Gifts, Gifts, Gifts

And a fantastic menu celebrating Dodin Bouffant.

As promised, a few more gift suggestions. More to come through the week.

Favorite Tool
My bench scraper may be the most-used tool in my kitchen. A few weeks ago I wrote about one of my favorites which is now sold out. A kind reader sent me a link to his favorite scrapers; they’re not cheap, but they are hand-forged, sturdy, beautiful and will last a lifetime. This one, from Forge to Table comes in a wooden box and can be engraved for an extra $10; it would make a great gift for any serious cook.

The Real Scoop
The late Gray Kunz was one of the most talented chefs I ever reviewed, and although he was never a household name, his influence was enormous. For years I’ve used this spoon he designed for tasting, basting and the like.

Chef Kunz designed the spoon years ago, and when he was at the helm of Lespinasse in the nineties, every cook who worked there was issued three upon arrival. Chefs tucked them into their pockets, proudly wearing them as a badge of honor; before long they had spread through the city of New York. Now anyone can buy the Gray Kunz spoon; at under $15, they make great stocking stuffers.

Smokin’
What the Baked Alaska was to the fifties, smoked ice cream (not to mention smoked cocktails) are to modern times: a seemingly impossible juxtaposition. And if you’re looking for the perfect present for a food geek, the Smoking Gun might just be it.

This totally modern tool, (courtesy of the same company that makes the incredible anti-griddle), infuses smoke flavor into foods without actually smoking them. This has nothing to do with preserving and everything to do with flavor.

For the chef who aims to astonish, what could be better than presenting food in a cloud of smoke (various flavors of chips can be ordered with the gun). You can capture the smoke in a glass, invert it over a piece of pie, a slice of salmon or a bar of chocolate, and create an instant cloud.

Pure magic.

So Sweet
I’ll admit that I’m obsessed with the plum jams created by Ayako & Family; unlike most jams, these taste like fruit rather than sugar. And I love the way they rate the various plum varieties for tartness; my own preference is for the tarter plums…

Root, Root, Root
Fresh wasabi root is one of those ingredients for which there is no substitute; the powdered stuff (basically just horseradish that’s been dyed) doesn’t come close. Real wasabi is subtle, with a kick that quickly fades into a clean, green flavor. Although it is now being grown in Oregon, it is still expensive enough to make a wonderful treat for an inspired cook. (It need not be reserved for sushi. It’s great infused into the milk you whisk into mashed potatoes, and a few gratings of wasabi does wonders for pasta con le vongole or atop simply sauteed scallops.)

You can find fresh wasabi root at any good Japanese market (I buy mine at Mitsuwa in New Jersey, or Sunrise Mart in Manhattan), but if there’s not one near you, here’s an online source. (Wrapped in damp paper towels, wasabi will keep for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.)

If you’re giving them fresh wasabi root, they’ll need a grater to go with it. And they will surely find other uses for this classic Japanese wasabi grater, an ingenious and beautiful object made of sharkskin and wood.

Seasonal Treat
Roy Shvartzapel is, by his own admission, crazily obsessive. He’s the kind of person who will spend an hour answering a single question. The kind of person who, when he discovers a confection he doesn’t understand, will spend years figuring it out.

“Panettone,” he says, “defies every rule of baking.” So he hitchhiked to Brescia where Iginio Massari, the world’s great panettone master, plies his art. And begged him to take him on as an apprentice.

When you taste Roy’s Panettone, you will be grateful that he did. His Italian Christmas bread is so gossamer light seems to evaporate in your mouth, leaving a delicious trail of flavor in its wake and the slight crackle of the crunchy topping.

It comes in many flavors and is absolutely irresistible. Such an extravagance makes a fantastic present because you might be reluctant to buy one for yourself.

One of my favorite recent films was The Taste of Things; if you haven’t seen it, you can now stream it online.

When the film opened in New York last fall director Trần Anh Hùng and his star, Juliette Binoche came to New York for the opening. Chef Pierre Gagnaire, the culinary consultant to the film (he also had a brief part), came along to prepare this celebratory meal.

Over the top.