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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 Winning GrovesFor four generations the Lucero family has been growing and selling olive oil very locally. In 2004, they expanded beyond their lucky circle of friends in Northern California and started marketing their heritage extra virgin olive oils, mono-varietal extra virgin olive oils, flavored oils and traditional balsamic and flavored vinegars. Once the Lucero products officially hit the market they started collecting awards from the California Olive Oil council and fans such as the folks a Dean and Deluca and William Sonoma. Anthony's Blend from Lucero is now the house oil at William Sonoma. This is not surprising since the olive oils are are all rich and buttery and the vinegars have bright and complex flavors. Anything from the Lucero grove would make a satisfying gift for someone with an educated palate or at least one that is eager to learn. For full immersion into everything Lucero has to offer try the sampler. Shop at the Lucero web site and you can purchase single bottles or fill customized gift boxes according to individual tastes. Just click on a picture of a bottle and it pops into a box. (Several people on our lists are getting what we are calling the "Mission Fig" custom box -- Fig Vinegar matched with the Mission Oil.) Single 8.5 oz bottles start at are around $8.00, the sampler is $40., the custom boxes are priced as you mix and match bottles. starting at $8.00 AT LUCERO OLIVE OIL Food Gifts
 Sure they stack, but even if you give a gift of just one jar of something wonderful from Vervacious it still rates as a stand up gift. This is because the flavors in their cheese complements, savory preserves, finishing salts, table sauces and mignonettes are transformative. High praise, for sure, but when we sampled the black truffle pineapple conserve with goat cheese and dark bread, we paused for a moment of silence. If you know someone who is fond of nibbling shards of parmesan cheese then the Espresso Balsamic Drizzle is a must. Vervacious also offers loose teas and spiced cocoa mixes with low-sugar. And you can mix and match a stack of flavors to suit your taste or be guided by the wide variety of gift sets such as Spain Favorites, Best of the Med or Caribbean Grill Stack. If you feel like going big, there is the Vervacious Explorers Club for $300. This is a year of monthly surprises from the Vervacious to inspire your kitchen adventures. from $6.50 AT VERVACIOUS Food Gifts
 Yes, October is when I clear out the spice rack to make way for fresh herbs and spices for the holidays. It is also a great time to experiment with new spices to learn some new moves for entertaining. Urban Accents is a line I came across at the Fancy Food show and I’m experimenting with now. Well, actually, it was hard to miss, since it was show award winner. The Mango Masala Seasoned Salt has proved to be a good transitional seasoning from summer to fall. It blends Greek sea salt, curry and mango. The first time using it the idea was to season pineapple with the spicy salt and grill. We found that dousing the fresh pineapple with the salt before eating resulted in the best flavor; spicy but still refreshing. With curry and mango flavors it is natural in most Indian inspired dishes. True, but after keeping a dish on the table I’ve learned it does quite well in less complicated settings. Sprinkled on eggs cooking in olive oil right before they go over easy, and the oil, spice and salt create a warm liquid glaze over the eggs. It really blends well with avocado whether mashed on toast, in a salad or in a slightly curried guacamole. This weekend’s green market experiments will match Athenian Dryglaze -- a sugar, spice and sun dried tomato blend -- with butternut squash or whatever autumn vegetable is in its prime and the Gourmet Gobbler Kit, a brine and rub kit for a 20 lb turkey. In the meantime, there are plenty of gourmet gift ideas at the Urban Accents site. Right now they are running a buy three of the same and get 10% off” promotion. (So far, I love their products, but 10% off the same three is not the incentive that 10% off any three would be. Oh well.) $7.50 AT URBAN ACCENTS Food Gifts
 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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