Well the holidays are here! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends this year. I always breath a sigh of relief to know I have successfully put one meal under my belt... Only 3 more to go before the new year. :)

Christmas Eve is traditionally always been a steaming pot of oyster stew. Christmas Day just depends on my mood. New years is always a German meal consisting of Sauerbraten, Sweet and Sour cabbage and Spaetzle. I am making my mouth water just thinking of these things. I will post recipes to all the succulent dishes mentioned above soon. Yummm...

Enough about food for the moment. In my wanderings of doing my own Christmas shopping and amongst putting more recipes on my site, I have been putting a favorites list together in my head of my most prized cooking tools and supplies. I'd like to share this list with you in the hopes it can make your cooking experience a little easier as well as your Christmas list.

• -Madagascar Vanilla ( This is my favorite. My mother in law got me turned on to it and I can't recommend anything better)
• -Kitchen Aid Mixer (I use this almost everyday. Love it.)
• -Cuisinart 7 cup Food Processor
• -Avocado Slicer
• -Cordless Hot Water Pot (I make tea in this every night in the fall and winter. A must have!)
• -Coco frappachino Machine (I don't use this every day, but I love it.I've given it several times as gifts and my friends have loved it too.)
• -Krups Fully Automatic Espresso Machine (My husband bought this Espresso Machine for me for Christmas last year and I love it! It's all automatic and works wonderfully, the one problem has been the filters have been hard to find.)
• -Silicone Mixing Bowls (I use these all the time, especially for dumping flour into the mixing bowl while it's still mixing and not making a mess. I was searching all over for these and finally found them at Amazon. These bigger ones have been quite a bit harder to come buy. They are so handy though.)
• -Spatulas with plastic handles ( I always put mine in the dishwasher, so I love the plastic handle ones. These are my newest one's by Wilton and they are really nice and flexy.)
• -Calphalon 17 piece Knife Set ( I bought this exact set about 5 months ago and it is wonderful! )
• -Calphalon pans! (A must have. I don't have this full set and am buying 1 at a time, but I don't cook on anything else. I love these Hard-Anodized ones the most because you can put them directly in the oven. I love that!)
• -Silpat Mat (Cleanup is so easy!)
• -Short bread pans (I love shortbread in the winter and have about 7 of these pans. Wonderful to use and easy to make high quality shortbread)
• -Kitchen Calculator (This is one of the handiest little gadgets! I use a lot of British cookbooks with grams. This calculator will translate everything to ounce and cups. It's a must have and works wonderfully.)
• -Bunt Pan (You have to have at least one in your kitchen. I have about 8, my mother in law loved them as much as I do. I l use this one the most.)
• -Microplane Fine Grater I have this one and it's been the nicest one I've ever used. From lemon zest to grating frozen ginger it works like a charm.)
• -Nordic Ware Danish Ebleskiver Pan ( This is very new to me and I've only used it twice, but I love it and so does my family. It makes the tastiest little filled pancakes we've ever eaten. It's a little more work, but well worth it. It comes with the recipe you need for the pancakes. Yummm...)

Well these are some of my most used items in the kitchen and a couple I don't use all the time, but absolutely love. All can be found at Amazon, most with free shipping. I've selected the links for ease of use. I really hope this has been a helpful Christmas list. I am always searching for new and interesting things to use in cooking.