ex:

   

3. P.F. Candle Co. Large Amber Moss Candle ($40)

4. Wildhouse Paper Cultivating Conversations Card Deck ($40)

5. Brother Vellies Cloud Socks ($35)

6. Large Splattered Enamel Salad Bowl ($32)

7. 1000 Piece Picnic Puzzle ($30)

8. Set of 4 Oven Proof Ramekins ($24)

9. A Wonderful Book or Two (~$20-$40)

10. Ceramic Salt Dish ($10-$50)

    • Bonus: Some fancy salt to go with it

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Nice to Have x Mainstream

1. Sabre Paris Bistro Essentials ($110)

2. Annual Subscription to NYT Cooking ($99)

3. Dansk 1qt Sauce Pan ($72)

4. Enamel Pitcher With Blue Rim ($50)

   • Bonus: Doubles as a vase

5. Figlia Fiore Non-Alcoholic Aperitivo ($48)

6. Craft Coffee or Craft Coffee Subscription ($15-$200)

   • Bonus: Compact Counter Coffee Grinder ($45)

7. Decorative Tea Towel ($40)

8. Set of 6 Green Stem Alsatian Wine Glasses ($40)

9. Taper Candles + Vintage Candle Holder (~$30)

10. Leuchtturm1917 Dotted Journal ($25)

    • Actually a great gift ahead of the new year

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Homemade Gifts

1. Jam

2. Granola

3. DIY Cookie Dough Mix + Recipe

4. Handwritten Recipe Book

   

5. Homemade Marshmallows

   • I like to add a little bit of peppermint extract to mine

   • Option to package with fancy hot chocolate