Bitch in a Box: Holiday Gift Guide, Kitchen Gadgets Edition!

No matter how different everyone's holiday traditions and plans are, they tend to have one thing in common: food. Lots of food, and much of it homemade. As someone who loves to cook, even I'll admit that the excessive amount of it that the holidays require can be a drain on the culinary spirit. But nothing makes me more excited to start looking up recipes than new gadgets to cook with. Read on for ideas to re-inspire your favorite chef after the holiday season!

If you're not an avid baker or a citrus lover, you might not know what a zester is (I once asked a neighbor to borrow one and she asked me if it was some sort of tool). But for anyone who's tried to obtain a tablespoon of lemon zest without one, they know exactly what a zester is and they want one very badly. Zesters come in many shapes and sizes, but this kind is my favorite. Save your friends and loved ones from scraped knuckles and an extra thirty minutes of cooking time!

One of the most useful kitchen gadgets that I've ever owned is a food processor/chopper. Smaller choppers such as this one are relatively cheap and can be used to make awesome things, like hummus, feta dip, and chopped carrots for carrot cake! These awesome foods are easy to make with a food processor, and so labor intensive as to be nearly impossible to make without. Plus, since a food processor is an electric appliance, it seems like a much more expensive gift than it is. Get it for someone you want to impress!

Some of the most visually appealing (and, admittedly, least necessary) gadgets are the ones designed to look like the foods you use them for. Take strawberry hullers. They look like strawberries! Adorable! You can also find things like Avo Saves and onion containers, which look like—you guessed it—avocados and onions. Silly, but fun and cheap.

After slaving away over a hot stove, your gift recipient deserves a cold drink—and whether that's wine, water, beer, or the traditional swigs of cooking sherry, Rabbit corks are a perfect and inexpensive way to cork bottles in between drinks. Novelty corkscrews and bottle openers are fun and usually easy to find at gift shops, but I also recommend a classic corkscrew like this one.

Finally, if you're ready to go all out and buy a kitchen lover the best gift ever, go pick a up a KitchenAid stand mixer in their favorite color (if you don't know which color, go with bright red). You will probably win the holiday and get free baked goods for life!

Previously: Jet-Set Sex Edition, Tea Drinker's Edition