Anyone get any good cooking presents?

I got an Ooni Karu 16 pizza oven. Tried it out and absolutely love it.
- Great, now I want a pizza oven.
- Bad ass. Please post up some pics when you use it!

We moved to Seattle from Houston a few years ago. I haven’t stop bitching about the Mexican food.
I got a tortilla press. I feel heard.
- Lol, yeah we had some Mexican food in Seattle. It was... ok. Glad you got a tortilla press!

I got a shredding attachment for my stand mixer and am so hyped. My jaw dropped as I watched perfectly shredded cheese just fall into the bowl. It was my favorite gift hands-down.
- I thought about getting one of these. Is the increased difficulty in cleaning these worth the convenience of having lots of shredded cheese? I will sometimes shred up to a pound of cheese at a time and it sounds nice to not have to deal with doing it all manually.
  
  I found it very easy to clean. My wrists and hands are weak, so shredding was a real chore for my yearly carrot cake as well. I got a stainless one that can go in the dishwasher if you have one. I don't have a dishwasher but found the attachment no more difficult to clean than a regular box grater. It also come with a pipe brush to get any little nooks and crannies. Overall it depends how much you hate grating. I hated it and therefore love my gift.
  
  There is a trick to cleaning all cheese covered things! Wash it in cold water. Not hot or warm, cold. If the water is just a little bit warm it essentially melts the cheese so all it does is smear and not clean.
- I never knew these existed but now I want one!

I got a salt blend from the various islands that make up Hawaii!
- How does that work? Are they all different sea salts?
  
  I’m not totally sure! It’s got Pacific Sea Salt, but also has specifically Maui Red Salt and Kauai Green Salt and Kiluaea Black Salt. Maybe it’s something about the coasts of the different islands changing the salts?

This Christmas has been pretty good for cooking stuff. Got a nice peugeot pepper mill, a thermoworks dot thermometer, and a nifty little Japanese salt box.
- Status update: today I received a French style rolling pin and a CCK cleaver! I’ll be traveling for a week or so and won’t be able to cook very soon but I absolutely cannot wait to try these out.
  
  Wow, those are all great gifts. The dot is a great thermometer; I wish I had multiple. I really want to get a vegetable cleaver, too

We gave some friends Italian herb mixes from our garden. Oregano, rosemary, and thyme. If you have never had the actual seasonings from a garden instead of store bought, you have no idea what you are missing and what the herbs actually taste like.
For us we got a food saver from Costco. Heard great things
- I love mine. Breaking down whole chickens to refreeze makes sooo much more sense. Also, you can prep sous vide... stuff... and freeze for when you're ready to use it.
  I got a diamond sharpening rod from wusthof as well as a universal knife block. (knife block, but instead of dropping them in slots, they have plastic stick-things inside. you can make your own with skewers,though.) they're great if you're not gonna be bothered with buying the full knife set. I only use 3-4 knives regularkt (Chef knife. paring knife, boning and carving knives. And the carving knife is only if I'm showing off...)

Two smoked chickens and a new immersion blender! I’m pretty happy about it.
- I looove my immersion blender. Such a useful tool.

Not sure if this counts, but got a breville coffee grinder to up my coffee game. Using a mokapot now with store bought grounds. might also upgrade to a bambino next year.
- Absolutely it counts! I think you'll def notice a difference.

Good spice mixes.

A set of assorted fancy wooden implements. 🥹🥹

I got an instant pot. I'm pretty excited to cook some beans.
- pork tenderloin. brine it, cut it into rounds, and brown it. (on heat setting. in the pot. doesn't have to fully cook. you just want to build up a fond, and a nice sear.) in a spice bag, add onion, cilantro orange and lime zest, a couple cloves of garlic, some peppers (I halve them and remove the seeds. You can use whatever. I go with 1 serano and 1 habenero, some of the heat cooks off later.). to the pot, squeeze the orange for it's juice.
  Pressure cook it for 30 minutes or so. Discard the herb. You should be able to pull the chunks apart loosely. put them on a baking sheet (preferably with a cooling tray under it. Parchment helps keep things clean.) "baste" some of the juices on to it- it'll drip down and the steam will help keep it moist. It doesn't take long in the oven, you're looking to put some more color on (the pressure cooking removed the crust,)
  Taco shells, lettuce, tomato (or pico). cheese. congratulations, you've made carnitas tacos.
  
  That sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

The Food of Sichuan
Can't wait to make something
- Fuscia Dunlop is awesome! Dan dan noodles are delicious (I think they're in that book, if you're looking for a recipe to try our first).
  
  I've eaten them but never made them. I think it's a good choice

I got socks. Couldn’t be happier.
- Making some prison hooch?

Me and my fiancee got an airfryer, I have no clue what recipes could be good in one of those but I'm eager to test it out!
- My parents got one on black friday.
  Successfully made shoestring frenchfries. (and I've officially used it more than they have...) (thin-cut-sticks, salt, olive oil or whatever, fresh thyme. Air fry at 400 in the wire basket.)
- Frozen french fries are fantastic! I have an airfryer with shelves instead of a basket, but I'm sure it'd be the same. I just grab store brand waffle, steak, or curly fries, drop a handful or two on a single shelf spread them out so thy're not bunched up and hit the fries button - no additional oil necessary, and I may or may not add seasoning at the end.
  The thicker fries do really well with my airfryer, and the preset, but you may need to adjust your cooking times and temp depending on your air fryer and the type of fries. I also roasted red potatoes and baby carrots for Christmas. Chicken breasts are a little trickier if they're varying sizes and thinknesses, but checking the temp with an instant read thermometer makes it super easy, and you don't heat up your entire kitchen when checking the temps. Same with the carrots and potatoes, I just poke them with a fork to see if they're done
  
  I've made french fries in a deep fryer and those arent comparable to oven made ones. Have to try air frying and taste the difference!
- Air fryers are amazing and incredibly versatile

The science of spice https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/38085725
And a gift card for a spice shop.

I didn’t, but my brother got a Babish knife set and a T-fal stainless steel frying pan. The knives are amazing (had my own set for years), but I’m jealous of that pan.

https://fellowproducts.com/products/corvo-ekg?variant=39402236412004
Got this kettle. Already made some tea.

I got an annodized stock pot, to go with my new induction stove.

We either gave or received a few:
Sampler pack of flavors from a well-known online ramen place, along with chopsticks and a spoon for chili crisp
Two nice blue glazed ramen bowls with hold on either side to slide your chopsticks through - along with MORE chopsticks, and spoons for broth
A 5-qt stainless steel sauté pan with a lid
Hero’s Feast D&D cookbook
Some interesting barrel-aged coffee beans
A spritzer to most coffee beans so they don’t get too staticky in the grinder
- Hero’s Feast D&D cookbook
  o,0. I uh, don't have that rule book....suddenly I feel incomplete. :)

My parents got me curry ketchup. Jury is still out on whether or not it's "good."
- I jave actually been wanting to try this. I imagine it would be good on fries or a burger.
  
  I tried a brand with mild and spicy. I thought the mild was pretty much ketchup. Spicy is really good, although a bit thin - does not stick to fries well. I’ll definitely get it again

I got 4 xtrema ceramic pans.
I’ve been concerned about nonstick material getting into our food, and several friends said I should try ceramic pans.
https://xtrema.com/
I do not have any affiliations with xtrema.
I’ve seen YouTubers say they’re hard to clean, but I’ve had no problems at all with them.

A “micro plane glove”: cut resistant glove to use with micro planes, graters, mandolins, where there are so many accidents
Variety pack of ground: bison, elk, boar. I have no idea what to use it for but am looking forward to finding out
- That variety pack sounds like a really good chili.

Yes! I got a chinois ("China cap"). My grave was silky smooth this year. And a mother of pearl spoon for caviar.

I asked for 1 nice 5qt camp Dutch oven (I have a 7qt and a 3, I needed something in between). I got 2 different good ones.
I also got a safer mandolin slicer I’m super excited for.

I got a molcajete and a tortilla press and it's been AMAZING
- Awesome! I got a tortilla press too!

My mom got me a nice crock for my sourdough starter, and my brother got me a sous vide!
Very excited. Made some steak and foccacia tonight to celebrate.
- Very nice gifts. I bet your starter is loving its new home.