30 deliciously useful cooking gifts that'll satisfy sci-fi foodies
Sometimes packing your bookshelf, your DVD library, your comic collection, your bedroom walls and all available shelf space with signs of your sci-fi enthusiasm just isn't enough. Sometimes all that nerdy fun needs to spill over into the kitchen.
Not surprisingly, it's pretty easy to find everything from superhero spatulas to Star Wars cookie cutters to sci-fi aprons to feed your friends' need for kitchen nerdery. For the latest installment in our series of holiday gift guides, we've assembled some of the best gifts for the sci-fi nerd in your life who can't stay out of the kitchen.
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Star Trek Enterprise pizza cutter Pizza ... the final frontier. (Sorry, that joke was too easy.) Yeah, it's just a little thing that mostly gets buried at the bottom of your kitchen gadget drawer, but if you're a true Trekkie, you may as well slice your pies in style.
Lightsaber chopsticks Some people just have trouble with chopsticks, but now we have some imbued with the power of the Force. OK, so the Force power is not actually included, but they are cool to look at, and you can duel with your family across the table for the last helping of kung pao chicken.
TARDIS cookie jar It might not actually be bigger on the inside, but it does store a nice amount of cookies, and it is fun to look at. Plus, if you're into the Tom Baker era, you can put Jelly Babies inside it in his honor.
Han Solo in carbonite ice tray This is important, if only because it can bring you one step closer to actually being Boba Fett. Now when you refill your ice tray you can conclude with, "Put Captain Solo in the cargo hold."
Dune apron You can't actually head out to the desert planet of Arrakis, but you can wear this nifty apron to let everyone know how you feel about it. And if your friends don't know about Dune, it just looks like you enjoy curry or something, so no one gets left out.
R2-D2 pepper mill Not only can he cool down your drinks, he can also spice up your food. But be sure to make the beeping sound when you're twisting Artoo's head to get pepper into your salad.
Zombie cookie jar This is especially handy if you'd like to make cookies that are a little misshapen, call them brains and shove them inside this zombie's head. Or you can just go with chocolate chip. It's totally your call.
Pac-Man pot holder Admit it. Anytime you see something remotely resembling Pac-Man you immediately bust out the old "Wokka wokka wokka wokka wokka." Now you've got a handy prop that will both make that joke better and protect your hands from hot stuff.
Darth Vader imprinting toaster You know how every morning you sit down to breakfast, look at your plain old toast and think "Gosh, I really wish Darth Vader's face was looking up at me right now"? Well, your friends think that, too. And now you can make their dreams come true.
Starfleet Academy titanium spork Eat like a Starfleet cadet with this handy dandy heavy-duty spork suitable for everything from chili to salad to whatever Cardassians eat.
Wonder Woman apron Ladies, if you're sick of guys making cracks about how you're supposed to stay in the kitchen, put this bad boy on. If they do it again, punch them in the face with all the power of an Amazon.
Batsymbol ice tray Batman geeks love the Batsymbol so much that they tattoo it into their chests and carve it into their hair. Now we can all summon The Dark Knight with an icy version of his logo floating in our favorite beverage.
Batman Apron You could put this apron on and spend all your time wearing it cooking and speaking in Christian Bale's infamous gravelly Batman voice, but odds are your family will desert you.
Spock cookie jar Everyone's favorite Vulcan is now a receptacle for baked goods. To store cookies in anything else would be most illogical.
Darth Vader cookie jar Remember that scene at the end of Revenge of the Sith when Darth just starts screaming "NOOOOOO!"? Of course you do. Now you can make your own special edition in which his cry is replaced with "COOOOOOKIES!"
Zombie decanter Everyone knows booze and zombies go together like ... well, something. Anyway, now your friends can decant their favorite alcoholic beverage with the help of a gruesome little zombie head. If they don't put red wine in this thing and swill from it like a madman, they're selling themselves short.
Star Wars heroes and villains cookie cutters Your friends could can mix these up and make equal numbers of each character if they like, but they could also just makes hundreds and hundreds of Stormtrooper cookies and have their own sugary army. Up to them.
Star Wars apron Tie this thing around your waist and keep The Force with you every time you're in the kitchen. If you're lucky, you might even be able to get the Jedi mind trick to work when it comes time to do dishes.
Star Wars heroes and villains pancake molds We already showed you how your friends can have Darth Vader's face on their toast. But if they're not toast people, now they can make him into a pancake, along with several other Star Wars cohorts.
Star Wars vehicle cookie cutters Now you can cut out a fleet of X-Wing cookies and a fleet of TIE Fighter cookies, bake them all up and stage a delicious epic space battle in your kitchen. And the best part is you get to eat the wreckage.
Star Wars vehicle pancake molds Hey look, those epic space battles don't have to be contained to dessert. We can have them for breakfast, too!
Darth Vader and Stormtrooper spatulas Show your grilled cheese who's boss with the might of the Empire! And hey, bonus, these are actually well-crafted kitchen tools.
Marvel superheroes cakelet pan Williams-Sonoma just recently launched new line of Marvel products for those who are both foodies and Marvel geeks, and this is the most elaborate thing they've come up with so far. Your friends can bake faces of Iron Man, Spidey, Thor, Hulk, Cap and Wolverine and decorate them as realistically or as strangely as they like.
Marvel superheroes cupcake decorating kit Oh yeah, we're not done with cupcakes yet, because now it's Marvel's turn. Combine the deliciousness of cupcakes with the awesome power of The Avengers and make Earth's Mightiest Cupcakes.
Marvel superheroes cookie cutter set If cupcakes and cakelets aren't your friend' thing, they can always stick with the cookies, and now their cookies can look just like Iron Man's head.
Spider-Man comic book cookie cutters This might be the coolest cookie thing we've found. Cut out a comic-book shaped bit of dough, use stamps to create own customized Spidey comics covers, frost it and eat it. Here's hoping more of these are coming for other characters.
Captain America apron Let 'em be a Super Solider in the kitchen.
Kirk and Spock salt and pepper shakers We know you were looking for an excuse to re-enact your favorite scenes from the original series at the dinner table. Now you have one.
Iron Man apron You can use this apron in the kitchen, or you can take it out the workshop and use it to build your own suit of power armor.
Dalek bottle stopper The more your friends drink, the more they'll be encouraged to do that voice. EXTERMINATE!