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The Kitchen Elf

(photo: Rose Mattrey)

For the kitchen klutz

Steer clear of pricy gadgets and kitchen tools—your gift recipient wouldn’t know what to do with them anyways. Instead, a selection of gifts highlighting the essential skills for the kitchen, as well as some vital beginner tools, will release your clueless cuisiner to be as free as a Cornish game hen in the kitchen, and give you some sofa time for a change.

Cooking class package at Delish! Bakery: Through the holidays, owner and head chef Debbie Clark offers a buy four classes, get one free package for her massive variety of kitchen lessons. Whether you’re interested in learning about “Classic Casseroles” or “Exotic Thai Cuisine,” classes are all presented in a relaxed and pressure-free classroom setting. Sit back and relax as Clark creates four decadent recipes from start to finish in her cutting-edge kitchen, and then passes her dishes around for a massive feast. Pricing ranges from $35-45 per class, depending on ingredients and wine.

Cook with Jamie: My Guide to Making You a Better Cook: Jamie Oliver’s most recent U.S. release gives the how-to basics of the kitchen, from properly cleaning a chicken to caring for cutlery and tools. This book is filled with tips and recipes from Oliver, who has made a name for himself the world over as The Naked Chef—he uses simple, fresh ingredients and no-brainer techniques to create mouthwatering dishes that would please even the harshest of culinary critics.

Global Knives’ eight-inch chef’s knife: If there is one thing any cook needs, regardless of skill level, it is a reliable knife. Global is a Japanese company that makes some of the highest quality knives on the market, while still managing to keep prices low, relative to more well-known companies like Wusthoff and Cutco. The stainless steel is ice-tempered so that the blade will stay sharper longer than any other metal knife, and the all-metal design will look pretty impressive in the hand of one who is otherwise devoid of any kitchen knowledge.

Local foods gift basket: Premier Gourmet puts together a number of beautiful gift baskets that can work for anyone on your list, but they specialize in putting together some of the best kitchen essentials Western New York has to offer. Local meats, cheeses, mustards and sauces will inspire you beginner cook to experiment and create his first dishes with fresh local ingredients as he blows the lid off his pots and pans and blows you away in the meantime. On the other hand, you might visit the Lexington Co-op and create your own gift basket—with “basket” being a catchall for any container. Maybe even a more useful container: Who woudn’t like to receive a new recyclying bin filled with local produce from Native Offerings farm?

For the baker

Kitchen activity can generally be divided into two distinct arenas: cooking and baking. If someone on your list is terrible on the cook top but a wonder with an oven, celebrate their abilities with some gifts selected especially for any batter bravado.

Wilton cake decorating classes at Jo-Ann Fabrics: While Jo-Ann Fabrics may not be the first place that springs into your head when you think of expert cake decoration, they offer affordable and informative classes on the art of dessert decoration from experts in the field. Classes start off simple, with the basics of spreading buttercream and piping rosettes, and progresses to the more complex challenges of special occasion cakes and the use of fondant. Classes are affordable ($30 for four two-hour sessions) and are scheduled frequently at the Amherst, Williamsville and Blasdell stores. Consult joann.com for schedules and further class information.

Cookie dough and decorating supplies from Delish!: Everyone knows that the dough is the hardest part—why not take the guesswork out of measuring and kneading by purchasing a ready-made block of Delish’s perfect cookie dough, along with frosting piping bags and cookie accoutrement. Delish! carries a variety of clever sprinkles and other decorations to make anyone’s baked goods distinctly their own—and no one will know you didn’t slave over a mixer all day. Homemade cookie dough will cost you a mere $7 per pound, and accessories vary in price.

KitchenAid Stand Mixer: Speaking of mixers, no real baker’s kitchen is complete without the Cadillac of mixers, the KitchenAid Artisan Series Stand Mixer. For the price it is unrivaled in quality and versatility, as it can be converted to a meat grinder, a pasta maker, or even a juicer with the simple addition of an attachment. Designed as a smaller version of the commercial mixers used in bakeries all over the world, this item is a gift unrivaled in its quality and usability. Mixers are available most readily at Williams-Sonoma in the Walden Galleria, ranging in price from $300-900.

The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids’ Favorite Meals by Missy Chase Lapine: Jessica Seinfeld’s Deceptively Delicious may have gotten the attention after an appearance on Oprah, but it was this book by Lapine that first had bakers slipping spinach puree into their kids’ after school snacks. Released earlier this year by Lapine, the former publisher of Eating Well magazine, this cookbook highlights tips on baking basics and making the treats healthier and more beneficial to the diets of kids and their parents.

For the beer and barbecue bravado

It may be a little to early yet to break out the flip-flops and barbecue in the backyard, but grilling year-round is an excellent way to beat the cold and keep those summer memories close to one’s heart and palate. Coupled with a fine brew and some good company, barbecue-themed gifts are perfect for the one on your list who can’t keep the cover on the grill, and will brave the snow and ice to hear that steak sizzling on an open flame.

Sam Adams Utopias Beer: This ultra-rare brew is tough to find, as only 12,000 bottles were brewed for consumption this year, but can be found locally at Premier Gourmet at the low price of $200 per bottle. As you scrape your jaw off the floor, consider that Premier offers this beer for the lowest price around, and that it is a special treat for even the beer experts employed there. The Premier Group’s president, Janet Ostrow, hasn’t even had the pleasure of tasting the brew, choosing instead to donate the only bottle she has ever owned to a charitable foundation. At 26 percent alcohol by volume, this bottle should be taken seriously, but is the ultimate gift for the beer lover in your life.

Sauces and marinades at Delish!: In addition to their cooking school and mouthwatering baked goods, Delish! also offers something that few in the area can match: They bottle their own olive oil and have expertly blended sauces and marinades crafted especially for the more savory-minded customers in their store. Sauces range in price at Delish! but do not exceed $10 per bottle.