Appliances and cookbooks very frequently make up the majority of my wishlists for both birthday and Christmas and this year was no exception. I thought I might share some of the things I received; it will give me an opportunity to make some recommendations and also get you prepared for the projects I'll be working on in the future.
Edibles
Let's start with the basics. My stocking and gift bags were filled with dark chocolate Ghirardelli squares (not vegan but truly decadent!), Ritter Sport with marzipan (vegan, sweet, and delicious), Emerald Dark Chocolate Almonds (also vegan and very tasty), and Constant Comment Tea (which is fantastic; I can't stop drinking it). This is, of course, in addition to a few candy canes and the traditional Hersey's chocolate, this year shaped like bells instead of kisses. These were all perfect stocking stuffers and I'm planning on remembering them for next year so I can be sure to reciprocate them! My mother also sent me a bottle of wine made by one of New Hampshire's best vineyards; it's my favorite ever, though I have not investigated its vegetarian-ness.
Appliances
I don't usually put appliances on my lists because I have so many of them, but there were a couple that I really wanted this year. Luckily for me, I got them both! The first is a cake pop (or cake ball) maker. The traditional way to make a cake pop is to bake your cake, crumble it, combine it with frosting, roll into balls, and dip into chocolate. With the maker, you bake the batter into ball shapes, skipping several steps, and then dip or frost as you prefer. This sounds like an improved process to me, especially considering the sweetness factor. I don't really care for things that are all sugar. I like some richness, sure, but I don't want to go into a food coma when I'm done eating. So, yes, I'm very excited to try it out. I also received the Griddler panini press by Cuisinart. Ridiculously excited for this one! I've used it three times already. In addition to making panini, it works well with quesadillas and can grill other things including frozen veggie burgers, tofu, and vegetables like zucchini and eggplant. I anticipate it living on my counter from now on...
Cookbooks
My mother-in-law included a book with the panini press, 200 Best Panini Recipes. It has a lot of good ideas, but I'll be changing most of them to accommodate my gluten-free vegan fiance. Thankfully, she received 250 Gluten-Free Favorites, which I'm hoping will add some more menus to our currently limited repertoire.
Accessories
Finally, I was given some amazing sets of measuring spoons and cups by my mother. They're made by Ganz and are gorgeous. For the measuring cups I received the "grapes" set, as well as their matching spoons and the "mini" ones, too.
And that's everything. Phew! Honestly, I can't thank everyone enough and am very excited to share these wonderful gifts with you in the future.
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