Cooking Light Gourmet Gift Guide

Randy Mayor

Beautiful Bowls

What we love: Printed inside and out with red, blue, or green cornflowers, pale blue daisies or red and green geometric patterns, these Anthropologie bowls look lovely whether they’re full or empty.

Price: $8 to $24

Shop: Anthropologie

Randy Mayor

Modern Flatware for Kids

What we love: Scaled down for smaller hands but not cloyingly styled, WMF's stainless steel Knuddel pattern will look right at home on an adult's tabletop.

Price: $40

Shop: WMFAmericas.com

Randy Mayor

Collapsible Colander

What we love: This clever colander is not only pretty, but a smart space-saver for small kitchens. Silicone sides allow the it to fold down for convenient storage.

Price: $25

Shop: Norpro Knockdown on Amazon

Randy Mayor

Microplane Grater

What we love: The same versatile tool we love―it effortlessly grates hard cheese or zests lemon rind―now available with colorful, more comfortable handles.

Price: $15

Shop: microplane.com

Randy Mayor

KitchenAid Mixer

What we love: KitchenAid stand mixers have aged gracefully since the original 1919 model. The 90th anniversary edition gets a candy-apple paint job and has a 5-quart glass bowl, which makes it easy to see when butter and sugar are creamed to perfection.

Price: $399

Shop: KitchenAid

Randy Mayor

Silicone Steamer Insert

What we love: This flexible Chef'n insert fits almost any pot, and silicone handles make it easier and safer to remove. Avilable in two sizes and colors.

Price: $12 to $20

Shop:Cooking.com

Randy Mayor

Handy Knife

What we love: Foot-long chef’s knives are great. . .for chefs. For the rest of us, New West’s Chopper, with a 51/2-ince blade, is sized right as it chops, slices, and dices with aplomb.

Price: $99

Shop: newwestknifeworks.com

Randy Mayor

Landmark Baking Book

What we love: You’ll find James Peterson’s James Beard Award–winning tome, Cooking, on the shelves of every Cooking Light food editor. He has a special talent for friendly and thorough instruction, which is also evident in Baking.

Price: $26.40

Shop: Amazon.com

Randy Mayor

Soda Maker

What we love: In the old days, a little CO2 capsule in a syphon shot bubbles into cocktails. Now there’s a machine for that. SodaStream’s home carbonation system put the fizz in water. Feeling silly, we couldn’t help experimenting with whisky, red wine, and-kids would love it- milk! ($120; sodastream.com).

Price: $120

Shop: SodastreamUSA.com

Randy Mayor

Pro Bakeware

What we love: Get professional results with this pro-grade cookie sheets. The pebbled aluminum surface helps your baked goods brown and crisp beautifully.

Price: $50, set of three

Shop: doughmakers.com

Randy Mayor

Free-Form Dinnerware

What we love: The organic shapes and subtle crackle glaze of CB2's Lotus pattern brings an earthy touch to your table.

Price: $5 to $8

Shop: CB2.com

Randy Mayor

Sassy Cake Server

What we love: You can't help but serve with a smile when you're wielding the only genuinely funny cake server we've ever seen.

Price: $23

Shop: zippergifts.com

Randy Mayor

Herb Saver

What we love: Like cut flowers, fresh herbs last longer when they're trimmed and placed in water as soon as you bring them home. Prepara's adorable Herb Savor keeps them stylishly corralled in your fridge.

Price: $30

Shop: prepara.com

Randy Mayor

Space-Saving Potato Masher

What we love: Potato mashers are one of the bulkiest items in the utensil drawer, but this clever version from Sur la Table folds neatly when not in use.

Price: $20

Shop: surlatable.com