Kitchen & Bath Insider© –
10th Annual Holiday Gift GuidePOSTED: DECEMBER 2011
I hope that you already got your flu shots this year, but even the latest vaccine won’t protect you from the virulent strain of the holiday virus known as “Catalog Fever”. (Also referred to by its’ street names, “I Have to Have That, Flu”, and, for Steven King fans, “Captain Trips to the Internet”). This year I’ve decided to give some of the following items as gifts, rather than keeping them all for myself. So here we go, with some new gift ideas and some old favorites that are still available.
Some of these things are soooo clever, they are almost impossible to resist. Take the Apple Peeler & Corer, ($19.95 – reduced from $29.99) from Home Trends. Reminiscent of the Honeymooners’ Chef of the Future, in one easy motion “it can core ‘A’ apple” and peel it too!” (And, rumor has it you can also use it for potatoes). If you don’t get the catalog, check them out at www.shophometrends.com.
The book, Grilling for Dummies, available at www.Amazon.com ($14.95), has changed my life. Previously, cooking something on the grill gave me a major anxiety attack, as there is a very fine line between raw and burned. But this book explained how to grill almost everything perfectly, every time, without the stress. And at Cool Materials you can get the remote, Talking Digital Grill Thermometer which will alert you when the food on the grill reaches theproper temperature. Only $60.00 at www.coolmaterial.com.
If you’re looking to save money (and leftovers) consider the Food Saver Vacuum Sealer available from Costco. You can buy in bulk, then divide and freeze, or make extra meals and freeze them. At our house, we call it the “food sucker” but it’s really an “air sucker”; extending the life of frozen foods from weeks to months. It takes a couple of tries to learn how to use it, but at $120 (on sale), it pays for itself in a few weeks.
The Deluxe Ring Pull Can and Jar Opener (previously called the “Can Claw” [not Craw, for Get Smart aficionados) is worth its’ weight in gold (at $1,700 an ounce!). It can open those hard to pull off aluminum lids on various cans and open jars effortlessly. Only $14.74 online at www.elderdepot.com.
While you’re shopping, don’t miss out on the Simmermat from Kitchen Kapers. At $14.99, this product is a lifesaver. Forget about soups boiling over, and no more burned spaghetti sauce. This cleverly designed gadget lifts the bottom of your pan just above the heat, preventing the direct contact that creates overheating. The Simmermat, and many other fascinating others are available at www.kitchenkapers.com.
Are you cursed with a small space between two base cabinets? You can purchase the slim Laundry Cart from Organize.Com, (not to be confused with OrganizeIt.Com). This ingenious space filler is at home in the kitchen as well as the laundry room. It has three shelves, and rolls out for easy access. At only $19.49, “it’s cheap at half the price”! Available on the Internet at www.organize.com.
I’ve ordered so many great things, I thought I’d have no money left, and would have to give Can Claws to Liz and the kids this year. However, after consulting with my CPA, by sharing all this research with my readers, these expenses appear to be deductible! But, until they come out with a true vaccine for Catalog Fever (instead of a tax loophole), I suppose that we’ll continue to suffer through the catalog season year after year.
I could go on and on, but I hear the mailman at the door, and if I guess right, he’s putting another 5 or 6 catalogs in my mailbox at this very moment. Before I go to check the mail, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very joyous holiday season and a happy and healthy new year.
Paul Bookbinder, M.I.D., C.R., is president of DreamWork Kitchens, Inc. located in Mamaroneck, New York. A Master of Design (Pratt Institute), and E.P.A. Certified Remodeler, he is an advisor for Kitchen & Bath Design News. A member of the Advisory Panel of Professional Remodeler magazine and the National Kitchen and Bath Association, he can be reached for questions at 914-777-0437 or www.dreamworkkitchens.com.
Paul Bookbinder, M.I.D., C.R., is president of DreamWork Kitchens, Inc. located in Mamaroneck, New York. A Master of Design (Pratt Institute), and E.P.A. Certified Remodeler, he is an advisor for Kitchen & Bath Design News. A member of the Advisory Panel of Professional Remodeler magazine and the National Kitchen and Bath Association, he can be reached for questions at 914-777-0437 or www.dreamworkkitchens.com.
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