Charlie Trotter's top five gifts for foodies at home

Chef Charlie Trotter, for 20 years the proprietor of the Chicago restaurant that bears his name, is known for complex, meticulously prepared haute cuisine. But he also finds time to cook at home and page through his 2,300-volume cookbook collection. "I'm the ultimate food lover," Trotter says. Below are his suggestions for holiday gifts to give a food fan.

Granite mortar and pestle: Trotter says the combo has certain advantages over a food processor. Garlic, onions, whole spices such as peppercorn and sauces such as pesto maintain a better texture and don't turn bitter or overworked in the mortar. It's also more fun: "I find from a sensual standpoint, you're taking in these aromas and it's pretty stunning," he says.

Chinois: This conical-shaped fine sieve is a restaurant tool that can aid home cooking, Trotter says. "If you're making stock and you strain it through there, it leaves it so much cleaner and gets rid of sediment," he says. It also makes custard or ice-cream base "ultra smooth and refined," he says.

"Ma Gastronomie" by Fernand Point: This cookbook cum biography about a great French chef is out of print, but used copies can be purchased online; a new edition is due in June. "If someone said to me I could only have one cookbook, this is the one," says Trotter.

Large bamboo steamer: Shoppers can buy them in cooking-supply stores -- or Chinatown. It cooks or reheats food as fast as a microwave, Trotter says. "You can put mushrooms on the bottom, then salmon, then some already-cooked egg noodles, and in four minutes everything is perfectly cooked. Add a little soy sauce and you have a dish," he says.

Digital scale: Trotter says that many cookbooks have become more exacting and require an ounce or a gram of various ingredients. The digital scale gives home cooks a taste of the focus and accuracy many chefs use to execute complex recipes.