My CORE Holiday Wish List…

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Let’s face it, Halloween is so last week. I love costumes (i.e. dressing up as a Spice Girl) as much as the next guy, but come the beginning of November I’m solely focused on my Christmas wish list…and perhaps my moustache too, but I digress…

If you have to buy a present for the ‘foodie’ in your life, don’t just settle for a steak and potatoes kind of a gift. Pardon the pun, but think outside of the box a little bit. I know cookbooks aren’t generally part of my aforementioned ‘outside of the box’ category, but these two picks I found at Indigo are anything but standard issue.. 

Odd Bits: How To Cook The Rest Of The Animal by Jennifer McLagan will transform any leftover brains, hooves, or eyeballs you may have hands into surprisingly delicious dishes. True lovers of all things culinary definitely have a sense of adventure!

The second book to is Domenica Marchetti’s The Glorious Pasta of Italy. Flip through the pages (Warning: food porn quality photos. NSFW)  and there will be types of pasta that you’ve probably never heard of before. All the more reason to try them out!

Since you know a true foodie loves to host dinner parties, it’s impossible to go wrong with this Scrabble: Cooking edition board game. I found it in the seasonal Calendar Club Shop while searching for a Buffy The Vampire Slayer calendar. They don’t make those anymore apparently, but at least I got excited about the culinary-centric game!

Definitely boasting some of the best pizza in the downtown core, a gift card to Double Zero would definitely win the heart of any foodie. If you’re thinking of buying me this one, be sure to find me a date too. Hey! A guy’s got to try, right?

Sticking with the dining out present inspiration, nothing says ‘Let’s go for some charcuterie and cocktails at Charcut’ quite like a sharp Michael Kors sweater. Actually, just any nice article of clothing found in Harry Rosen would be welcomed under a foodie’s tree. I mean, we spend all our money on food, right?

No foodie’s life is complete without a camera. More specifically, an SLR. You should probably buy a witty food blog domain name to go with it. Everyone’s a critic, er, food blogger these days, and this Nikon D3100 on sale at Black’s Photogrsphy is a great one to get started with.

Ok Santa, let’s do this.

If YOU would like to get a kick start on your Christmas shopping, The CORE is giving away a $100 CORE gift card! All you have to do is tweet a link to this blog post to your followers. Be sure to tag @COREshopping in your tweet with the #TwasTheNight hashtag to be entered in the draw to win!

One final plug…The CORE is throwing a massive holiday shopping benefit called ‘T’was The Night’ on November 30 from 6:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. that will feature late night shopping and a performance by rad Canadian musician Chantal Kreviazuk! The tickets are just $15 and all of the proceeds to go to the BeCause Initiative of the United Way and the National Music Centre Project, two great Calgary charities. You can buy your tickets at www.coreshopping.ca to join  me there!

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