Holiday Gift Ideas

The New York Times always has the best columns on gift giving.Go to their Thursday Style section and get neat ideas on clothing and makeup. Check out their Sunday Style section for  everything from jewelry to stationery . The same holds true for yesterday's Wednesday's Dining section. They offer great ideas from gadgets to cookbooks. There are suggestions from all the Dining contributors for any kind of foodie, from the creative to the gourmand,

You can never go wrong with a book or even a cooking magazine. The Dining section has some excellent ideas. Julia Moskin recommends the new ChopChop which is the perfect gift for any young chef.It comes quarterly and is only $14.95 a subscription. For those who like autobiographies try Marcus Samuelsens's novel Yes Chef. There is also the rare poetry book on food entitled.The Hungry Ear. Give any of these with a great snack, Red Kite's Candy Company toffee crunch and salted caramels (again recommended by Julia Moskin) or the lush panettone made by the top designer Giorgio Armani(!)

Gadgets and food are always appreciated.Jane Black offers up a sleek retro style toaster that not only toasts but also defrosts too. There is also a bagel setting that keeps the inside warm but maintains the crusty exterior, A suribachi, a Japanese version of a mortar and pestle is also suggested by A City Table's Dave Tanis. This is good for making everything from ground basil to garlic paste. Foods such as smoked okra or smokra is mentioned and actually would make a nice hostess gift as Jennifer Steinhauser suggests. There are also cherries and ginger (not together) that would be great presents as well.

Leave it to The New York Times Dining section to come up with some great gift ideas. Check out the Times website for the whole list. You'll get so many ideas for those foodies in your life.