Holiday Gift Guide

Ari’s top 10 favorite kitchen gadgets

1. Breville Smart Oven Pro Countertop Oven
2. Zojirushi 3-cup Rice Maker
3. Breville Milk Cafe Milk Frother
4. Breville Sous Chef 12-cup Food Processor
5. Immersion blender
6. Foley mill
7. Breville Waffle Maker
8. Traeger wireless pellet grill
9. Thermapen MK4
10. Vitamix A3500

You may have noticed that I am obsessed with Breville appliances. They are high quality, function beautifully, and help us cook with ease in the kitchen!

Other than the Thermapen, which we use every time we cook proteins, I think the Zojirushi rice maker actually gets worked out the most. It is one of the best purchases I’ve ever made for my kitchen. Perfect rice every single time!

Kitchen must haves

1. John Boos cutting board
2. Salt keeper
3. Global santoku knife
4. Staub braiser
5. Large stainless steel mixing bowls
6. Fish spatula
7. Zester
8. Baking steel
9. Knife sharpening stone
10. Chemex

If I had a right hand man in the kitchen, it would probably be my Global santoku knife. I couldn’t get through my prep list without it. But in their own way, each of these kitchen must haves serves an integral part of the Well Seasoned fam, and we use them all daily!

For the wine and cocktail obsessed

1. Cocktail shaker and muddler
2. Citrus juicer
3. Channel knife (for citrus peels)
4. My favorite coupe glasses
5. My favorite wine glasses
6. Simple 2 hinge bottle opener
7. Wine pens
8. Wine saver
9. Stirring spoon
10. Large square ice cube tray

You all know how much we adore wine and cocktails. We’re sharing some of our must-haves that make kicking back with some vino or a paper plane that much more enjoyable!

Food products I adore

1. The Truffleist honey
2. Kosher salt
3. Flaky sea salt
4. High quality extra virgin olive oil
5. Firehook crackers
6. D’arbo strawberry jam
7. Vermont Creamery Cremont
8. La Quercia ‘nduja
9. Odense almond paste (for rainbow cookies!)
10. Acme Whitefish salad

Our absolutely MUST haves! We either cook with these every single day (shout out to Kosher salt!) or wish we were chowing down on them daily (whitefish salad, we adore you!). Hope you find something to help round out your fridge and pantry!

My favorite cookbooks

1. Dinner by Melissa Clark
2. Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi
3. Nothing Fancy by Alison Roman
4. Eating Out Loud by Eden Grinshpan
5. Zahav by Michael Solomonov
6. A Kithchen In France by Mimi Thorisson
7. The Food Lab by Kenji Lopez-Alt
8. Feast: Food Of The Islamic World by Anissa Helou
9. Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan
10. The Epicurious Cookbook by Tanya Steel and the Editors of Epicurious

I think there is so much power in sitting down with a cookbook, flipping the pages, and being inspired to get up and cook. That’s what these (and so many other cookbooks) do for me. They inspire. The photography, the ingredients, the stories — they all come together to share something a bit unique that I think you’ll just love!

We’ll continue to add to this list over the next couple of weeks, so be sure to check back for updates!

In the mean time, let me say this: building up a kitchen full of high quality, high efficiency items takes time. While we recommend a lot of high price items in our line up, we believe in quality over quantity. I was in my 30s before I purchased my own Vitamix! Start with smaller basics (a Global chef’s knife, a fish spatula, and a salt cellar), and grow from there as you’re able to.

Happy cooking and happy holidays to all!