Where would we be without our vegetable peeler? It’s definitely on our list of essential prep tools and utensils. If you cook a lot from scratch, your vegetable peeler probably gets a lot of use! So, you need a good one: sharp, easy to maneuver, and effective. Here are 5 great ones:• 1 Messermeister Pro Touch Swivel Peeler, $12 from Amazon: Highly recommended by Cook’s Illustrated, it’s also the peeler of choice for award-winning cookbook author Joanne Weir.

Shopping for new cooks is a real pleasure. There’s so much excitement and optimism to work with! You could probably rattle off a list of must-haves in the kitchen (our Essentials postsTOP ROW• 1 Starter Salt Set, $38 from The Meadow: the best way to explore finishing salts, and something a new cook could get exited about! • 2 End Grain Butcher Block, $175 from End Grain Butcher Blocks: Ok, this is the butcher block to end all butcher blocks, and a bit of a splurge.

Get your gift lists out, people, because we’re about to share a top contender for next year’s holiday wishlists. It goes like this: Wood-fired pizza, made at home, in your own pizza oven. And no, you didn’t have to build it in your backyard. In fact, this pizza oven is about the size of a carry-on suitcase (only much flatter), weighs 15 lbs, and makes crispy, blackened wood-smoked pizza in 3 minutes. Say hello to Uuni.

Emma says that to cook like a pro, you should keep your salt in a covered container or salt pig. Besides making it easier to salt your cooking, it’s also a much prettier way to store your salt. Whether you’re a fan of the cellar or the pig, here are 10 options to get your salt out of the shaker once and for all. Ceramic Monster Salt Cellar, $60 from MuddyHeart: WE WANT THIS NOW. That is all.

It’d be hard to succumb to the winter doldrums if you had such a bright, cheerful plate on your table! Aren’t these so fun? NYC-based designer Nicole Porter creates all of her hand-painted beech wood plates, trays, and spoons with a food-safe, non-toxic, zero-VOC paint. I love how the plate design is slightly different from the bowl design, creating an off-kilter mix-and-match when you put them together.Nicole also prints napkins, but her tabletop accessories are the best.

Rossella’s handmade ceramics — which she sells through RossLab, her Etsy store — are just the sort of sweet, simple pieces that make perfect gifts for your mom or sister, or your best friend who’s putting you up for a week. It’s all in the details: a red scalloped edge on a berry bowl, cream nesting bowls with brilliant teal and purple interiors, a black cream and sugar set with a rim of small white hearts. So pretty!

A few of the prettiest things we saw at the Housewares show this year were from Montreal-based Urban Butik, which is one of the only North American distributors for small, independent Scandinavian design companies like Kähler, Oyoy, and Magisso.Scandinavian design is known for being simple, stylish, functional, and durable — think classic shapes and understated colors but impeccable craftsmanship and attention to detail.