Delicious Gifts for the Manchild Struggling to Feed Himself [Gift Guide 2010]

Everybody knows that guy who just graduated from college and still hasn’t graduated from TV dinners. Well, they say it’s better to coach a man to deep fry than to present him KFC.

1. Alton Brown’s Good Eats: The Early Years and Good Eats 2: The Middle Years; $22.50 each If there’s any pair of cookbooks that’ll make life easier for dudes looking to decide find out how to make edible stuff they could stab with a fork and shovel into their mouths, it’s Alton Brown’s Good Eats series, which covers everything from tools to techniques to recipes. [ Amazon ]



2. Zojirushi Rice Cooker; $133 There’s a reason basically absolutely everyone in China and Japan have one, and why Roger Ebert (yes that Ebert) wrote a full cookbook dedicated to rice cookers: They’re awesome. You insert water and rock hard rice. Suddenly, you’ve got a million of something to eat, to paraphrase the late, great Mitch Hedberg. The Japanese models are the most efficient. [ Zojirushi ]



3. Back to Basics egg-poaching toaster; $26 Unitasking gadgets are a waste of space and money, says Alton Brown. Every appliance should fulfill not less than two functions: ergo, the egg-poaching toaster. And who doesn’t love an Egg McMuffin wannabe whenever they feel love it? [ Amazon ]



4. Cuisinart 5-in-1 Griddler; $95 George Foreman is rightly more famous for his grill these days than his boxing. Everybody knows the way to use them: Plop a hunk of meat inside the middle, like a metal sandwich. Heat until done. Unfortunately, his brand-name griddles are somewhat limited-so this 5-in-1 griddle from Cuisinart fits the bill, while making an allowance for potential growth of kitchen of skills, like making Waffle House-style grub at some point. [ Amazon ]



5. ChefStack Pancake Maker; $5,000 It’s an automatic pancake machine . [ ChefStack ]



6. Single serving blender; $16 Is there anything better than consuming food out of an identical container you made it in? No. And everybody knows a way to make smoothies. Even babies. [ Amazon ]



7. Brooklyn Brew Shop beer making kit; $40 The folks who built the pyramids subsisted on beer, in keeping with Iain Gately’s excellent Drink: A Cultural History of Alcohol . I don’t see how that may’t apply today. While a dude may be reluctant to be informed how you can cook, I even have the feeling he’ll be more than up to making beer. [ Brooklyn Brew Shop via NY Mag ]



8. Rubbermaid containers; $15 The oldest survival trick inside the book: Have your mom (or grandma) cook stuff for you. These’ll keep all that food from rotting. [ Amazon ]



9. Batter Blaster; Prices vary It’s ready-made delicious pancake batter. Out of a can. And it could actually taste like bacon . Put in a different way: It’s the affordable alternative to the ChefStack. [ Batter Blaster ]



10. Splatter screen; $16 Nothing destroys one’s will to cook like getting doused with skin-melting cooking oil. A splatter screen might keep them behind the pan. [ Amazon ]



11. Cook Zen Microwave Pot; $33 Yes, that is really a pot for a microwave. And yes, it’s awesome. The manner it cooks, says Serious Eats , is like ” the intersection between a pressure cooker and a steamer.” The simplest catch is that you simply’ll want one of several $15ish cookbooks to head with it, but you’re talking about (sorta) serious cooking by shoving a pot in a microwave. [ Cook Zen ]

Source

This post is tagged: egg poaching toaster, George Foreman, japanese models, pancake machine, waste of space