I’m married to an amazing chef, currently cooking his way in the hearts of Manhattan foodies at Gramercy Tavern where he’s daytime sous chef. But, then there’s me. I use the kitchen table as the place to throw my jackets, dump out the contents of my purse, set up makeshift wrapping paper center, and of course just dump everything else that’s in my way there. For my husband the kitchen table is a sacred space that needs to be treated with love. And, well, I love to throw my stuff on it - it’s extra storage in our tiny apartment.

In an effort to help get me more interested in cooking for Christmas he presented me with an awesome Wii game, Cooking Mama: Cook Off.

The 2 player game pits chef against chef. Step-by-step, recipe-by-recipe, both players assist Mama cook international dishes from 10 different nations and the coolest part is that the players can watch as the realistic foods actually change in appearance based on their actions and misadventures.

Features Boiled Down:

The Wii Remote is the user's ultimate cooking utensil: chop, grate, slice, stir, roll and use all your culinary trickery! Hold and point it in many different ways (i.e. upright to mash potatoes, lengthwise to fry in a pan, etc.). As the user adapts she/he will actually feel the sensation of cooking in a kitchen! (minus the delicious aroma and results).

Cooking Challenge Mode lets players go head-to-head in the ultimate "cook off" to determine who can cook the fastest with the fewest mistakes, creating 55 real world dishes from 10 different nations: Japan, America, France, India, Mexico, England, China, Spain, Germany and Italy. Making desserts like cream puffs and pudding too! From hot dogs to pan fried crab to bouillabaisse, the challenges invite a wonderful array of food.