In my family, it’s not really the holidays without great food. My mom is an amazing cook so I’m lucky enough to expect especially tasty meals around this time of the year. Fancy kitchen gadgets aren’t her thing, but she still loves receiving nice pans or bakeware.

So to kick off The Daily Cookie’s holiday gift guides we’ve come up with some ideas for the friend or family chef in your life. Whether they’re just starting out with the basics or fine-tuning European pastry baking, you’re guaranteed to find inspiration here!

Whenever I go on Etsy I can’t help perusing Cupcake Social’s shop. If the baker in your life is in the business of decorating and adorning cupcakes to perfection they’ll love the unique assortment on this site.

I’m partial to the Pink Leopard Print Cupcake Liners ($3.25 US) and Pearlized Oyster Sugar Pearls ($3 US), but Cupcake Social carries everything from whimsical cookie cutters to festive twine so you can really tailor your gift to your recipient’s taste.

Who knew basics could get so dressed up? Fleur de Sel French Sea Salt ($14.95 US) is the fanciest match to pepper you’ll find. It’s harvested from France’s Atlantic coast and has a distinctly delicate flavor. The flakey particles produce an interesting texture too.

The Uncommon Goods Cheese Curler ($42 US) is just unbelievably perfect for those who take off the apron and go from cook to hostess in a flash. Creative minds will also appreciate the aesthetic possibilities with this new tool in their stash. Just imagine the pretty appetizers and gorgeous presentation of any cheesy platter!

When it comes to baking, melting chocolate nicely is one of the finer aspects that seems to elude me. I’m convinced I (or any other chocolate lover) would benefit from the help of the Essentials Double Boiler ($39.95 US). This particular one gets excellent reviews online and is dishwasher-safe, a must for messy chocolate clean ups.

Fancy foods for aspiring critics are always appropriate. Prolong their testing experience with Have It Sweet’s Carmel of the Month Club 3 Month Subscription ($30 US). Your lucky pal will receive a deliciously flavored 8 oz. caramel each month for three months. Heads up, January’s flavor is Heavenly Vanilla!

What gifts would you give to your special foodie? Who’s cooking/baking in your home for the holidays?

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Can I just tell you how beyond EXCITED I was to run through my mail today and find this beauty??  Let me introduce you to the Zagat guide.  Zagat guides are surveys used to collect and correlate the ratings of restaurants by diners.

If you don’t already know by now, The Fiancé and I love eating out.  But I have to admit, we’re not as savvy with the southern California food scene as we are with the San Francisco one.  After all, it’s hard to get into it when one half of this couple still lives in SF!

But next year when my beau finally moves down to Orange County (we might end up closer to LA even), I know we’ll find the latest Zagat totally useful for our date nights (which usually always includes food!).

In case you’re not familiar with how the guide actually works, restaurants get rated up to 30 points in three categories: food, decor, and service.  There’s also a fourth category for average cost.  I can’t wait for us to start using the guide to discover new restaurants

Have you used these Zagat guides in your local city?  How do you love using them?

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This review contains sample products sent for consideration by PR.   We do not do paid or guarantee reviews. For more information, please read our Editorial & Content Disclosure.

If you’re a burger connoisseur you might not be able to do any better than The Counter.  I went here a couple of weeks ago for lunch with my coworkers and boy was it good!

To top it off, I love that they have beer and burger happy hours (definitely coming back for that).  And if brew isn’t your preference, wash down your burger with a cocktail from a full bar.

The Counter has a pre-set food menu for those who simply can’t make up their mind with a custom burger.  But then you’d be missing the point. There’s so much to pick from – beef, turkey, chicken, or veggie; a dozen cheeses; and a flurry of toppings and different sauces between a bread selection of your choice.

I went for my own concoction – veggie patty with gruyere, mixed greens, tomato with a fried egg on top with roasted garlic aioli on the side.  It was pretty darn good if you ask me, even if the veggie patty was a little soft.  A runny egg makes up for everything!

Have you checked out The Counter?  There are a ton of locations in California as well as in major metros nationwide.

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Over Memorial Day weekend, a few of us went out to Las Vegas for our friend’s 30th birthday.  To celebrate his big 3-0, we dined at Mon Ami Gabi, a French steakhouse at the Paris hotel on the Strip.

While waiting to take our orders, the server gave our tables a couple of steaming hot baguettes in paper bags.  They were crunchy on the outside and piping hot on the inside.  Absolutely delightful while sipping on my pear martini.

The menu has lots of frenchie options, some of us munched on escargot (ooh la la!) while I found comfort in their cheesy French onion soup.  It’s a larger portion so the Fiancé and I shared.  After we finished it, I was getting full but the dinner must go on!

As I was waiting for my filet mignon with red wine reduction and merlot butter, I was kind of regretting that I ordered steak the night before at Aureole as well.  If I remembered that the birthday dinner was at a steakhouse, I certainly would have had seafood at the Charlie Palmer restaurant.

The filet was tender and really good, I saved half of it for a late night snack, and the pomme frites were too thin and greasy.

The Fiancé devoured his bone-in ribeye.  It was a ginormous cut, I couldn’t believe that he was able to eat the entire thing.

For dessert, we walked through the casino and made our way to Le Creperie inside the Paris and finished off our dinner with a berry-filled crepe called the “Favorite”.  Soooo good!

“What What”,  hope you had a happy happy birthday!!!  Can’t wait to see what we do next year to top it off!

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