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Food Gifts |
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Cooking Little is a kitchen shopping and tips blog for urban dwellers and anyone who cooks in a small kitchen. Beyond the kitchen, we feature diversions such as culinary travel spots, classes and tasting events. |
Recently in Food Gifts Category For just two more days New Yorkers can find many traditional foods of Austria at their local Food Emporiums. This is an opportunity to discover Austrian pumpkin seed oil and pesto, beer, wine, cheese, chocolate and other foods that until recently were only available at a small number of speciality stores or while visiting Austria. The foods featured at Food Emporium's Austria Week are just a few of the new culinary offerings presented at this year's Fancy Food show. Expect updates as our Austrian food favorites become available in the US over the coming months. In the mean time, we are stocking up on Weiser Wachau vinegars, jams and chutneys while we wait for their wines, cognacs and liqueurs to be readied for import. The liqueurs, delightful on their own, meld beautifully with sparkling wine. if you miss Austria Week or are not in New York, contact Wieser Wachau directly, they ship regularly to people who have visited the the Wachau Valley and must have more. Food Gifts
 As dedicated fans of Rick's mean beans(tm) for Bloody Marys, it's all in this year for SMOKRA(tm). Smoked with Spanish paprika and pickled, SMOKRA(tm) is in the race for a coveted sofi award at the NASFT Fancy Food show next week. Other showcased items will be the People's Pickles -- garlicy and crunchy dill pickles that are also low-sodium -- and handy corn(tm) fresh corn preserved and flavored from peppers, lime, brown sugar, and turmeric. All hail rick's picks -- master of the put-up delicacy. $12.99 AT rick's picks Food Gifts
 Skip the Sugar If Fathers Day were to have an official dessert, I would nominate the cookie. If you have ever handed a grown man a plate of homemade cookies, then you know what I mean. Here is a great guy cookie recipe -- Chocolate Black Pepper Cookies. Straightforward for the baker, the flavor is more complex than the plain cookie appearance suggests. The recipe calls for the dough to be made, rolled in parchment then chilled. A necessary make-ahead scenario in my counter-space-free kitchen. The finishing touch is to roll cookie dough in coarse sugar. If you skip this step you have a more sophisticated cookie that goes equally well with red wine, coffee, milk and even a flavorful beer. (Pure Guy Joy.) Martha's recipe follows, along with recipe adaptations and some wine and beer pairing direction. Before Martha made this recipe her own, many cultures offered up a version of this chocolate and pepper flavor combination. The variation is in the spice. The Mayan recipes use cayenne and in healthy amounts; Viennese Chocolate Pepper cookies include allspice; and Mexican Chocolate Pepper cookies, includes the cayenne and cinnamon. Food Gifts
READ MORE ON Fathers Day Cookie.
 It is no mistake that when you open a copy Divine Heavenly Chocolate Recipes it feels exactly like lifting the cover off a box of luxe chocolate. Divine is a delicious fair trade chocolate made from cocoa beans produced by the farmer members of the Kuapa Kokoo cooperative in Ghana. Pairing the book with a selection of bars makes for thoughtful gift with a great back story. Linda Collister imparts expertise along with an enticing collection of recipes that she created using Divine cocoa and chocolate bars. Chances are it will be difficult to choose a recipe to try first as you leaf through this beautiful book. There are basic chocolate loaf cake recipes that promise to deliver beyond their simple presentations and new takes on favorites such as the white chocolate brownie with blueberries and macadamia nuts. Other sections cover drinks, dips, mousses, savouries and more. If you know someone fond of chocolate and who interested in where their food originates; this is their thing. Check your local health food store or Whole Foods for the chocolate. Click here for store lists in the US and here for Canada and Europe. In the US, the books are available at Barnes & Noble and Borders. Some Borders store carry the book and the chocolate for the quickest of gifts. The royalties from the book go to the Kuapa Kokoo cooperative, who became co-owners in the Divine Chocolate company in 2006 through a donation of stock from The Body Shop, Inc. Yeah, the Divine story is a good one. $28.00 AT BARNES & NOBLE Food Gifts
 Folks will smile when you bring this cutie to holiday brunch. Makes a nice pair with the Cinnamon Graham Pancake & Waffle Mix. Both available at William-Sonoma. Pancake mix in stores only. $22.00 AT WILLIAM-SONOMA Food Gifts
 Dress up your sensible white plates for the holidays with the chargers from the Red Damask collection. Made of extremely lightweight enamel on steel, this is durable tableware in an eye-catching pattern. The Red Damask plates, bowls and latte mugs are very handy containers for cookie gifting. Not just for show, everything from Golden Rabbit goes in the oven or under the broiler. from $9.50 AT GOLDEN RABBIT Food Gifts
 If your gifts have to go through airport security, think small. How about saffron, organic and sustainable caviar, Spanish paprika, small jars of Marcona almonds and La Tienda gift cards. Clicking and Shipping? Look into the big size of Marcona almonds, as rich tasting as macadamia nuts but good for lowering cholesterol. Perfecto para la pequeña cocina. from $10.00 AT LA TIENDA Food Gifts
 Sweet toothed and crisp, the cinnamon sugar tortas pictured here make a delicious dessert. The sweet and savory crisps pair well with wine or hot beverages. Available at Amazon or Casa Oliver. Check each for best prices and selection. $7.49 AT AMAZON.COM Food Gifts
 Chocolate snobbery almost caused us to miss these intriquing spiced chocolates from Fredericksburg Virginia. Each hand-made batch (less than 1.5 lbs.) mixes 54% cacao dark chocolate with spices and herbs. Flavors include grapefruit-lavender, apple-coriander, lemon-basil, celtic sea salt and black pepper. Vegetarian and vegan friendly. More... $24.99 AT AMAZON.COM |
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