cupcake and grilling basket

December 22, 2010 8:48 PM

I need cool kitchen tools/spices/nice ingredients/etc that are grilling and cupcake related.

I'm making a gift basket for my best friends (a couple); one is obsessed with grilling things and the other is obsessed with cupcakes. I'm going to get some nice cupcake things, like cool sprinkles and liners and those bags that you use to pipe icing that come in other shapes, but I need other suggestions for neat cupcake things. I have no idea about the grilling things; suggestions of tools that are great for grilling or spices/oils/etc that are frequently used in marinades or glazes would be great.

posted by NoraReed to food & drink (19 answers total)

Cupcake carrier ($25) and a wireless thermometer ($40).
posted by rhizome at 8:51 PM on December 22, 2010

For baking, maybe some high quality flavor extracts? The good ones can be a bit pricey but are so much better than cheap ones. Vanilla, almond, banana, strawbeery and coffee are some that come to mind.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 8:53 PM on December 22, 2010

For grilling, get them small bags of various hardwoods (I'm assuming they use a charcoal grill but I've heard you can use them with gas grills) such as hickory, apple, mesquite, etc. They add great flavor You might be able to find a few selections at a nice grocery store. But beware the overpriced bags at Williams Sonoma and the like. Check Amazon if you have trouble locating some, we just bought a big bag of hickory for a great price.

That's all I got but will check with my grillmaster husband and post more ideas we come up with.

Nthing the cupcake carrier, but for small things you're on the right track with the sprinkles, etc.
posted by lvanshima at 9:07 PM on December 22, 2010

I can only speak for the grilling, as I am not of the baking sort.

Sur La Table sells a set of 4 "steak buttons" (ie thermometers that tell you when your steak is to order for $20. link

Cedar planks are very fun to play with on the grill. Something to consider. Likewise other grilling acoutrements, like a veggie basket or a griddle. Maybe a charcoal chimney? Silicon basting brushes are also a great help.
posted by Gilbert at 9:12 PM on December 22, 2010

Give them this recipe cupcake chicken
posted by starvinron at 9:15 PM on December 22, 2010

Oh I should've said that the grill is gas. I think. Definitely not charcoal.
posted by NoraReed at 9:20 PM on December 22, 2010

A grill wok would make a nice basket to hold everything. Spice rubs would be welcome, too. You could also get a great bottle of BBQ sauce and mop to apply it.
posted by zinfandel at 9:20 PM on December 22, 2010

For Christmas I got my brother a small cast iron sauce pot that can be left on the grill. It comes as a set with a silicone basting brush from Sur La Table, but I can't find it on their website. But I did find this slab of salt, which I wish I'd gotten instead.
posted by hydrophonic at 9:28 PM on December 22, 2010

Silicone cupcake molds. Smoker box and hickory chips, perfect to impart a little smoky flavor on those gas-grilled items.
posted by gingerest at 9:33 PM on December 22, 2010

The best grilling accessory you can get someone is a good digital meat thermometer. The best meat thermometer you can get is a Maverick ET-73. It's fucking wireless, complete genius. For additional info on grilling gear, check out this guy's website.
posted by signalnine at 9:34 PM on December 22, 2010 [1 favorite]

You didn't mention a price range, but some of the suggestions are a little pricey for what I would consider for a gift basket.

Do you know what he already has in the way of grilling gadgets? I think most of the Sur la Table or Williams Sonoma grilling stuff is silly and not that useful.

You could get him a grill light for late grilling sessions or a meat hook or some grill gloves.

Here are some ready made gift baskets that might be helpful.

For the cupcakes, maybe a cupcake corer? Cupcake stencils? Nice food coloring pastes?

Also, I can't recommend Cupcake Bakeshop enough. She has amazing, unusual recipes for cupcakes. To introduce your friend to the website, why not print out a couple recipes and tuck them in to the basket?
posted by lvanshima at 10:23 PM on December 22, 2010

A lot of my cupcake-baking customers buy lavender and ground chiles for some of their products. Lavender is delightful in a cupcake and the zing of chile is a nice surprise. (I love it when they bring the finished product back in to the store to share tastes!).
posted by webhund at 11:54 PM on December 22, 2010

I agree w/Ivanshima about the gimmickyness of most grilling tools. What about a book? Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way is supposed to be great, and not your standard burgers-'n'-ribs sort of manual. Amusing review by Nora Ephron.
posted by jon1270 at 3:09 AM on December 23, 2010

I second the vote for flavor extracts for cupcakes. I live in an area with several specialty food stores, and still the most exotic flavor I can find is orange. I recommend that, as well as almond and lemon, as generally popular flavors. Include others if you know their tastes.

Maybe instead of an actual basket to hold all the goodies, you could use a tiered cake/cupcake stand and stack the things on the tiers?
posted by Fui Non Sum at 5:06 AM on December 23, 2010

I really like a good pair of tongs for my grilling activities, but I'm really particular about the tongs I like. A couple pair of good restaurant-type tongs might be a good addition, though. The ones that come with Grilling Tool Sets are, in my opinion, complete crap.

A wireless thermometer, as mentioned above, would probably be welcome if he does any long-cooking stuff on the grill. And, though pricey, thermapens are fantastic.

Weber makes a great grill brush that's triangle shaped. I love mine a lot. Here is a picture of the model I have.

Some disposable plastic or nitrile gloves for food-handling might be nice. I use them all the time to keep stuff from getting contaminated with raw meat juices.

Likewise, a set of color-coded cutting boards for different food types could be handy.

Silicone basting brushes are awesome.

That's all I can think of right now. I love to grill and I'd be tickled to get any of those things.
posted by Shohn at 6:12 AM on December 23, 2010

Ooh! Ooh! How could I have forgotten a Weber Chimney Starter. Hands down the best grilling accessory I've ever acquired. If he doesn't have one, get him one. If he does have one, get him aonother. Seriously.
posted by Shohn at 6:14 AM on December 23, 2010

Bake It Pretty has all manner of cool cupcake things - decorations, liners, boxes & tags, wrappers, kits, sugar shapes & edible flowers, etc. If you're anywhere near Asheville, NC you can visit their store. If not, they have gift certificates!

King Arthur Flour also has lots of neat cupcake stuff in their store & online.

I have this Wilton 3-in-1 Cupcake Carrier that's great, especially if your friend travels with her cupcakes.
posted by geeky at 12:30 PM on December 23, 2010

Giant grill scouring pads of the sort they use in restaurants. They make grilling the best ever because clean up becomes a cinch. You can get them at restaurant supply stores. For cupcakes, extracts and fancy food color are fun!
posted by stoneweaver at 3:10 PM on December 23, 2010

Went with cupcake variety pack stuff + a basket-type thingie similar to the grill woks but not exactly the same for cooking fish and vegetables + wood chips and they went over quite well. Thanks guys!
posted by NoraReed at 12:14 AM on December 25, 2010