Barbie 'I Can Be A Chef' Playset

Barbie 'I Can Be A Chef' Playset, $34

If you love cooking and you've had a Barbie when you were a little girl, you'll love this set.
Lights, camera, let's get cooking - Barbie is on the set as a TVChef and star of her own cooking show! She whips up fantastic meals in her state-of-the-art kitchen with the magical oven put in an unbaked cake, then open the door and there's a fully baked cake. Push the top of the mixer and it spins. There's a spacious workstation, appliances, cookware, play food, professional-style lighting and a camera rolling. Barbie doll included.

Available at Fao Schwarz (link)

To celebrate Barbie's 50th Birthday, Fao Schwarz is offering a special deal: click here to get 25% off any order of $90 or more using Coupon Code: BARBIE until 3/17.

Site of the day: Stew Leonard Gift Baskets (and a free cookbook!)

Stew Leonard’s is one of the world’s most renowned food stores. Written up and showcased by everything from the Guinness Book of World Records and Ripley’s Believe It or Not! to The New York Times, People magazine, and the Food Network, Stew Leonard’s is a world famous destination for those visiting the New York/Connecticut area. Stew Leonard’s Gift Baskets, the online arm of the store, offers fresh and delicious gift baskets and towers which include fresh fruit, gourmet snacks, fresh baked goods, and popcorn, for delivery across the United States.

We recommend:

Christmas Gift Baskets

Fruit Baskets

Corporate Gift Baskets

Gift Baskets Under $50

The holidays are finally here. And to celebrate, Stew Leonard's Gifts is offering a great promotion: a FREE Stew Leonard's Winning Ways Cookbook with every order.

Paul Newman called this cookbook "worthwhile for the cook and eater both. It's a friend your kitchen."


You just need to enter the promo code COOKBOOK at check-out and you will receive this great book full of exciting recipes - a $19.95 value.

Some examples of Christmas Gift Baskets:


Holiday Greetings
A charming addition to any home this holiday season, this birch basket is filled with sweets and snacks.


Brownie Fantasy Grist Mill
Anyone who likes chocolate will absolutely love our fresh baked brownies. Deliciously rich and moist, our brownie buckets hold three different kinds of brownie that are totally scrumptious.


Awesome fruit basket
This collection of fruit, cheeses, sausage, snacks, candy and a whole lot more make it the best way to send your best wishes.

Click here!... and remember promo code COOKBOOK!

A chef so complete that teaches what to cook, how to cook and how to carry what you've cooked!

Mario Batali is a superstar chef, television personality, and author of the New York Times bestseller Italian Grill and Molto Italiano, winner of a James Beard Award. He lives in New York City, where he is the chef and owner of eight popular restaurants, including two Spanish joints, Casa Mono and Bar JamÓn.

WHAT TO COOK:

LINGUINE ALLE NOCI (LINGUINE WITH WALNUT SAUCE)
Copyright © 2000 by Mario Batali. All rights res.

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 cup toasted hard bread crumbs
1 cup roughly chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon hot red pepper flakes
1 pound linguine
1/2 cup roughly chopped Italian parsley
1/2 cup freshly grated caciocavallo cheese or pecorino romano

DIRECTIONS:
Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons kosher salt.

In a 14- to 16-inch fry pan, heat the oil over medium heat till smoking. Add the garlic and cook until light golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add half of the bread crumbs, the walnuts, and pepper flakes and cook until lightly toasted, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook according to the package instructions until 1 minute short of al dente. Just before draining the pasta, add 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water to the pan with the walnut mixture.

Drain the pasta in a colander and pour the pasta into the pan with the walnut mixture. Place the pan over medium heat and continue cooking the pasta with the walnut mixture until the pasta is lightly dressed with the condiment, about 1 minute. Add the parsley and grated cheese, stir through, pour into a heated bowl, sprinkle with the remaining bread crumbs, and serve immediately.

HOW TO COOK:

Sure to be a help to cooks of all skill levels, Mario Batali cookware, kitchen tools and bakeware include new features that modernize traditional cooking tools.

Best-seller:

Mario Batali 9-qt. Enameled Italian Kitchen Oval Braiser: link
Mario Batali's 9-qt. braiser has a large oval shape which is perfect for roasting or braising whole chickens and roasts. The lid is designed to naturally self-baste food as it cooks, and the braiser is safe for gas, electric and ceramic stovetops, and is oven safe to 500°F. Through his restaurants, cookbooks, products and television shows, Mario Batali breathes the spirit of the Old World into modern day America and shows us how to revel in the inherent joys of daily life. Copco, a leading manufacturer of kitchenware products, has joined forces with award-winning chef Mario Batali to create The Italian Kitchen, a unique line of kitchen tools and serveware. The elegant and functional assortment draws on the best of Copco's design and manufacturing experience and Mario's cooking expertise. The result - a perfect blend of classic quality and contemporary function - addresses the needs of all consumers, from kitchen novices to experienced cooks. These are the tools that Mario wants in his kitchen. You'll want them in your kitchen too.

SPECIAL OFFER:
Get $15 Off $100 shipments at Cooking.com! Use coupon code C88966 Click here!
Exp. 12/31/08

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HOW TO CARRY WHAT YOU'VE COOKED:

Mario Batali believes that olive oil is as precious as gold, shorts are acceptable attire for every season, and food, like most things, is best when left to its own simple beauty. Mario has seamlessly combined traditional Italian principles with intelligent culinary adventure since June 1998. Inspired by Mario Batali's love of food, wine and the inherent joys of life, he now presents the insulated lunch bag. See all Mario Batali insulated bags

May we suggest?

Mario Batali Holiday Food
With the infectious enthusiasm of a kid on Christmas morning, Mario Batali--who presides over a culinary empire that includes the popular Food Network television show Molto Mario, four acclaimed New York restaurants, and a wine store--presents four complete menus for the holidays and captures all the fun and festivity that epitomize Italian celebrations. True to the commitment to simple cooking evident in his first book, Simple Italian Food, the dishes here deliver maximum flavor and enjoyment without being overly complicated.
Batali's version of the famous Italian seafood extravaganza traditionally served on Christmas Eve--known as the Feast of Seven Fishes--includes no fewer than 15 enticing dishes. Marinated Fresh Anchovies are both surprisingly delectable and delightful in their simplicity. Salt Cod with Capers and Mint, Grilled Lobster with Herbs and Arugula, and Sea Bass Ravioli with Marjoram and Potatoes would each be showstoppers as the centerpiece of any meal. Served together, they comprise a truly unforgettable feast. Click here to buy

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Mario Batali Simple Italian Food: Recipes from My Two Villages
Sure to excite lovers of the best Italian cooking, Mario Batali Simple Italian Food: Recipes from My Two Villages reenvisions classic home cucina with enticing results. Batali, known to fans as "Molto Mario" from his Television Food Network shows, and as chef-owner of Manhattan's much-loved Po and Babbo restaurants, presents nearly 250 of his favorite recipes, traditional and innovative, for delectable salads, pastas, grilled specialties, ragus, and desserts, among others. The collection, inspired by the cooking of Borgo Cappene, a hillside village in northern Italy, and Greenwich Village, where Batali culls exemplary ingredients for his restaurants, reflects Batali's commitment to simple cooking--impeccable ingredients sensibly combined and properly prepared. Cooks seeking deeply flavored, smartly presented dishes will embrace Batali's recipes for everyday meals and for entertaining. Click here to buy

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Molto Italiano: 327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Home
"The trick to cooking is that there is no trick." ––Mario Batali

The only mandatory Italian cookbook for the home cook, Mario Batali's MOLTO ITALIANO is rich in local lore, with Batali's humorous and enthusiastic voice, familiar to those who have come to know him on his popular Food Network programs, larded through about 220 recipes of simple, healthy, seasonal Italian cooking for the American audience.
Easy to use and simple to read, some of these recipes will be those "as seen" on TV in the eight years of "Molto Mario" programs on the Food Network, including those from "Mediterranean Mario," "Mario Eats Italy," and the all–new "Ciao America with Mario Batali." Batali's distinctive voice will provide a historical and cultural perspective with a humorous bent to demystify even the more elaborate dishes as well as showing ways to shorten or simplify everything from the purchasing of good ingredients to pre–production and countdown schedules of holiday meals. Informative head notes will include bits about the provenance of the recipes and the odd historical fact.
Mario Batali's MOLTO ITALIANO will feature ten soups, thirty antipasti (many vegetarian or vegetable based), forty pasta dishes representing many of the twenty–one regions of Italy, twenty fish and shellfish dishes, twenty chicken dishes, twenty pork or lamb dishes and twenty side dishes, each of which can be served as a light meal. Add twenty desserts and a foundation of basic formation recipes and this book will be the only Italian cooking book needed in the home cook's library. Click here to buy

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Spain...A Culinary Road Trip
From Mario Batali, superstar chef and author of Molto Italiano and Italian Grill, comes an eating tour throughout Spain with his friend Gwyneth Paltrow.

Spain...A Culinary Road Trip is the companion book to the prime-time public television series Spain...On The Road Again. The premise is simple: Mario Batali and Mark Bittman are single-minded, food-obsessed friends who are constantly on the lookout for the food, wine, and cooking that is unique to Spain—and in this series they will find it. Gwyneth Paltrow and the Spanish actress Claudia Bassols are eager to enjoy all the pleasures the country has to offer, and each pair will be lured into the worlds of the other.
The foursome take the ultimate road trip adventure, showcasing the pleasures of Spain, the country's regional cuisine, art, history, and culture, as they've never been seen before. Hundreds of gorgeous and candid photos, anecdotes, and more than seventy recipes from Mario appear in this scrapbook of the dream vacation through Spain. Click here to buy

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Italian Grill
From Mario Batali, superstar chef and author of Molto Italiano, comes the ultimate handbook on Italian grilling, which will become an instant must-have cookbook for home grillers.
Easy to use and filled with simple recipes, Mario Batali's new grilling handbook takes the mystery out of making tasty, simple, smoky Italian food. In addition to the eighty recipes and the sixty full-color photographs, Italian Grill includes helpful information on different heat-source options, grilling techniques, and essential equipment. As in Molto Italiano, Batali's distinctive voice provides a historical and cultural perspective as well.
Italian Grill features appetizers; pizza and flatbreads; fish and shellfish; poultry; meat; and vegetables. The delicious recipes include Fennel with Sambuca and Grapefruit; Guinea Hen Breasts with Rosemary and Pesto; Baby Octopus with Gigante Beans and Olive-Orange Vinaigrette; and Rosticciana, Italian-Style Ribs. Click here to buy

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The Babbo Cookbook
One of the most coveted reservations to have in New York City is at Babbo, Mario Batali's flagship restaurant in Greenwich Village. In The Babbo Cookbook, Batali (author of Mario Batali Simple Italian Food and Mario Batali Holiday Food) takes readers behind the scenes of his popular restaurant--from the kitchen to the front of house--sharing 150 recipes for his innovative Italian fare and offering tips on menu selection, service, and presentation. Along the way, Batali expertly captures the intimate buzz, the warm hospitality, and the generous attention to detail that makes Babbo a singular dining experience.
Before digging into any of the dozen-plus featured antipasti, Batali offers several specialty aperitivi, including the refreshing Blood Orange Bellini. Two of Babbo's signature dishes, Mint Love Letters with Spicy Lamb Sausage (little ravioli stuffed with a filling of sweet peas, mint, heavy cream, and Parmigiano-Reggiano) and Beef Cheek Ravioli (so good the book recommends doubling the filling and freezing a batch), are broken down and made more than accessible to the home cook. Other exceptional pasta options include Pumpkin Lune with Butter and Sage (finished with a dusting of Parmigiano-Reggiano and amaretti cookie crumbs) and Gnocchi with Oxtail Ragù (a reinterpretation of a Batali family classic, still served at Salumi, his father's must-visit Seattle shop). Chapters "Mare (From the Sea)" and "Terra e Bosco (From the Earth and Forest)" offer Crispy Black Bass with Endive Marmellata and Saffron Vinaigrette ("'crispy' sells more food than a barrage of adjectives," Batali reveals) and a succulent Osso Buco with Toasted Pine Nut Gremolata. There's a wonderful section on pre-desserts and cheese, and in "Dolci" pastry chef Gina DePalma wraps things up with Maple and Mascarpone Cheesecake, Meyer Lemon Semifreddo, and a tempting cookie plate. Click here to buy

Hungry for more?

Take a look at Recipes.it Great Chefs page, whre we feature lots of Mario Batali's recipes, such as:
- Prosciutto di Parma with Stuffed Figs
- Schiacciata with Prosciutto and Melon
- Crespelle di Formaggio
- Lasagne alla Bolognese
- T-Bone Fiorentina
- Calamari Neapolitan-Style
- Mozzarella in Carozza
- Biancomangiare
... and more!

Recipes.it gift ideas: coffee!

Celebrate Christmas with your beloved one with two hot cups of strong coffee blend... or celebrate the fact that you love coffee (as we do!) by choosing a Christmas present gift that will surely delight the recipient!

$150+ CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEAS:

Frontgate's Nescafe Dolce Gusto by Krups uses coffee capsules to prepare your favorite milk-based coffeehouse beverages like cappuccino, latte, and café au lait in just 30 seconds. Making cafe-style coffees has never been this fast, simple, or enjoyable.
* 15 bar coffeehouse pressure for optimized taste
* Stainless-steel hot water heater minimizes heat time
* Two temperature settings and a custom strength control lever, it's easy to brew your perfectly customized cup
* Nescafe 100% Arabica beans guarantee single-serve coffee of the finest quality every time
* Capsules are available in espresso and caffe lungo (course) grinds, as well as cappuccino, hot chocolate, and latte macchiato flavors with all natural ingredients

Get Nescafe Dolce Gusto by Krups at Frontgate: link

Why go out for coffee when the illy a casa espresso membership program provides everything you need to prepare authentic Italian espresso and cappuccino at home, starting with the Francis Francis X5 Holiday Introductory Kit featuring the striking Francis Francis X5 espresso machine. Designed by Italian architect and designer Luca Trazzi, the X5 works with pre-measured and tamped, no-mess E.S.E. espresso pods or ground coffee and is available in a choice of three colors that make a bold statement in any kitchen. In addition to your introductory kit, you'll also receive convenient monthly shipments of illy so you never have to worry about running out, and all the benefits of illy a casa membership.

Go to illyUSA: link

■ Makes 12 Cups
■ Die Cast Metal Construction
■ Stainless Steel Heat Pump & Brew Basket
■ Digital Brew Timer & Clock
■ 24 Hour Programmable Timer
■ Front-Fill Reservoir
■ Automatic Shutoff
■ Audible Alert Tones
■ Time Since Brewing Display
■ Quiet Finish Brewing Display
■ Ion-Exchange Water Filter

Get the Refurb ProLine® Single Carafe Coffee Maker Nkl Prl at KitchenAid© shop: link

$50-$100 CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEAS:

In a handsome stainless and black combination, the new Krups GVX coffee mill lets you adjust the bean fineness with exact precision - it has 17 settings from fine to coarse so it is easily adapts to any type of coffee maker, French press or espresso maker. The container on top holds eight ounces; below is the special Burr milling system that grinds your beans to the fineness you've selected, preserving the aroma and avoiding overheating. The burr grinders can be removed for easy cleaning. The dial on front lets you adjust from 2 to 12 cups; on bottom is the removable container that fills with your freshly ground beans, ready for brewing.

Get Krups 8-oz. Burr Coffee Grinder, Black and Stainless Steel at cokking.com: link

Enjoy your coffee break in style anywhere, anytime with this nifty set. The sturdy poly canvas has a handsome Irish tweed look with simulated suede trim and antiqued brass zipper pulls. The compact design stows a brushed stainless steel vacuum flask, two insulated mugs, a small container for cream, two stainless spoons and a coordinating napkin. And an adjustable strap lets you sling it over your shoulder or across your torso. You may never pay for takeout coffee again! Designed and assembled in the USA.

Get the Coffee Tote at UncommonGoods: link

UNDER $49 CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEAS:

Kona Premium Coffee Extra Fancy Blend 1Lb Bag
The highest grade Kona coffee is EXTRA FANCY - the largest beans, usually produced by the strongest trees, picked at the peak of ripeness from high elevation farms.

The Kona Premium Coffee Company is a member of the Kona Coffee Council, the official body of the Kona coffee industry. This means that our coffee is certified by the Kona Coffee Council as 100% pure Kona coffee, and each package contains their official certification sticker. We also are an approved "Estate" by the Kona Coffee Council. This additional distinction means that we completely control our product processing, from field to roasted bag. More information is available on our web site in the "about us" page and flash presentation in regard to the estate and our product manufacturing.

Get Kona Premium Coffee Extra Fancy Blend 1Lb Bag at CoffeeForLess: link

Brookstone’s single cup coffee maker brews the perfect cup—in just four minutes. This compact single cup coffee maker with travel mug brews a fresh cup you can take with you! When you’re on your own or just need an afternoon pick-me-up, why bother making a whole pot? Simply pour a mug of water into your own personal coffee maker, add coffee and press the “brew” button!

Single cup coffee maker keeps your cup hot at home, work or traveling.
Made of double-walled stainless steel, your coffee stays hot so you can take your time drinking it. Perfect for home or on-the-go, these single cup coffee makers come in handy. And they’re small enough to keep on your desk at work!

Measurements are simple with this single serve coffee maker.
Complete with a scoop that is the perfect size for one cup of coffee, this machine makes no mistakes. Enjoy your coffee the way you like it, every time. Plus, there are no messy filters to replace. Each single cup coffee maker comes with a reusable, permanent mesh filter.

Get Stainless Steel Single Cup Coffee Maker at Brookstone: link

Making Your Own Gourmet Coffee Drinks: Espressos, Cappuccinos, Lattes, Mochas, and More!
Mathew Tekulsky chronicles the history of coffee drinking, surveys the types of beans and blends available, reviews coffee-making accessories and their uses, and dispenses tips for brewing a perfect cup of smooth, flavorful coffee. An appendix lists sources for gourmet coffee beans and flavorings and coffee-making equipment. 10 line drawings.

Get "Making Your Own Gourmet Coffee Drinks: Espressos, Cappuccinos, Lattes, Mochas, and More!" at Barnes & Noble: link

Starbucks Coffees 2-lb. Starbucks Coffees Whole Bean Coffee, Starbucks Christmas Blend, Whole Bean
Our festive blend of bold Asia/Pacific coffees and crisp and lively Latin American beans is back to spread holiday cheer all season long. We give this coffee a joyful, spicy warmth with a very special and rare ingredient: aged Indonesian beans.

Get it at Starbucks store: link