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 Are you looking for the perfect foodie gift? We're constantly looking for things that foodies love. This year we've found (and tested out) some wonderful gifts that are sure to put a smile on your favorite foodie's face. Read on to see our top holiday gift picks for foodies including gifts for the kitchen, stocking stuffers, and the gift of food itself. We've also even found some fabulous kitchen gifts for Hanukkah.
Gifts for the Kitchen - every foodie wants more things for the kitchen…  Hanukkah Gifts: While any of the following gifts would be loved by a foodie celebrating Hanukkah when we found these cute Yiddish ceramic bowls ($15 each) at ModernTribe.com we simply had to share. Each hand painted bowl has a Yiddish phrase—Nachas (pride), Mazal (luck), Simcha (Joy) and our favorite Nosh (snack!) on the outside along with a colorful swirl on the inside. They are a fun way to share Hanukkah snacks and stir-up conversation at the same time. These bowls are much larger than they appear in the pictures, you can nosh to your heart's content out of one of them. — picked by Foodie Pam
 Immersion Blender: No kitchen is complete without an immersion blender—indispensable for everything from breakfast smoothies to soup suppers. Cuisinart now offers a dazzling array of delicious colors to choose from: tangerine, pomegranate, parsley, buttercup, and crush. Best of all, this $55.00 value is $29.95 at Sur la Table. What a way to stuff a stocking! — picked by Peggy Fallon
 Vintage Wine Glasses: Can anyone ever have too many wine glasses? I think not-especially ones that are lead-free, dishwasher-safe crystalline by Waterford. While the supply lasts, here's a great deal on a set of 4 Marquis Vintage Deep Red Wine glasses: a mere $59.00, with no shipping charges and free gift wrap. While there, check out all the other gorgeous glasses and gifts available at bargain prices on www.cashs.com. — picked by Peggy Fallon
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 Thermapen: One kitchen tool that every chef (yes even a home chef) should have is a good instant read thermometer. The best tasting meats (not to mention lively yeast) are the ones that are cooked to exactly the right internal temperature and there's no better way to learn how to do this than with an instant read thermometer. Our absolute favorite instant read thermometer is the ThermoWorks Thermapen —fast, accurate, totally waterproof, and it comes in a bunch of cool colors. — picked by Foodie Pam
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 Glass Vision Toaster: For those who really want control when toasting, the Magimix Toaster sold by Williams-Sonoma offers the ultimate toast experience. It has glass windows on either side that lets you watch while it is toasting. Not only do I find this really cool, but I love that it lets me make sure all my efforts in making my own bread don't get wasted by over toasting. Besides the good looks, it works exceptionally well and makes great toast. The Magimix toaster and food processor only available at Williams-Sonoma in the United States. — picked by Foodie Pam
The Gift of Food — Some people really do have everything…or at least, everything they need. Gain their attention (and gratitude) with a gift of good taste—the edible kind—that can be shared with friends or savored all by their lonesome…  Tell Tale Society: If you know a foodie who enjoys great tasting preserves, confections, cookies, cakes and other tasty goodies then this is for them. The Tell Tale society is a monthly bag of these goodies ($35/month plus shipping) prepared by Executive Pastry Chef William Werner from the Tell Tale Preservation Company. An example month could consist of chocolate fig jam, shortbread cookies, chocolate carrot cake, almond brittle and caramels. This is the kind of gift that truly tells your friend you care! And the best part is that the society can be joined on a month-by-month basis so if you want to treat your friend to this for just one month or several you can. — picked by Foodie Pam
 Nudo Italian Foods: Our holiday gift guide a couple of year's ago included Nudo Adopt-an-Olive tree, which remains a fun gift of high quality olive oil. But, Nudo also provides gift boxes with a decidedly Italian focus that can be combined with the olive oil tree adoption. The gift boxes contain artisan products from Italy including combinations of sundried tomatoes, capers, pesto, artichoke hearts and tagliatelle mixed with a selection of Nudo's olive oil (of course!). Gift Boxes range from $39-65 or they can be combined with a tree adoption for $134-159. — picked by Foodie Pam
 Met Bakery Gourmet Popcorn: Philadelphia is a great food city and one of its less hidden treasures is the Metropolitan Bakery . I had the good fortune of spending a day at their headquarters last year where I sampled artisan breads that rival some found in the best European bakeries and their new granola which is still my all time favorite. This year they've added handmade flavored popcorn to their list. Created by co-owner and head baker James Barrett this is the most sophisticated take on caramel corn that you will ever see. Hide this from the kids, heck hide it from your spouse. You will not want to share it and that's what makes it a perfect gift. Just in time for the Holidays there is a lovely three flavor gift sampler ($25 plush shipping), Stout with smoked almonds, Bourbon Infused, and Spiced Peanut Butter flavor. Each is rich and flavorful, not to be consumed in one sitting, but nibbled on with your favorite cocktail. Try it, and gift it to someone who will share. — picked by Heather Jones
 Momofuku MilkBar Cookies & Pies: Last time I was in New York City, I had the opportunity to visit David Chang's Momofuku MilkBar, his confectionery outpost run by Pastry Chef Christina Tosi. One quick glance at the menu and I knew what I wanted, "Crack Pie", I had to know what a pie worthy of being named after one of the most addictive street drugs tasted like. The pie is incredible, a rich buttery goodness, and I experienced a sugar high like no other. So imagine my delight when I found out that you can now order your own crack pie and have it shipped just in time for the Holidays ($44 plus shipping). The overnight night shipping will cost you but this pie, like so many other goodies on their menu is a wonderful treat for the super sweet lover in your life. — picked by Heather Jones
 Meat CSA: We've all heard about getting weekly (or monthly) boxes of local, seasonal vegetables thru community sponsored agriculture (CSAs), but what about meat? What better way to explore local meant than to join a local meat CSA? Although they are not as common as vegetable/fruit CSAs they are are growing in availability throughout the country. While I can't offer specific suggestions for the entire country, if you are from the San Francisco Bay area you should check out Marin Sun Farms . I've been in their meat CSA for several months now and really enjoy it. They have several packages to choose from depending on your family's size and the amount of meat you eat. Each month you'll get a selection of meat based on your selected package from either beef, lamb, pork or goat. Packages range from $30/month to $170/month. — picked by Foodie Pam
 Bison: While I'm on the subject of meat, another great meat option is Bison. It's a lean red meat that tastes great. Sadly, Bison is not wildly available. In fact, until recently I'd only had it in restaurants. High Plains Bison offers mail order Bison that arrives on dry-ice. They have a wide selection of Bison meat cuts and also offer sausages, hot dogs and burgers. The sausages, in particular, were quite good and offer a less fat alternative without less taste for those who, like me, crave sausages. Some options include a Bison sampler ($39.99) or 10 3.2 oz Bison Sausages ( $35.99). — picked by Foodie Pam
Gifts for Stuffing the Stocking - it's the little things that count!  amazon.com
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 Wine Salame: Columbus' Wine Salame Collection is made with fine wine varietals and other quality ingredients specifically selected to complement and enhance their unique flavors. Choose from Pinot Grigio salame with a hint of lemon zest; Pinot Noir with pink peppercorns; or Cabernet Sauvignon with juniper berries. Around $ 5.99 for 8oz; available at select specialty food stores and grocery retailers nationwide. — picked by Peggy Fallon
Cookbooks! Cookbooks are always a great foodie gift. We've got some picks for you that we'll share next week in our foodie cookbook gift guide and in our annual selection of the best cookbooks of the year. Disclosure: Items discussed in this post may have been provided by vendors, publicists, and/or manufacturers to Project Foodie. Disclosure: Samples of products discussed in this post may have been provided to Project Foodie by publicists and/or manufacturers.
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Foodie Talk 
Did you know that Tillamook makes yogurt? I've always known them for their cheeses, but as a large dairy cooperative they also make other products. Back to the yogurt: it's good, very good, and with interesting fruit flavors to choose from, too. (Check out all the flavors on their 
Talenti is a Dallas, TX company that handcrafts gelato and sorbetto using what they say is a 500-year old artisanal process. They also carefully select the ingredients opting for fresh pasteurized milk (without growth hormones), pure cane sugar (no high fructose corn syrup), and fresh quick frozen ingredients (no syrups, flavorings or fruit preserves). The result is smooth, creamy, delicious and flavor packed. Despite this, because gelato is made with milk rather than cream, it is lower in fat than ice cream (Talenti says their products have 30-100% less fat than ice cream). 
Each year as the cool Fall weather kicks in I start baking more. Usually, my first big Fall baking activity goes hand-in-hand with a big shopping trip. Staples like flour and white sugar need to be re-filled. Baking powder and some baking spices need a refresh even if they are not gone as they lose their oomph over time. I also stock up on chocolate (cocoa powder, dark chocolate and bittersweet chocolate) which I don't keep in large quantities because it can absorb other flavors. And then there is vanilla extract, which is suspended in an alcohol solution and I believe best kept in relatively small quantities. 
Great, we both ranked the Mexican vanilla higher which also just so happened to be Peggy's favorite as well. We were done right? Nope. My foodie consultant cautioned me that the vanilla might taste different when incorporated into a baked good. A true test must incorporate the vanilla into something - preferably a baked good that is vanilla centric. Rather than make four batches of cookies I limited the second stage of testing to the top two vanillas above. I made Vanilla sugar cookies (as much fun as slurping large batches of whipped cream sounded it seemed a bit over the top and still didn't involve baking!). 
Ice cream and I go way back. From custards with my dad when I could barely walk, to my time as a soda-jerk in high school, to my Ben & Jerry college filled years to my present day date-night treats with the hubby.
I recently got to try out some of their latest flavors. My favorite was the Praline Irish Cream which has Irish Cream liqueur and candied pecan pralines - pure indulgence!
