Holiday Gift Guide & What I Cooked Last Week
My 2025 gift guide, homemade pita with garlic butter, grandpa’s Korean soup, chicken pad see ew
Hi everyone,
Hope you’re having a great week! I’ve been in Japan this past week with my mom, my aunt, and my cousin. We’ve been having the best time (so much good food!), and I can’t wait to share our recommendations in next week’s newsletter.
I’m really excited to share my gift guide for this year. With the holidays around the corner, I thought it would be helpful to put together a selection of my favorite items. Some are longtime favorites, while others are new discoveries I’m completely obsessed with. At the end, you’ll also find three gift ideas from my mom.
Also, I finally received a finished copy of my cookbook, and it looks even more beautiful than I imagined! Thank you for all your sweet comments. If you’d like to preorder it as a holiday gift for a loved one, you can print out the voucher below and send the book to their address. It’ll arrive in March as a fun surprise and a way to extend the holidays :)
First, here’s a recipe for homemade pita with garlic butter that my mom and I recently made. I came across a video by @francesca.talks, who says this pita recipe comes from a Greek man and is life-changingly delicious. I had to try it, and oh my gosh, it was incredible. My mom and I decided to brush the pita with a simple garlic oil so it can stand on its own as a fantastic appetizer. I hope you give it a try!
What I Cooked Last Week! ↓
Homemade Pita with Garlic Butter
This pita turns out moist and tender with the perfect amount of chew. My mom and I spread on garlic butter, so it can stand alone as a showstopping app.
You can download the PDF recipe above and watch the video here :)
Grandpa’s Korean Soup
My grandpa was an amazing cook, and this soup is his signature dish. It’s spicy and savory and packed with veggies. I hope you love it!
Chicken Pad See Ew
The chubby rice noodles are infused with a deeply savory Asian sauce and are cooked until they’re perfectly charred around the edges. Although I dropped the whole thing at the end of this video, it was so delicious while it lasted 😆
Here it is: My 2025 Gift Guide! 🎁
For the kitchen 👩🍳
Small and mighty (under $20)
Rotary cheese grater: This is the tool I fell in love with this year. The kitchen task I dislike most is grating cheese because it feels inefficient and I’m always scared I’ll scrape my knuckles. Using a rotary grater has been a total game changer. It’s fantastic and makes grating cheese a breeze.
Best ice cream scoop: It cuts right through super frozen ice cream. You’ll never struggle again!
Slotted spoon for straining pasta: It’s the perfect size for transferring pasta straight from the boiling water to a skillet, which is always how I recommend making pasta rather than draining it in the sink. This way you keep plenty of pasta cooking water to use for the sauce.
Zucchini noodle spiralizer: A great tool for anyone who likes to eat a little healthier. It’s always nice to have the option to make zucchini noodles, and sometimes I like mixing them in with regular spaghetti.
Bench Scraper: My favorite kitchen gadget. If you watch my videos, you know how much I love this tool! It makes it so easy to scoop up chopped ingredients from a cutting board and transfer them into a bowl, pan, or pot.
Maldon Sea Salt: My go-to finishing sea salt. It has large, crispy flakes that add the perfect salty pop to any dish. I also use it for desserts, like vanilla ice cream with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of Maldon.
Graza “Drizzle” Extra-Virgin Olive Oil: My favorite finishing olive oil! The squeeze bottle is super functional, too, and allows you to easily control how much oil you’re adding.
More expensive (but they should last a lifetime!)
Kitchenaid wireless handmixer: It’s so nice not having to worry about being near an outlet. I also have the wireless Kitchenaid immersion blender, which I love for soup because you can blend directly in the pot!
Lotus 4-Slice Precision Toaster: This is a new-to-the-market toaster that I’ve been testing for the past several months. It toasts bread so evenly and has a frozen setting, plus extra-wide slots. It’s definitely a more premium and high-end gift, but if you’d like a splurge gift, it’s a great option.
Global Chef’s Knife: An essential tool for prepping—this has been my main knife for years! It’s lightweight, comfortable, and razor sharp.
A Dutch Oven and/or Cocotte: I equally love Le Creuset and Staub—they are both the gold standard and incredibly durable. I’ve had a blue 7.25-quart Le Creuset for a decade and it’s just like new. I recently got the slightly smaller 5.5-quart Staub cocotte in lilac, which I’ve been loving and is such a pretty color.
Staub Cast-Iron Skillet: I highly recommend this 11-inch skillet with high sides for searing meat or making a one-pan meal. I use it all the time.
Made In 12-inch Stainless Clad Skillet: Another skillet I turn to almost every day. It’s excellent quality and retains heat evenly. I also love the All-Clad 12-inch with a lid.
Scanpan Wok: I get asked so many questions about my wok, so here it is! I love that it’s sturdy and nonstick.
Beauty and Skincare 💅
A few newer additions I’ve been loving:
Midnight mantra nail polish by O.P.I: A new favorite from this year. The dark blue feels more unique than my usual dark red, but it’s still elegant and classy.
Fable and Mane hair oil: I’ve started a hair oiling routine (in addition to my Olaplex No.7 Bonding Hair Oil), and I swear it’s helped my hair grow and stay healthier. I work the oil into my roots as a mask and leave it on for 3 to 4 hours.
Jade gua sha stone: I got this stone as a Christmas gift two years ago and use it every day. Though it’s pricey, it holds up really well and feels worth every penny. Danna Omari has a great tutorial on YouTube here if you want to learn how to use your stone :).
Journaling and creativity ✍️
As you probably know, journaling has become a really important part of my morning routine. I love my Rollbahn notebook and the Pilot gell roller pens. I get them in 0.7, which feels like the perfect thickness for me since they’re nice and inky.
Watercolor paint set: I love painting with watercolors, and this set from Grabie has tons of colors and great quality. Make sure to pick up some watercolor paper if you don’t already have it.
Books 📚
I’m realizing I didn’t read nearly as much as I did last year, so I need to get back to it… but here are two novels I’ve loved:
The Margot Affair by Sanaë Lemoine: My mom and I have been reading this novel at the same time, which has been so fun because we get to talk about it, though no spoilers. It’s a wonderful coming-of-age story set in France about the daughter of an affair between an actress and a politician.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid: A story about a young woman who rises to fame in Hollywood and all the relationships that shape her life. I read it earlier this year and really enjoyed it.
And a book I read last year but return to over and over again:
The Creative Act by Rick Rubin: A birthday present from my friend Laz. This is an amazing read if you do creative work—it really helped me tap into my creativity and follow my inspiration.
Plus three gift ideas from my mom! ⭐️
Pull chop: My mom loves this pull chop. It’s almost like a mini food processor, except you just pull the cord. It’s an easy way to chop a small amount of ingredients. She recently used it to chop nuts for candied apples.
Set of cookie scoops (in 1, 2, and 3 tablespoons): Use them to scoop meatballs, which is so much easier than doing it by hand, or even for filling dumplings. They do a lot more than just portioning cookie dough!
Watercolor workbooks: My brother got my mom one of these since she loves to paint, and now she’s obsessed. It’s a really nice gift for anyone with an artistic side, and you could pair it with the watercolor set I recommended above.
I hope these recs spark some ideas for your wish list or help you find the perfect gift for someone you love.
Wishing you a wonderful, relaxing weekend!
Love,
Maxine
Thank you, I'm sure this took time to create