Gift Ideas for FMIL

[Clairitek]

I am stumped as to what I could get for my FMIL.

Here is the skinny on her...
mid 50s
cooks a lot, likes wine
doesn''t wear a ton of jewelery (nor do I feel its in the budget this year to get her something I''d be proud of)
enjoys shows like Martha Stewart Living, Everyday Italian, and Mario Batali''s show on FN

Thanks in advance for your ideas.

 

[Porridge]

Any of Nigella Lawson's cookbooks, but especially How To Eat. Is Nigella popular in the US? If not, she's a famous British foodie of Italian descent, nicknamed "The Domestic Goddess" and is just fabulous! Her books are really great.

 

[Clairitek]

I''ve heard of her but thats probably because I''ve spent a ton of time in the UK. I have family over there. Is she associated with BBC Good Food Magazine at all or totally independent?

 

[Porridge]

I don't know if she's associated with the magazine, although I think her show airs on BBC, but she started off on Channel 4. She started out as a restaurant critic, and was literary editor for the Times. She really writes well. I am drooling after reading a few pages of her books! She has no training as a chef, just an incredible passion for food. I can't recommend her books/tv shows enough! Also if she's not so well known in the US your MIL probably won't have the books already.

ETA It kinda sounds like I work for Nigella marketing or something, haha! I don't, I just kind of want to be her

 

[Pandora II]

I'm pretty certain that Nigella is Ashkenazi Jewish rather than Italian - her father was Chancellor of the Exchequer in the 1980s under Margaret Thatcher. I quite like her books - she's certainly very popular here in the UK

I've just 'done' xmas for all the 'rents on both sides and went with truffles:

White truffle oil, jar of black truffles, truffle slicer, truffle pasta, block of parmesan and a book on Truffles.

(Also happens to be mine and DH's favourite food substance in the world...)

I don't know how easy they are to find in the USA, but it's a nice gourmet present if people are into food...

 

[oobiecoo]

There''s a really cool chain store called "Oil & Vinegar" (I think) and they sell lots of little gourmet foods. The best part though is they have lots of different kinds of oils and vinegars on tap and all kinds of bottles that you can fill up! You could do a bottle of each and throw in some of their food items... everything is really yumyy!

 

[oobiecoo]

http://www.oilvinegar.com/ov.nsf/home.html?OpenForm&lang=en

 

[Elmorton]

Food and Wine Magazine

Although - my inlaws are total wine/foodies, and we typically stray away from doing that as a gift, since part of the fun they have together is choosing the wine/finding recipes. Last year I gave my SMIL a subscription to Real Simple, and the year before that, I got one of those Yankee wax burners with a ton of wax tarts.

Threadjack - is Nigella the woman from The Splendid Table?

Oh - how are they on wine glasses? My FIL mentioned recently that they're constantly going through theirs (get broken in washing, etc). A great gift could be a set of thick glass wine glasses or stemless ones (easier in the dishwasher).

And another - Giada De Laurentis' cookbooks are AMAZING. Everyday Italian is the basic one that everyone seems to have, but I believe she has a few others.

If she also enjoys reading, some great cooking reads are The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food (shoot...I can't remember the name of the author...she was the publisher of Anne Frank's diary and Julia Child, so her story was amazing) and Julia Child's memoir, My Life in France

 

[somethingshiny]

I live in the US and Nigella has a current program. I think it''s called Nigella Bites. I really like her, she''s so fun to watch because you can tell how much she''s enjoying cooking.

What about a wine of the month club
a night at a special hotel
spa for 2 gift certificate
cool but unnecessary kitchen gadgets
a great watch (usually much less expensive than "jewelry" and can be completely fun and is obviously practical)
also food network has a store Mario Batali products

 

[lala2332]

you could get them a nice bottle of wine and then one of the books to write down all the different wines you''ve tried and whether you like them.

You could also get her a gift certificate for a cooking class. they have ones for more advanced cooks, or maybe find one for a different cuisine than she usually cooks in.

Williams and Sonoma has amazing cooking supplies. That might be a good place to start.

 

[Clairitek]

OMG you guys are THE BEST!! I am totally writing all of these down and sharing them with FI and FFIL! I wrote an email to FFIL asking for ideas and he is stumped too. Buying clothes for her is so hard because shes incredibly petite (4''10"... I have almost a whole foot on her!) and nothing he buys ever fits her correctly.

I especially love the cooking class and wine journal ideas! I did order her one of Nigella''s books on Amazon.

Thanks again guys! If you come up with anything else feel free to post!

 

[Clairitek]

Date: 12/12/2008 4:14:59 PM
Author: oobiecoo
There''s a really cool chain store called ''Oil & Vinegar'' (I think) and they sell lots of little gourmet foods. The best part though is they have lots of different kinds of oils and vinegars on tap and all kinds of bottles that you can fill up! You could do a bottle of each and throw in some of their food items... everything is really yumyy!

Darn! The closest one to me is Charlotteville, VA (which is still pretty darn far). I''ll have to keep my eye on this site and see if anyone opens a franchise closer to me. This seems like a really cool idea! Maybe I''ll make my own herb infused bottles at home to give away as gifts. Thanks for the idea oobiecoo!

 

[Porridge]

Date: 12/13/2008 11:34:54 AM
Author: Clairitek
OMG you guys are THE BEST!! I am totally writing all of these down and sharing them with FI and FFIL! I wrote an email to FFIL asking for ideas and he is stumped too. Buying clothes for her is so hard because shes incredibly petite (4''10''... I have almost a whole foot on her!) and nothing he buys ever fits her correctly.


I especially love the cooking class and wine journal ideas! I did order her one of Nigella''s books on Amazon.


Thanks again guys! If you come up with anything else feel free to post!

Oh yay I''m so proud you used my idea! Probably cos I can''t come up with any good ideas for my own family