This December Giveaway for Cooks and Hosts Might Be the Best One Yet

I want to send you new cookbooks, some obsession-worthy pantry upgrades, and cooking gear you’ll love.

A mountain of great new cookbooks. A woodsy-green enameled cast-iron Dutch oven. That gleaming sparkling-water maker you’ve been dreaming of. So many (so many!) fun new staples for your pantry. If I were you, I’d have trouble picking a favorite here, but unfortunately, you’ve gotta do it.

Photo: Kayla Cunanan for The Zero Proof

Why pick a favorite? Because this isn’t one little giveaway, it’s a set of FOUR giveaways (brought to you with support from the fantastic sponsors that help to keep The Dinner Plan newsletter and podcast coming your way every week) with prize lists so long, you’ll definitely need to click over to the web version or click “view entire message.” You’ll be entered in a random-number drawing of your top two, so I can be certain that the winner is getting something they really want.

Scroll down for a festive drink to sip while you read, and scroll way down for all the details on how to enter—don’t be that person who misses a step.

Giveaway #1: Pantry Glow-Up

1. HEYDOH Soy Sauce duo: If you use grocery-store soy sauce, you’ll find that upgrading to this single-origin naturally brewed Taiwanese bottling makes a huge difference. And the silky finishing sauce is amazing for drizzling. This stuff is so good that it’s currently sold out—all the more reason to enter now.

2. Sfoglini Pasta Limited Edition Sporkful Collection: Includes Calabrian Chili Cascatelli, Garlic Quattrotini, and Saffron Vesuvio bronze-cut, slow-dried pasta. Use code dinnerplan for 10% off →

3. Fat Gold olive oils: A combo pack of Fat Gold’s peppery and bold Frantoio olive oil, and their fruity, fragrant Arbequina olive oil. Use code DINNERPLAN for 15% off →

4. Zab’s gift set trio: Original datil pepper hot sauce, St. Augustine-style, and Zab’s hot honey.

   

5. Best of Brooklyn Delhi box: I use these sauces all the time, so I’m so excited for you to try them. Box includes Brooklyn Delhi’s Coconut Cashew Korma, Tikka Masala, Cashew Butter Masala, Mango Curry, Date Tamarind Chutney, Roasted Garlic Achaar, and Tomato Achaar. Use code DINNERPLAN15 for 15% off →

6. Porthos Variety Box from Portugalia Marketplace: Assortment includes the century-old Portuguese cannery’s tuna in olive oil, tuna in hot olive oil, tuna in brine, sardines in olive oil, and sardines in teriyaki sauce.

7. YUZUCO assortment: Having Yuzu Super Juice around makes it easy to add yuzu’s fragrant, tart flavor to drinks and sauces. I’ve gone through a ton of it this year. Prize also includes their candied yuzu peel and spicy green yuzu kosho. Use code DINNERPLAN15 for 15% off →

7. From Burlap and Barrel, a set of six fresh jars including: Low & Slow Chili Powder, Za’atar, Cured Sumac, Cinnamon Sugar Crunch, Ground Pasilla Chili, and Ground Guajillo Chili.

8. Cabi Original Trio: try Cabi’s Sweet Yuzu Vinaigrette, Umami Dashi Soy Sauce, and Miso Glaze.

9. El Guapo’s Ginger Syrup and Candy Cane Syrup, so you can dress up your hot chocolate this winter. Use code DINNERPLAN15 for 15% off bitters, syrups and mixers collections at El Guapo →

10. Abra Berens & Zingerman’s Collaboration Gift Box: Includes Sour Cream Coffee Cake, Roadhouse Bread, Germack Pistachios, Lutenitsa Red Pepper Spread, Rancho Meladuco Medjool Dates, Hot Peppers in Olive Oil, and Spiced Plum Preserves.

11. Chef Scott Conant’s Martone Street Sampler Bundle: The full collection includes Signature Pomodoro, Arrabiata, Campagna Marinara, and Mediterranean Style with garlic, capers, and oregano. Use code DINNERPLAN15 for 15% off →

Giveaway #2: For the Holiday Host

1. Two sets of Optica stemless drinking glasses from Luigi Bormioli. Use code 15DINNERPLAN for 15% off →

2. Booze-free beverages from The Zero Proof: the Lapo’s Citrus Spritz and Saint Viviana Sparkling Chardonnay you need to make my Cranberry-Citrus Aperitivo (recipe below), plus a bottle of Oddbird NA Sparkling Rosé for New Year’s Eve. Get 20% off with code DINNERPLAN20 →

3. A sparkling water maker that couldn’t be more stylish: Aarke’s Carbonator Pro in stainless steel, with a dishwasher-safe glass bottle. Get 15% off with code AarkexTheDinnerPlan15 →

4. And a cherry on top. (An Albero d’Oro Marasca jar of cherries, that is.)

5. Guests staying the weekend? No worries, with Zucker’s Bagel Brunch for 12, which includes your pick of bagels, cream cheese, nova, and Everything seasoning.

6. A moment for this Maison Madison’s Mafalda Oval Platter, please? Use code HostwithMM for 15% off →

7. Teal and ivory 12” beeswax tapers from Bluecorn Candles: This limited-edition bundle (created just for us!) includes four pairs of hand-dipped beeswax tapers from Bluecorn in Colorado. Use code DINNERPLAN for 10% off →

8. Fruit and Snack Box from Frog Hollow Farm: This box from the Bay Area favorite includes fresh organic fruit, granola, dried fruit, honey-glazed almonds, and pluot chocolate chip cookies. Save 10% on your order with code DINNERPLAN10. →

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BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE ZERO PROOF

Photo: Kayla Cunanan for The Zero Proof

Alcohol-Free Cranberry-Citrus Aperitivo

I love using Lapo’s Citrus Spritz as a shortcut to this tart ruby-red drink, which starts with the spiced citrus flavors of the canned nonalcoholic cocktail, and brings in tangy cranberry and rich maple syrup, plus the wintry scent of rosemary.

Be sure to use unsweetened 100% cranberry juice here (I tested with Knudsen’s Just Cranberry), so you can control the sweetness to your taste, and get a real pop of cranberry flavor undiluted with apple or other fruit. I use cans of Saint Viviana Sparkling NA Chardonnay because it doesn’t commit you to a full bottle; if you substitute another NA wine, you may need to tinker with the maple a touch. The salt rounds off the edges of the drink—you won’t taste it, exactly, but you’ll miss it if it’s gone. Starting with chilled cans will help this NA cocktail retain its fizz.

Stock up on festive drinks for the holidays at The Zero Proof—code DINNERPLAN20 will give you 20% off your order.

Note: If you want to show off, run the rosemary sprig over a flame briefly just to warm and ignite, blowing out immediately. This brings out the rosemary aroma and adds a touch of char.

Makes 1

1 oz. unsweetened 100% cranberry juice, such as RW Knudsen Just Cranberry, chilled
1¾ tsp. maple syrup
2 oz. Lapo’s Citrus Spritz, chilled
1 oz. Saint Viviana Sparkling NA Chardonnay, chilled
Small pinch salt
Orange wedge, for serving
Rosemary sprig, for serving (flamed if desired, see note above)

1. Stir together 1 oz. RW Knudsen Just Cranberry and 1¾ tsp. maple syrup in a tumbler or double-old-fashioned glass until maple is dissolved.

2. Add 2 oz. Lapo’s Citrus Spritz, 1 oz. St. Viviana Sparkling NA Chardonnay, and small pinch salt and fill with ice. (A large cube is also nice.) Stir gently, then garnish with orange wedge and rosemary sprig.

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Giveaway #3: Cookbook Library

1. Turtle Island: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America by Sean Sherman with Kate Nelson and Kristin Donnelly (Buy on Bookshop →)

2. Kwéyòl / Creole: Recipes, Stories, and Tings from a St. Lucian Chef’s Journey by Nina Compton with Osayi Endolyn (Buy on Bookshop →)

3. The Talisman of Happiness: The Most Iconic Italian Cookbook Ever Written by Ada Boni (Buy on Bookshop →)

4. Padma’s All American: Tales, Travels, and Recipes from Taste the Nation and Beyond by Padma Lakshmi (Buy on Bookshop →)

5. Something from Nothing by Alison Roman (Buy on Bookshop →)

6. Craveable: All I Want to Eat by Seema Pankhania (Buy on Bookshop →)

7. The Choi of Cooking: Flavor-Packed, Rule-Breaking Recipes for a Delicious Life by Roy Choi with Tien Nguyen and Natasha Phan (Buy on Bookshop →)

8. Silk Roads: A Flavor Odyssey with Recipes from Baku to Beijing by Anna Ansari (Buy on Bookshop →)

9. A Meal for Two: Recipes to Treat Your Favorite People by Emily Ezekiel (Buy on Bookshop →)

10. Dad, What’s for Dinner?: Lifesaving Recipes to Avoid Meltdowns, Have Fun in the Kitchen, and Keep Your Kids Well Fed by David Nayfeld with Joshua David Stein (Buy on Bookshop →)

11. Pakistan: Recipes and Stories from Home Kitchens, Restaurants, and Roadside Stands by Maryam Jillani (Buy on Bookshop →)

12. My Cambodia: A Khmer Cookbook by Nite Yun With Tien Nguyen (Buy on Bookshop →)

13. Cookies: The Best Recipes for the Perfect Anytime Treat by Vaughn Vreeland / NYT Cooking (Buy on Bookshop →)

14. Rooted in Fire: A Celebration of Native American and Mexican Cooking by Pyet DeSpain (Buy on Bookshop →)

15. Thai: Anywhere and Everywhere by Nat Thaipun (Buy on Bookshop →)

16. The Sheet Pan: 150+ Easy, Creative Meals from Your Most Versatile Pan from America’s Test Kitchen (Buy on Bookshop →)

Giveaway #4: The Kitchen Gear You Covet

1. Nordicware Prism Half-Sheet and Quarter-Sheet Pans With Lids: Sure, you can bake cookies on these, but these lidded sheet pans are also great for carrying a galette wherever you’re going.

2. Made In’s 5.5 Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven: Do braising season in style with this Willow Green Dutch oven. Unlock your discount offer →

1. Limited Edition Chrome x Tilit Chef Kadet Sling Bag: Includes a fully removable knife roll with cut-resistant lining so you can easily take your knives on the go. Use code TILITNYC15 for 15% off →

2. Cangshan Kuro 3-Piece Starter Set: Set includes an 8” chef’s knife, 5” serrated utility knife, and 3.5” paring knife, each with 67 layers of Damascus steel. Shop now at Crate & Barrel →

3. Sarah Kersten Studio Mise en Place Set: A beautiful way to hold ingredients as you prep them.

HOW TO ENTER:

These giveaways are open to all subscribers of The Dinner Plan newsletter. Just make sure you follow all three steps to enter, whichever path you choose.

Step 1:

The best way to enter is to become a paid subscriber to The Dinner Plan by end of day on Friday, December 12, 2025. If you like getting recipes and cookbook recommendations each week, and you want full access to this list of 99+ Dinner Ideas You Didn’t Have to Think Of, becoming a paid subscriber is the way to go.

DON’T FORGET Steps 2 and 3 to complete your giveaway entry!

You can enter the giveaways as a free subscriber, too. Just make sure you’re subscribed to (not just following) this newsletter—and then send in a “what’s in my fridge and freezer and pantry” voice memo for us to play on the podcast. Our cookbook author guest will suggest a dinner plan customized just for you. All the instructions for the voice memo are here. But BE SURE to come back and complete steps 2 and 3 to enter!

Voice memos must be received via email by end of day on Friday, December 12, 2025. Please let us know your username / email you use on Substack when you send it in, especially if it’s different from the email you use to send us the memo.

Step 2:

Click on the ❤️ at the bottom of this page.

Step 3:

Leave a comment with your top two choices for a prize, were you to win the drawing. Are you most excited about the cookbooks? The hosting assortment? That knife set or the Dutch oven? Let me know which giveaway is calling your name—and your second choice, too. I’d love to hear why you’ve picked each favorite.

Did you do all three steps? That’s it!

Rules: Ends December 12, 2025. Giveaway winners will be alerted by Substack DM and email—be sure to check your messages. If there’s no answer within 1 week, prize will be awarded to someone else. Sorry, U.S. addresses only, 18+, no purchase necessary. Giveaway not sponsored or administered by Substack or Instagram. Prize lists include affiliate links; commissions from your purchase help to support the show. Terms may apply for discount codes.