stocking stuffers

OK, I’m not supposed to be posting, but I’m consumed by holiday greed and can’t stop looking at STUFF FOR SALE. So I’m parlaying my greed into stocking stuffing ideas for you.

Fee Bros. new bitters, in cherry and rhubarb flavors, for the mixologist in your life. We have them in town at Marché Provisions, and they’re worth every penny, since you can’t find anything else like them out there.
Any of the fantastic repro cocktail books put out by Mud Puddle Books, but especially The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks by David A. Embury. I want this. I want this. I mean, it would be a terrific gift for the literary cocktail person in your life. And the Mud Puddle website is offering this and their other titles at $10 off list price.
A Canon PowerShot SD770 IS 10 MP Digital Camera for only $160 at Amazon. Little, chic, not too spendy AT ALL, I mean, come on! And it would fit so sweetly in the stocking, too. Seriously, replace that brick your loved one has been using. It’s like she’s been playing Pong in a Wii world, know what I mean. Of course you do.
Krogstad Aquavit out of Portland’s House Spirits. Caraway and star anise to lengthen the wintery spiciness on your palate. So lovely. It won’t fit in her stocking, but she won’t care.
Oxo angled miniature measuring cups in stainless steel. I use the little angled plastic cups all the time, since you can see the liquid level measurement without lifting the cup, and you don’t have to fuss with spoons. The new stainless steel ones are sweet.
Felco classic garden shears for small hands. Because those grape vines aren’t going to pruno themselves, yanno.
Le Creuset silicone pastry brushes. Out of all the silicone pastry brushes out there, these are arguably the best, since you can remove the head from the wood handle, making cleaning a snap. They’re also thicker and fuller than the other models on the market. Two sizes.
Garlic peeler. Put your garlic cloves in this simple silicone tube, roll. Done. Beautiful, uncrushed peeled garlic cloves. I’m not a big fan of gadgets, but after test-driving this one and then having to peel, like, a gazillion garlic cloves by hand at home, I’m mad I didn’t give in.
Tyrkisk Peber, a Scandinavian liquorice candy with hot, sour, salt filling. Black in color, staining your tongue green and bestowing ill health effects from an upset stomach to heart palpitations, Wikipedia describes it as tasting of “genocide” and “filled with salty hate.” And addictive, too. Of COURSE this would be my candy of choice. You can’t buy it in Eugene, to my knowledge, but grab a friend going to Eastern Europe or Scandanavia, and have them bring you back a package, if you dare.
Gastronomica, renewing your subscription thereto. Food, culture, research-based articles, not the least bit sentimental in that treacly foody way, crack writing! One of those little cards would fit into the stocking just fine. $35 student rate. Because you want to be Editor Darra Goldstein when you grow up. Really, really badly.
Life-swapping with Darra Goldstein. Hard to fit in a stocking, though.
A subscription to Elliot Martinez’s BoozeWeek, which you can never get because you don’t go much to Whiteaker, being old and unhip, and as annoying as the MySpace “webpage” for this local booze ‘zine is, it would be tolerable if you didn’t have to create a MySpace page just to send them a message, since comments are turned off to the general public. Come on, guys! People want to give you money. Grumpy, crotchety, drinking, blogging-instead-of-writing-their-dissertation people.
Shun angled paring knife. Shun knives are strong and beautiful, sharpened at a special angle that helps keep the edge sharper longer. The angled knife concept was developed by Alton Brown, and improves leverage and control. I received a wood-handled version as a freebie when I was working at a cooking store, and it hasn’t left my hand since. Makes typing hard. This is the excuse I will use to my advisor.