In general, dads don't like stuff and they're not fond of holidays or emotional displays. So if you must acknowledge Father's Day, forget the maudlin speeches, the sappy cards and for God's sake forgo the new tie. Most fathers are foodists at heart, be it gourmand or gourmet, so get him a treat to eat, cooking utensils, or some booze, and you'll probably have a glad dad.
Godiva Milk chocolate cigars
A couple of weeks back, we scoured the internet to find food oddities for you to lust over and/or buy. Today, we're back with a whole new crop of fun stuff, this time to help you imbibe. It's a little early in the week to fall down the rabbit hole of internet lists and consumerism, but hey, what the hell? After all, we know you probably need better Mother's Day gift ideas. Turn the page for 5 things you and your mom probably can't live without.
goiflask.com iFlask
What does your collection of cookie cutters say about you? Or, to put this another way, are your cookie cutters shaped like Stormtroopers and X-Wings, or did you leave your yoga class this morning wishing you could bake some cookies that accurately captured your Crescent Lunge pose? 
courtesy: Yummi Yogi
If it's the latter, you're in luck: Yummi Yogi's cookie cutters are shaped like yoga positions (i.e., Crescent Lunge, Tree Pose) and now available online and at select retailers near you.
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Do you spend time wandering the interwebs looking for more stuff to stuff into your kitchen? The odder the better? No? Well, we do, and we thought it was time we shared some of our finds with you, because there is some seriously cool (and weird) stuff out there. Useful? Sometimes. Awesome? Always. 
dembones via Etsy Sugar cube skulls from dembones
With Passover less than a month away, it's appropriate to ponder the holiday's traditional four questions and to ask a fifth: Why is the Hancock Park Ralphs different from all other Ralphs?
E. Dwass
For starters, there's a mashgiach on site, something not offered in most grocery stores. A different kind of security guard, the mashgiach is a specially trained observant Jew who is there to make sure everything in the store's recently opened kosher section is, well, really kosher.
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We don't know Chris Cosentino, but we have tasted his brains risotto -- the warm, cinnamon-scented webs, the rice, the tender little chunks of chicken thighs studding the bowl. We have had his marrow salad and his tripe. The Top Chef Masters champ -- San Francisco's dark prince of "the nasty bits" -- can cook, no doubt. A dinner at Incanto makes you drunk. 
Isabella Vosmikova/Bravo Cosentino
Marrow goo runs through your veins like lava in slow motion. Voices sound fuzzy and distant. Your polenta legs buckle and sway. However, in addition to allowing Cosentino's creations to do battle with the inside of your stomach, you may now wear them on the outside as well. Yes, that's right -- Cosentino is hawking offal-themed apparel.
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Christmas is known as the season of excess -- and excess counter space, and judging by the proliferation of silly, useless and just plain dumb kitchen appliances that seem, like egg nog, only to appear on store shelves during the spendiest time of the year. Aunt Ethel might be a tough case on your holiday gift list, but as tempting as it may seem, keep those sawbucks in your pocket and just get her a box of candy instead of something that will clutter up her already cramped cabinets, leading her to curse your name for the next 12 months. 
L.J. Williamson
Turn the page for our top 10 dumbest kitchen gadgets -- with suggestions for better options. Consider it a little holiday shopping intervention.
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Body scrubs made with coffee and sugar, bath salts scented like cinnamon, facial peels crafted from crushed papayas, makeup palettes packaged like chocolate bars, face powder made from ground rice -- foodie hysteria has clearly infiltrated the beauty/cosmetics market. If the idea of rubbing cookie batter all over your body holds appeal, we've got the shower gel for you. 
S. Bonar Body milk, mint toner and pumpkin peels
The beauty of this time of year: we get to move straight from a candy hangover to spicy mole. Happy Día de los Muertos. If the idea of spending several hours making a batch of the traditional Mexican sauce isn't tops on your recovery agenda today, you can pick up a jar of locally made San Angel Mole and you're nearly there. 
jgarbee The Candy Cure: Spicy San Angel Mole
Yes, we know. Jarred mole. It sounds like a bottled marinara sauce travesty. But this recipe was developed by chef Tim McCarthy, a Lucques and Patina alum. He makes three jarred sauces: their twist on the traditional chocolate and toasted nut-based mole negro (Tim likes to serve it with duck this time of year), a red version inspired by mole poblano (the dried red chile-based sauce from Puebla), and a smoky cascabel chile sauce (great to slow-cook pot roast or cubed beef, or use as a cheese enchilada sauce).
Whether you're making plans for the holidays -- or for the end of the world -- Costco.com has you covered.
Kevin Dooley via Flickr
We're kind of worried that the folks at the big box store know something we don't, as the new seasonal catalogue has some sobering emergency food options. Are they trying to warn us that the fast-approaching Mayan doomsday scenario is the real deal?
Juxtaposed with the apocalypse-friendly survival stash, there are also some ridiculously extravagant holiday foods. Anybody want to spend $2,500 on Christmas candy? Costco's your place. There also are a couple of bizarre entrée choices for your festivities, such as one crazy Franken-bird and a "Gourmet Quail Pack."
So, we're trying to decide whether to freak out and go into survival mode -- or maybe, instead, host a holiday dinner party. Whichever way we go, these six items now on sale at Costco.com will come in handy. Turn the page.
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