The Amateur Gourmet Gift Guide 2024

Plus: My Thanksgiving Plate, Dining at EPCOT, and David Chang Brussels Sprouts.

Dec 02, 2024

Hey everyone,

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

As you can see above, I had a very full plate this year. If you’re new here, a little background: my family lives in Boca Raton, Florida, and though I’ve cooked Thanksgiving dinner for them in the past (in 2007, to be specific), we now all agree that “it’s just easier” (my mom’s favorite quote) to go to their golf club buffet.

Here’s the family all gathered before ascending the stairs to the all-you-can-eat shrimp next to the Thanksgiving ice sculpture:

To tell the truth, there’s something nice about having all of that Thanksgiving food made for you… especially made for me, since I cook almost every other day of the year. And I don’t feel particularly compelled to put my personal spin on a turkey breast or gravy.

(That said, I did float the idea of cooking dinner here in Brooklyn next year. We’ll see!)

But that’s not the headline of this post… you’re here for a gift guide and I’ve got one for you: on video.

Take it away, Instagram (click the picture to watch):

amateurgourmet

A post shared by @amateurgourmet

If you want it all in a clickable list, I’ve got that for you too (a lot of these are currently on sale for Cyber Monday):

a chef’s knife with a red handle from Made In (my go-to knife)
a Chef’s Choice knife sharpener (I use this all the time)
a chef’s knife and a cutting board from Frederick’s and Mae
a marble mortar and pestle from Whisk NYC
Mason Cash Mixing Bowls on sale at Macy’s (these are the same ones they use on The Great British Baking Show)
a magnum plus pepper mill from Unicorn Mills
a spatula from Lamson Cutlery (currently out of stock, but may be available elsewhere)
a big bucket of Maldon Sea Salt
tinned fish from Fish Wife (perfect smelly stocking stuffer)
a baguette candle from John Derian
Via Monodori Balsamic (available on various sites)

Hope that gives you some inspiration.

And don’t forget, you can get 50% off my newsletter if you sign up right now. That means getting me in your inbox twice a week instead of just once:

Get 50% off for 1 year

After Thanksgiving in Boca, we took the Brightline — a high speed train — up to Orlando, a terrific alternative to driving. We were there in just two and a half hours.

We were there to visit our friends Michael and John, who relocated there from L.A. two years ago. Here they are in their lovely new home (we ate their delicious homemade Thanksgiving leftovers, a second Thanksgiving for us).

On Saturday, John shepherded us to EPCOT where were first in line (because of the virtual cue which John woke up at 7 AM to join… thanks John!) for the new Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind roller coaster.

Now if you know anything about me, I hate roller coasters. Specifically: I hate that lurching, droppy, nauseating feelings they induce. Because I’m married to a roller coaster enthusiast, I’ve learned to make peace with the Disney classics like Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain.

This one, however, terrified me because it goes backwards and spins around. But because John went to all of that trouble, and because Disney spent an estimated $500 million on the ride, I felt like I had to just suck it up and go on.

I may be smiling in this pic, but holy crap did this make me feel horrible! Imagine sitting on a tea cup spinning round and round that’s set on a roller coaster track and you’ll get the idea. Just when I was getting my bearings, the seat would swivel in a new direction. At some point we were circumnavigating the moon and I was writing my last will and testament in my head.

Suffice it to say: I’m proud of myself for going on, but to quote my girlfriend in high school after I made her a mix tape featuring songs from A Chorus Line: “This just isn’t for me.”

We did find a really fun place for a very necessary stiff drink in EPCOT, later in the afternoon. Apparently Neil Patrick Harris’s favorite spot is the tequila bar inside the Mexico pavilion and hanging out here with John and Craig proved to be a highlight of the day.

The drinks were very sweet and the tortilla chips tasted weird, but this was EPCOT and the alcohol helped calm me down after my roller coaster trauma. I also braved the Tron ride at the Magic Kingdom (death on a stick!) and the new Splash Mountain, which featured a story about a chef who turns into a frog.

That image of Craig with his hands up and me screaming my head off is the best encapsulation of our relationship I’ve ever seen.

Now that we’re back, I’m excited: I just signed up for a Farm to People delivery box that’s coming today. Should be a great way to get fresh produce in the winter.

One thing I cooked before I left were David Chang’s Momofuku Ssam Bar Brussels Sprouts. Here’s a video I made about it:

amateurgourmet