Gift ideas for your favorite foodie who has it all

Enlarge Image Image Gallery If your child, and you, are ready for it, start teaching knife safety and skills in the kitchen this year with a kid sized knife like this Rachel Ray Furi Gusto Grip Li'l Edgy 5-Inch Santoku Knife. (AP Photo/Larry Crowe) The Associated Press

Stymied by what to get the fussy foodie in your life?

Take this bit of advice — we all have more than enough aprons (kitschy, frilly, manly, profane and otherwise) that we don't wear; bottles of decorative vinegars consume valuable kitchen real estate and are so '90s; and with only two hands we can use only so many pot holders.

If you want to please a picky cook, look for gifts that solve problems and make work easier, or at least make it easier to love the work. Here are some suggestions that may make this year's holiday gift hunt a little less stressed.

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HOST GIFT

— When headed to someone's house for dinner, anyone can bring a bottle of wine or bouquet of flowers. To make an impression, head to the grocer and get a stalk of Brussels sprouts, instead. A stalk of sprouts (usually 2 to 3 feet long) has a rustic beauty and is easily dressed up with a ribbon or a wrap of tissue paper. The stalks are in season, cost just a few dollars and your host gets to eat the sprouts the next day.

— Sprouts not your thing? Form a large cone out of butcher's paper or heavy-duty wrapping paper. Fold and tape the bottom of the cone, then fill it with pecans and walnuts (in the shell). Top the nuts with a wedge of Parmesan cheese and a nut cracker.

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STOCKING STUFFERS

— For the foodie with a techie bent (and an iPhone or iTouch), consider getting an iTunes gift card. Sure, they can download some tunes to jam to while whipping up dinner, but there also are numerous apps that make cooking easier and more fun.

Spend some time searching iTunes and assemble a list of suggestions for your recipient. While there are the obvious food and wine pairing apps, and recipe and grocery list options galore, there also are handy programs such as Convert ($2.99) from Tap Tap Tap.

This graceful app lets you convert units of just about anything, from distance and dollars to weight and volume. No more guessing about how many fluid ounces are in a cup (eight) or how many teaspoons are in a pint (96).