Frigidity aside, getting snowed in for a couple of days during the occasional winter blast is nothing short of whiskey-chugging, chili-making, couch-lounging bliss. This edition of the Gastro Gift Guide is designed to provide a small arsenal of snow day distractions for your special Eskimo.
Foodie Fight: A Trivia Game for Serious Food Lovers For the four hours of daylight when there's nothing on the tube but soap operas and The View. Or for the nighttime, when the neighbors have snowshoed over, you've guzzled a case of beer, and you feel like boasting about knowing the difference between rissoles and croquettes. The questions cover a large range of topics and range from easy to somewhat difficult. Also check out Wine Wars: A Trivia Game for Wine Geeks and Wannabes.Top Chef Season 5: New York DVD series Okay, not everyone gets to watch the Bravo reality show every week. Some people don't have cable, some work nights or go to bed early, and some people just eagerly anticipate the DVD release solely because you can watch five episodes in a row if you want and never have to worry about waiting a week to find out who totally effs it all up. Snow day Top Chef can only mean one thing: drinking games. A shot every time Padma works the cleavage; a shot every time a contestant declares that there's no longer room for error; and two shots when the knife-packing loser laments that they've made friends for a lifetime.
Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine for Wii and Nintendo DS Come forth, brave challenger. Technology never ceases to amaze, and this video game is no exception. Complete with secret ingredients and a simulated Kitchen Stadium, players go up against Mario, Cat, and Morimoto (all freakishly realistic) and attempt to create several dishes simultaneously. The controller is used to chop, dice, and fry your way to victory. Let it snow.