Thanks, Fenworth!

I will, Woodie:)

The ferris wheel thing isn't as big as I imagind either. I can't say I'd want it on my counter either, though. Then again, I'm alwys trying to get things OFF the counter.

Michelle

My youngest does not sew, which makes her gift all the more precious :) I love whatever gifts my children have made me over the years and display them proudly.

Hmmm - OK - my neighbors gave us some homemade rum balls and German spice bars and we got a box of See's chocolates.. Other than that, nothing else food-related. Oh - DD gave DH a wine opener and he proclaimed it "excellent." I need a new pepper grinder; had to resort to crushing peppercorns in a mortar and pestle the other day. Need to make a run to Penzey's.

Lucy, the creme brulee kit is a good gift. DH bought ramekins last Thanksgiving and after he used a plumber's torch to flame pumpkin creme brulee, I persuaded him to get a proper kitchen torch. Plumber's torch goes hand-in-hand with a fire extinguisher, if you ask me.

Wish I liked tea, Maggie2094, as that tea pot is a pretty one.

My grandma used to have one of those pusher-upper measuring cups. Several years ago, I got a freebie one from Sunshine and it always reminds me of grandma. She also used to measure shortening by dropping it into water. If it was a 2-cup measure and a cup of water was displaced, she knew she had a cup of shortening.

Ohiomom, I'll bet that apron turns out to be the best apron ever!

Thanks for starting this FUN thread! I love reading what everyone got for Christmas!

With the new kitchen and family room, hubby and I agreed not to spend too much on each other, but concentrated on our almost-ready-to-move-out "kids". But my Christmas was soooo kitchen oriented!

Lots of new dishtowels! YAY!
New set of knives in a woodblock
a LOVELY cookbook rack that will have a place on my counter
some new utensils for the utility bucket

DD#2, an artist, took a bare wooden file box from Michael's and painted it to match my Corelle set...including the fruit! I had jokingly bought the box for her last fall and said, "Here, paint this in Abundance and you can give it to me for Christmas." She took me at my word and surprised me with it. It's GORGEOUS and that's not just prejudiced Mommy speaking. I was able to put all of my recipe cards in it, and there's still room for more. Evidently my husband couldn't figure out why the gravy boat and the spoon rest kept disappearing into DD#2's bedroom.....she was using them to copy the fruit! Like Ohiomom, I love my children's handmade gifts as well.

DonnaR/CA

Mustangs, I use just about the same system as you do. I was instantly intrigued by the ferris wheel, but regained sanity instantly. How could I be limited to 20 spices??

I got a breakfast set from my husband..again...we don't exchange gifts..and I followed that rule..but he NEVER does..so this year..I found a little suprise for him...

It's cute I took a picture, but need to load it up.
I've been enjoying the mug for tea.

Maggie, I love that wine label.

Just as a little extra something, my son and DIL gave me a packet each of Mountain Pepper and ground Pepperberries - both native Australian herbs, very hard to get.

Michelle,
To answer your question, no my creme brulee set didn't come with the wire rings, a good idea, I'll be fine w/o it.

I ended up receiving two creme brulee sets, requested one & the other came unexpectedly & they're exactly the same, what are the odds. This actually works better for me, as each set comes w/4 oval ramekins. A set of eight works & 2 torches even better...

Lucy

I only got one food related gift...tho our two new Macs certainly get involved in food preparation! That purchase was a major one.

But from my former workmate...(with a little creative editing) I have 10 spoons, which tells me I need to have a good appetizer to take to her!

Oh, I forgot...I bought myself a bottle of Darioush EVOO in CA. That's the oil I tasted as a shot. >:-0

I got an extra bowl for my KitchenAid.

Cathy, too bad about that Ferris Wheel. : ( I wouldn't want it either and it was pretty pricy so you will have to display it a while then move it to the pantry perhaps.

My DH gave me a Kyocera knife because that is what I asked for. We haven't had Christmas with our families yet, so I haven't got to use it. What my DH did go ahead and give me and it was a shock and something I really don't care about, but heaven help me what was I to do - a pair of diamond stud earrings. Now if he could have afforded a couple of karats each that would have been different. LOL I really do appreciate them and think he's very sweet, but I can't wait to get that knife!

Beverly

My girls went together and bought me a Cuisinart ice cream maker. I've already made two batches of frozen yogurt, one strawberry and one sweet cherry with dark chocolate gratings. It's fun to play with.

LOL, Beverly, I have a pair of those diamond studs.....somewhere. They were also a gift (from my mother) and I was afraid I'd lose one or both so I put them safely away. Since I just about never wear jewelry, I've forgotten where I put them, LOL, but they're very safe. Somewhere.

Cathy, I have a "system" too. I take all my spices and throw them into a drawer. When I want one, I rummage around for it. I ought to let you arrange them!

Annie

Let's see:

I got the can opener attachment for my KitchenAid mixer. I am not sure I will like it. It isn't attractive sitting on the front of the mixer. Seems like a pain to have to get it out, unscrew the medallion, tighten it back up after putting the can opener on...then use the can opener. Then, reverse the above. Hmmmmmmm, maybe I am just weird.

I got a 4 slice KitchenAid toaster...cobalt blue to match the mixer.

Two clips that you clip onto the rim of a pan, to hold your spoon.

A Bunn coffee maker with a stainless carafe. NICE!!

This was a 'foodie" Christmas for me. Just about everything I got was food related.

A Panini Press
Brand new coffe maker for the cottage (from Chris' GF)
Subscription to BA
Fancy dancy "motor boat" whirler thingy with mini blender and mini food processor attachments
A bunch of silicone cooking stuff, muffin "tins", loaf pan, brush, and mat
Hot plate with two stainless steel covered serving dishes
In my stocking, stacking measuring spoons and mini spatulas

Now all I need is a new kitchen with more storage! LOL

Lucy - Suggestion: make one of the torches a dedicated candle lighter. I know of no better way to light a stubborn short wick, or light candles deep down in a hurricane, Yankee Candle jar, etc. without burning yourself or using several fireplace matches.

Fenworth, Great Idea!!

Thanks,
Lucy

Msazadi what a pretty picture!

Annie, if you ever find those studs you can just send them my way, they will be well used :)
I just love anything sparkly!

A Cuisinart immersion blender from Mrs. Claus was under the tree for me.

Coming out of hiding to add--the children "got" DH a Whirly Pop which we broke in last night--terrific popcorn. In my stocking was a nutmeg grater, file-shaped microplane grater and regular microplane grater. (overkill but hey, all gifts.)
At one Yankee auction, I ended up with New Hope Mills pancake mix and LL Bean maple syrup and from another, I left with 2 dz of a cousin's delicious yeast dinner rolls. Cookies from neighbors and my mom, with my new favorite being my mother's beautiful Neopolitan cookies, and a bottle of Spanish Sierra Cantabria Rioja waiting to be opened on New Year's Eve. The kids and DH always get chocolate from a local candy maker, Glaubers, in their stockings. Gee, I wonder why my jeans feel too tight?

As I said on another thread, DH and I skipped exchanging gifts this season as we just bought a 75 gallon hot water heater, recirculating pump and all new bedding from Restoration for our bed.
However my gifts from work included a cute snowman tower of white chocolate covered pretzels and peppermint taffy, a bottle of wine from someone who drinks fine wine and Ferrer-Roche chocolates which won't get touched by me.And dad gave me Food and Wine's compilation cookbook from last year. It's nicely done, but not many recipes that I would use.
Cathy- maybe tell her that you use spices in smaller jars so that they're always fresh. Then show her the little jars in your drawer! ;-p

Great gifts everyone! I don't know though - that Ferris wheel looks pretty big to me at 1 square foot. That's sizeable. Maybe show your friend your system, explain and see if you could have a girls day out and exchange it, and then go for dessert somewhere. Or, put it on your counter and slowly move it toward the edge and then one day - "I don't know what happened! I was watering my plants and I ... broke your lamp". Just kidding! But the pantry might be nice.

My sweet husband replaced a 20 year old butter dish I've had since my 20's (when I went broke buying a 12 place setting of Noritake Conservatory) that we use every day. I was so sad when I dropped the butter dish this year (actually it came tumbling out of the fridge where it had been left in a very precarious down hill ski slope position by SOMEONE), and there it was from replacements limited in perfect condition...

All in all, a great foodie Christmas. Plus, he received the latest All Clad French Skillet, All Clad set of 4 fine mesh strainers, 2 beautiful porcelain rectangle servings trays, a Chef's Choice meat slicer, and a martini travel bar, plus a few other choice items. His birthday is on Christmas so he gets double the pleasure and double the fun! Later I'll post a pic of the white chocolate Buche de Noel I did for his birthday cake. It was divine with hazelnut genoise, pastry cream filling, white chocolate ganache, French buttercream and meringue mushrooms!

I like that honeypot!! very attractive!

Shaun, I'm having a lot of fun playing with the 'edit' feature now free with flickr until I get my photo software on the new Mac. I'm gonna make a ty card for Judy with that edited shot. ;-)

femmelady: Love your gifts. They are beautiful!

First, I gave to my 16 year old Grandson a homemade Carrot Cake as one of his presents. He told me a while back that he loves Carrot Cake and eats a piece every day at High School. (I knew I couldn't lose against a store bought type) So, I baked him a 3 layer cake, put it in a box and told him it was for him. He took it right to his room. His Mom told him if he brought it out and ate it in front of people at the family gathering, he would have to share it, so it went into the Fridge. (that's Ok because I brought a pumpkin angel cake for the family to eat)

My hubby bought me a KitchenAid 12 cup chrome food processor with a wide mouth and 6 cup popover pans which have still not arrived. Also he bought me a wooden salad bowl set. This is the first Christmas that he's not gotten me personal items. I specifically wanted these things and now have them. Thank you, DH!

DS and DIL gave me a Rotato. It is a potato peeler apparatus. It doesn't work and some of the parts are broken so I will have to call their customer service. It says it will peel oranges, apples, cucumbers, etc., but unfortunately it doesn't.

My DH and I were deluged with food gifts this year and we were both down with colds for part of the holiday season, so our Breakfast table is fully loaded, along with the fruit drawer in the Fridge. Lots of Harry and David fruit items. One large basket from my MIL from Wine Country gifts with mostly candies and cookies.

I sent us 3 jars of Harry and David Pepper Relish which is so good as a spread with cream cheese.

A very dear Italian friend of my DH gave us his famous homemade Spaghetti sauce which he makes in great volume every Christmas from a family secret recipe. Considering that just about 4 months ago he went through a liver transplant and almost didn't make it, this is an especially dear gift.

We are very blessed.

OH..femmelady, your hammered copper pot and honey pot are both just gorgeous! What wonderful gifts!

Maureen, the picture is so cute. I didn't know that flickr had an editing feature! You'd think I'd know, I've been a customer of theirs for some time now...DUH!

Twinke, Sounds like you had a very memorable Christmas and I don't blame your GS for keeping his cake private! What's a pumpkin angel cake?

Michelle

I totally hit the mother lode this year with foodie gifts! I got two stick blenders [one from my boss who loves all my soups! and one from my family], an 11 cup Custom Stainless Cuisinart Food Processsor [with a bunch of awesome bonuses including a pizza pan], a calphalon wok, and an electric buffet server that holds 3 half steam trays. You think they all want me to cook or what??

On the other end of the spectrum [chief cook to diva] I got a stunning 2 ct cushion cut heart shaped amethyst framed in diamonds floating in a diamond frame with a twisted diaond bale [very romantic] and a 3 stone diamond white gold pendant with the 3 stones nestled in a downward curl like the ribbon curls I had on the living room Christmas tree [very contemporary].

I feel very blessed to get these delightful gifts but I was a very good girl. I hosted dh's family [17] on Sunday and catered for my family on Tuesday. I think i overdid it because I was really sick all the past week and change from working so hard [i guess] and possibly from taking care of my 12 yr old who had pneumonia the week before [he's ok now].

I hope everyone had a great Holiday!!

Since my children are young adults still struggling to get established (and 2 recently married), I worked hard to come up with some suggestions for things I really wanted but that they could afford. Since I was down to one very fuzzy-tipped wooden spoon, every time somebody asked, "Mama, what do you want?", wooden spoons would be one of the responses. Well, as you probably can guess, on Christmas morning I received almost a dozen. I think they were initially a little upset, since their gifts didn't seem very special because there were so many of them. But some were big, some were little, some had deep bowls, some were almost flat, 1 was slotted... omg, I loved every single one! And after we ate, I marched them all into the kitchen to see that only 2 were still left in the utensil holder. The rest were in the dishwasher! It was just heavenly to be able to grab a clean one every time I needed it. :) And they saw that they'd given me something I really wanted and would use.

Along with one batch of wooden spoons, I got a knife that's so big and so sharp I'm a little intimidated, plus a great sharpener. Another was wrapped up with a fab vegetable steamer. And the third package included a great whisk (another thing I needed more of!) and a microplane that does
a completely different 'grate' from the one I have. Love it!

Their other gifts were all personal and wonderfully thoughtful. But one of those unexpectedly turned out to be the most blessedly 'kitchen-related' of all! My brand-new DIL gave me a pair of "Crocs" -- you know, those rubber shoe thingies. Oh. My. Gosh. For the first time in memory, my feet didn't hurt so bad I wanted to cry. After hours and hours in the kitchen, I wasn't even limping. It was the most wonderful gift evah!!!

Magnolia, That is a thoughtful strategy. I'm glad that it turn out so well for everyone.

I hope your crocs are red!

lol, mustangs. The two colors I love above all others are red and black. In this case, my DDIL took the conservative approach and chose black so I wouldn't look like an elderly Dorothy if I wore my crocs out in public. :)

Hey Steelmagnolia, you go girl! I have black crocs to go with my black pants in the winter and beige to go with my khakis the rest of the year - I wear them constantly - I would actually sleep in them if Ken wouldn't object :)

(I also have a lime green pair which I wear occasionally :)

BTW - I used your balsamic ham glaze on Christmas Eve and it was fabulous!

Magnolia - you've made me rethink trying those crocs. I'm so used to finding most shoes very uncomfortable that I figured these would be pretty awful (although my 8yo daughter loves them). Maybe they'll be just the ticket for me too.

Femmelady - what a gorgeous pot. Wow.

Thanks to the earlier thread on what kitchen gifts do we want, I was able to think of a few things and put them on the list. So I got the Forschner 8inch chef knife (that cooks illustrated always rates highest)- before I only had a 10inch chef's knife and a santoku. I got an electric peppermill (a good one this time, I think). The other foodie gifts were surprises - a zyliss mandoline from my mother, a beautiful glass cheese board on a glass pedestal - with gorgeous silver and beaded cheese/pate knives, a gorgeous large red and orange platter (that matches our dining room and taste perfectly).

We also got 2 wine openers we didn't want or need (my husband likes his basic manual opener he got from a local winery).

As I've begun to cook, we've also recently begun to enjoy wine. So I got my husband a membership to a wine club in Sonoma - which will send 6 bottles in the spring and 6 in the fall. I bought 2 bottles now so we could try them now (we'll probably have one New Year's eve). It was a spur of the moment thing when a neighbor had recommended this winery's club.

Love2weed - I wish I'd thought about a second KA mixer bowl. That would be useful.

Happy Holidays.
Lynn.

WOW sands you did clean up! Wonderful gifts and I know you will use them all!!

Magnolia, I am so jealous of all your wooden spoons. Soooooo, I ordered 3 more at Amazon yesterday. The flat tipped spoons are my favorite!

Also, could you post your Balsamic Ham Glaze recipe please. I love to bake ham and have not seen a Balsamic Glaze before. I'm pretty sure we will love it too.

Lynn, The wine club is a very nice gift and 6 bottles a year is just right.

Michelle

Usually just a lurker or asking a question, but I was proud of the Henckel Twin Professional "S" knives my parents got me: 8" bread knife with cutting board, 8" carving knife, 7" carving fork; 3" hollow edge paring knife; 5" serrated utility knife; 8" slicing knife; free gift of stainless steel steak knives and a wooden trivet with a silicone hot pad; plus they got me an All -Clad 11" french skillet! My dad went a little crazy shopping on line, and he loves knives, too! Now I need a new knife block to hold them all!

Nothing fancy but needed. The handle fell off my 25 year old griddle pan. I replaced it with one from Target. It may last another 25 years.

Lovely gifts, everyone!

Here is a link that might be useful: Griddle pan.

Thanks for letting me know y'all enjoyed the ham glaze, woodie. Made my day! :) Hope you do, too, msafirstein.

Balsamic Ham Glaze

1 c. brown sugar, firmly-packed
3 T. dijon mustard
5 T. balsamic vinegar

Combine all ingredients and mix to form a smooth paste.

Score a half-ham (shank portion) and bake at 325 degrees for an hour and a half, then take it out and slather heavily with the glaze. Return to the oven for another half hour, basting with additional glaze every 10 minutes.

There's always some glaze left over, so I mix a little of it with the pan juices and serve on the side.

Well it was a "foodie" Christmas here too :

From DH--
a pizzelle iron ( now I can try Lou's recipe )

For Hubby from my oldest DD-- a new popcorn bowl

From various family members & friends
for me a gift certificate from a nursery where I always get my herb & veg starts

An Irish Coffee Set

a cut glass covered bowl

a new pepper grinder , set of pinch-smidgion etc measuring spoons , a strawberry jelly server & homemade Applebutter , an addition to my
odd, blue teapot collection

A Christmas cookie jar

Christmas mugs

Marble cheese tray/server

Cool Touch electric griddle

Gift certificate for dinner @ Springside Inn

Gone before pictures were taken-- bottle of Dry Honey Mead, 4 different cookie trays, couple plates of homemade candies, # of homemade
chocolate covered cashews & 2 huge lobster tails with 2 dz cherrystone clams.

Oh my gosh..

My friend Jain..spoiled me in Florida:) With Foodie items to last me a lifetime..I was over the moon.and still am.

I received a cute foodie ornament from a friend..and a fruitcake from another.
I had to give it to Jacques:)I can't swallow bought fruitcake..I don't know why..:(

Williams Sonoma Essentials of Italian.

My Christmas was mainly a scrapbooking Christmas! Well, and jewelry too.

Diane, I knew Doc would love that book, I've used it often and it has a lot of very helpful information for anyone who wants to make sausage, pancetta, etc, but doesn't know exactly how to start.

Wow everyone got a lot of good stuff, Merry Christmas to all....

Annie

A new fridge! The old one was too small for us now, especially the freezer. This one has tons of space, and is probably smarter than I am. If only the kids would stop pressing the buttons...

Here is a link that might be useful: The Samsung

I forgot I got the French White baking set too!

I didn't receive any foodie gifts, but I did give a couple of them. My daughter needed knives, so I purchased a set of Faberware in a butcher block - nothing too expensive but good for her needs. Plus I made several bottles of homemade Irish Cream to give to a couple of friends with a special label that I made up plus the recipe tied to the neck of the bottle

I've loved reading this thread - so many great things.

I received a wonderful Masala Dabba from my son and DIL with a spoon for each cup and a large capacity. I'm so happy not to have to search for all the spices used together in Indian dishes. You would understand if you saw how my spices are crammed here and there. Oh to have a whole divided drawer like Cathy's.

Max gave me the new Suvir Saran cookbook "American Masala". I've just begun to look at it and I'm looking forward to trying some new to me Indian dishes.

From my DIL's parents a fun bag of gourmet food items, sun dried tomatoes, jasmine rice in an airtight glass jar, a box of Gnocchi and much more.

And a gift that will go on giving - from my DIL"S brother, a bag of frozen homemade Gnocchi and a LESSON on how to make them. His Gnocchi are really wonderful, I'm so excited about learning to do it from him. He has a handmade board from his Grandfather - I hope that's not his secret to success because I can't get a board like that. I'll take my camera when I go to learn from him.

Lee

Lee, the Masala Dabba is fabulous and so appropriate given your interest Indian dishes. Sounds like your family knows you well.

Lee, I have no idea what that is, but it's beautiful.

I'm off to google "masala dabba"......

Annie

I got some leather potholders which I love, so I got to throw away some that had seen better days. I already had a pair near my range, and wanted a pair for my wall oven, so that made me happy. These are the best kind I've ever had and always the first I grab.

I also got CI's International cookbook, which I'm looking through today for dinner tonight...

There are some fun gifts here!

Here is a link that might be useful: Leather potholders

Claire, they look great. I had to have the silicone potholders, got them, hate them. Too stiff, they are okay as trivets though.