2. Gift Guide: A Truly Great Skillet

If you've got a passionate cook on your list - and you love them enough to want to spend some serious money- they will thank you for many years for giving them this wonderful hand-forged carbon steel skillet from Blanc Creatives.

I wouldn't exactly call it a skillet:  the sides are very low.  This makes it the perfect pan for  flipping eggs, making pancakes and searing meats.

The blue black color is truly beautiful, and the pan gets even lovelier as it ages.  I find myself caressing the pan each time I dry it. (It is easier to care for than cast iron.)

The skillet comes in three sizes: I have the medium, which I find incredibly useful.  More often than not, when I pull open the pan drawer, this is the one I pull out.