The men in my life all have a great appreciation for beer, though their palates range in sophistication from Homer Simpson to George Clooney. Here, some Father’s Day gift ideas to satisfy them all:

Heineken’s BeerTender, an all-in-one home draught beer machine, was designed by Krups and could easily pass as a sleek espresso machine. It’s compact enough to fit on a countertop, and an LCD flashes updates on beer level and freshness.

Alessi’s new, supersleek, design-driven Pop-Up bottle opener is worth leaving on the table.

Spiegelau’s gorgeous new line of Beer Classics glasses complement the aroma, taste and finish of beers ranging in style from English Strong Ales to German wheat beers.

For the Frank the Tank in your life (everyone has one), order a portable, life-size blow-up English Pub — it’s the grown-up equivalent of the blow-up bouncy castles you played in as a kid.

Redlands, California–based craft brewery Hangar 24 makes a citrusy pale ale and a tart orange wheat beer that can be ordered in genius two-liter growlers — they are imported from Germany and have been designed with a functional aluminum-alloy handle and stainless steel straps. Splurge and spend an extra $40 on a tap can that transforms the growler into a two-liter keg.

© Hangar 24
Hangar 24 growler

© Alessi
Alessi Pop-Up

A chief goal of our Test Kitchen (aside from feeding ourselves) is to develop recipes for the dedicated home cook to re-create at home. So, in all fairness to our readers, all of our equipment is residential—though high-end and super-stylish, of course. The only exception is my industrial-strength blender. Over the years, we've gone through about a dozen Hamilton Beach blenders because of the wear and tear they get daily. It really is a perfectly good blender for the average home cook—my own beloved HB has lasted about 15 years and counting. But for the kind of rigors we put our equipment through here, we need a blender that's more powerful and built to last—a Blendtec. You'll see these mega-blenders at Jamba Juice, Planet Smoothie, TCBY and Starbucks, to name just a few places, where they get constant use. As luck would have it, they also have a line of residential blenders, BlendtecHome, which helps the Test Kitchen stay true to its convictions.

More of a toaster oven person myself, I never understood the appeal of a toaster—why dedicate so much counter space to an appliance that only does one thing? I prefer using a mini-oven that can roast potatoes and bake a small batch of cookies as well as it can crisp my morning bagel. But Breville’s new Die-Cast Smart Toaster might cause me to convert. Not only does it lower bread like an elevator (seriously, you press a button, and the slices slowly descends into the machine), it actually recognizes the way you toast:

Afraid your delicate challah will overbrown? Press the “Lift and Look” button and the shelf will rise so that you can peek at the slice’s progress, then lower it back down without interrupting the toasting cycle. Wish you could get your English muffin slightly more golden? Press the “A Bit More” button for another 30 seconds or so of toasting. If only boyfriends were this intuitive.

I've only ever come across one person who doesn't like cupcakes, not entirely unexpected since that person also doesn't much care for sweets, kids or parties (all of a piece). I, on the other hand, am obsessed with the little darlings (cupcakes, that is). I search them (as well as products, tools and storage related to them) out in print, in bakeries, online, on TV...you name it. Which is why May's Tasting & Testing was so much fun for me to work on. I created two cake batters, a yellow and a chocolate—both using butter and vegetable oil to keep them ultra-moist—and three frostings—marshmallow, chocolate, and vanilla buttercream. Plus, there are a host of toppings and add-ins to create dozens and dozens of mix-and-match variations. I can't wait for the next birthday!

I had made Irish soda bread early in the day in anticipation of my family's St. Pat's celebration meal, but I was undecided about the main course. Lamb chops or Corned beef? Lamb chops were faster, but corned beef was easier (and less messy). The only problem was that it was already 5:30—I normally feed my lot at 6:30, and corned beef usually takes about three hours to braise. So, risking the tough, stringy meat that results from cooking corned beef too quickly and at too high a temperature, I pulled out my pressure cooker. (Mine is a slightly outdated Magefesa made in Italy, but there are so many fantastic models available now) It was too small for a two-pound brisket, so I cut the beef into three even chunks and added about two cups of water, a few bay leaves, a handful of peppercorns and some thyme sprigs and brought it to medium pressure on very low heat. I checked after 45 minutes (my pressure cooker has a steam release valve for quick release), during which time I boiled some Yukon gold potatoes and braised some cabbage in butter, caraway, vinegar and chicken broth. Forty-five minutes wasn't actually enough, so I let it go for another 10 and it was utterly perfect—tender, juicy and just salty enough. Sliced and served with buttered potatoes, silky braised cabbage and of course the Irish soda bread, dinner was ready in one hour—honest!

One of Ikea's current billboard ads depicts a pile of pots and pans with the tagline "Eat in more." That's essentially MIT Media Lab professor Dr. Ted Selker's goal, too. You can read the full statement of purpose here, but his methodology is, um.... slightly different.

As Director of Counter Intelligence (pun intended) at MIT Media Lab, Selker creates fantastical-sounding gadgets that would, theoretically, make it easier and more efficient to cook and eat at home. Some of the most intriguing:

Dishmaker "Why have a dishwasher when you can make dishes?" asks Selker. The Dishmaker forms plastic cups, bowls and plates when needed, then compresses and stores them as flat sheets when they're not in use, essentially eliminating the need for cupboards.

Living Food Instead of a fridge (one of the largest energy-guzzlers in the home), Selker proposes kitchen cabinets with UV lights, hydroponic fluid and mists for keeping produce fresh. For storing butter and cheeses at room temperature, Counter Intelligence is working on nitrogen-filled cabinets.

FridgeCam For those who must have a fridge, why not install a device that takes (and displays) snapshots of its contents whenever an item is added or taken out? Its aim: to prevent the energy-consuming habit of lingering in front of an open fridge wondering where [insert item] might be.

And then there's a section called "Wild & Crazy Ideas We Have Had."

I recently received a sample of a new, extremely compact version of Seal-a-Meal (a device my colleague Grace Parisi loves) called Vacu-Seal. It's a cordless, hand-held vacuum about the size of a immersion blender that sucks the air out of zipper-top Vacu-Seal bags filled with food, leaving them airtight and ready for storage. I love how compact the vacuum is, and although the bags are a little pricey, they are dishwasher safe so you can use them multiple times-a great plus for the environment. I particularly like how they prevent meat from developing frostbite. For me, living in New York City means not having a great deal of space in my kitchen and although I'd love to be able to have something the size of Seal-a-Meal in my close quarters it's just not possible with all the other kitchen equipment I have. Vacu-Seal takes up no space at all so I'm able to hide it in a drawer. Now if only my freezer was big enough to hold all my full Vacu-Seal bags.

Like many busy people with families and increasingly little time, I do a good deal of my shopping in bulk. I've got my over-stock cabinets above the coat closet and my freezer in the basement, and both get lots of use.

A number of years ago, Seal-a-Meal was in heavy rotation on the infomercial circuit.  It's basically a vacuum that sucks out all the air from heavy-duty food-storage bags intended for the freezer.  I thought it was just about the stupidest piece of equipment ever.   Who needs this junk? Just go shopping, I thought (pre-kids, of course). But when we covered the product at the magazine shortly after that and I had the chance to actually try it out, I quickly changed my tune.  The bags protect even the most delicate meat from freezer burn for up to a year. Seal-a-Meal has become an indispensable tool in my home kitchen and the test kitchen as well. With many on the market, there are a lot of choices.

Of course, the whole sous-vide craze (sous-vide is gently poaching in vacuum-sealed bags) legitimized Seal-a-Meal's use by chefs and hipsters alike (neither of whom, I can assure you, feeds a family of five after working a busy day cooking for an editorial staff of seven).

I am a passionate, obsessive coffee drinker. And I must be honest, my first three attempts at abandoning coffee so that I could wholly devote myself to tea research for our March feature, "Tea's Time" were utter failures. It wasn't the caffeine-withdrawal. It wasn't so much that I didn't like the taste. It was the tedious process of brewing that perfect cup of tea. Grinding my coffee beans and adding them to my Krups or even my French press seemed effortless compared to preparing a simple cup of tea. I had to check the water temperature. I had to make sure I didn't overstep. I had to add just the right amount of tea leaves. And then I learned that some teas need multiple infusions.

As tea's popularity grows, an incredible amount of new products ranging from equipment to tea bags are making tea more accessible to budding tea connoisseurs. I shared on of my favorites with Senior Test Kitchen Associate Grace Parisi who now finds it indispensable. Here, a few more exciting discoveries:

*During the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, a bamboo whisk is used to mix matcha, a fine, powdery green tea, with hot water. The Republic of Tea's new double green matcha tea bags geniusly simplify the process. Matcha powder is dusted on both the inside and outside of circular, organic green tea-filled bags to subtly deliver the smooth, grassy notes of matcha, minus the messy mixing process.

*When I'm rushing around to get ready for work in the morning I always seem to oversteep my tea. But a variety of new automatic tea kettles and pots have recently been introduced to the market to simplify the brewing process. The Zarafina Tea Maker will steep both loose leaf and bagged teas and has adjustable settings for tea types (from herbal to oolong) and strength (mild - strong). Just like a coffee machine, it brews directly into a sleek, ready-to-serve ceramic pot. The ease of machines like this one made drinking quality, loose leaf teas so much more enjoyable for me.

*Brewing whole leaf tea can seem daunting, requiring pots and strainers. But most tea bags don't provide enough room for the tea leaves to fully unfurl. Ineeka has found a happy middle ground with its innovative new brew-taché bags. They gracefully drape over the side of your cup and allow the entire tea leaf to open and deliver ever last drop of aroma and flavor.

I've always been a coffee drinker, so on the rare occasion that I make myself a cup of tea, I simply boil the water on top of the stove. When I visit with my mother-in-law, an inveterate tea-drinking Anglophile, I must confess that I lust after her electric tea kettle. It works so quickly there's time to make tea and go to the loo during a commercial break. But my kitchen-counter space is limited—I can't squander it on a single-purpose appliance, one that would at best get occasional usage. All that changed when I discovered a world of applications: topping off a pot of boiling pasta, soup or stew; making soup/oatmeal/rice; soaking dried fruit/mushrooms/beans; blanching vegetables; peeling peaches or tomatoes...anything that requires boiling water and a heat-proof bowl. Now, as soon as I start cooking, I put the kettle on.