I swear by this product: Nespresso

My husband and I are not big coffee drinkers.  We only drink once in a while but we can certainly enjoy and appreciate a very good coffee.  When we first tasted the Nespresso coffee, we had to have a machine to make it at home.  It was slightly silly because as I mentioned we rarely drink coffee but my husband, believe it or not, felt it would be a great hosting tool (I think he just likes gadgets and like any man, felt like he needed this one!).  So we purchased the Nespresso Cube and I am so very glad we did.  The coffee variety is amazing and every single guest we have offered a cup to, has loved it and some have gone as far as going out and buying a machine of their own.

Le Cube - Via Amazon.com

I don't believe Le Cube is available anymore.  Nespresso seems to have come up with new designs.

The great thing is that a Nespresso machine comes in a range of prices starting at $129.99.

Nespresso Essenza - Via Sears.ca

This one looks similar to the Cube:

Nespresso Lattissima - Via Crate and Barrel

Plus it has some accessories so even if you know someone with the machine, you can still purchase an accessory for them.  We have the Nespresso Milk Frother (for cold or hot milk) and I use it to make lattes and cappuccinos  I even use it to make tea lattes.  You don't have to have the Nespresso machine to benefit from this frother as the frothed milk can be used with any coffee and drink (hot chocolate, just plain milk, etc.).  I can go on forever about how much I love the frother but I will let you try it for yourself.  We recently purchased this for my mom who helped us when our son was first born.  It makes for a great gift for just about anyone and is only $100.

Via CA Paradis

Another accessories idea is a capsule holder:

Via CA Paradis

Or buy them a nice clear bowl to just through the capsules in.  They are colourful and make for nice counter decor.

I swear by this product!: The Garlic Pro E-Zee Dice

I received the Garlic Pro E-Zee Dice as part of a house warming gift basket and I have gifted it almost every time I have gone to a house warming since!  It is by far my favourite kitchen tool and those who have received it from me have said the same thing.

Via C.A Paradis

I use a lot of garlic in my cooking, but even if I only used it once in a while, I would still love this product.  I hated how the little pieces of garlic stuck to my fingers when I was trying to dice the garlic clove.  Don't you find that happens to you?  Not only would I be trying to control holding a small pieces of garlic while cutting tiny pieces, which is hard in it of itself, but I would also find myself trying to control all the pieces that were sticking to my fingers.  Plus there was the garlic smelling hands after the entire process!  

Now with the Garlic Pro E-Zee Dice I have my garlic diced in no time, no hassle, no mess and no smelly garlic fingers!  And it is easy to clean - just rinse and put it in the dishwasher (don't touch the blades as they are really sharp).  I am not into buying a bunch of little gadgets for my kitchen, nor do I fall for all the "gimmicks" when it comes to kitchen gadgets, but this one is a must in every kitchen.  So this year when you are thinking what to buy the hostess, this would be a great idea.  Because it is relatively small in size, it also works as a great stocking stuffer.

I received the Garlic Pro E-Zee Dice from C.A. Paradis in Ottawa, and I also have purchased the ones I have gifted from that store.  C.A. Paradis sells this product on their website.  The only other site I found which sells it and is in stock is the Worlds Best Sharpener, but I have never used that site.

Interesting note: While searching online I found that this product was voted Anna & Kristina's best garlic gadget as agreed by 75% of their testers.  You can check out more details about their testing here. I guess I am not the only one who loves this product!