You've Got To Taste This

Stumped as to what to get that crazy aunt or father-in-law-who-has-everything for Christmas? Check out these great food gift ideas. Gifts from the kitchen are budget-friendly, clutter-free, and always full of love.

Come back every day until New Year's Eve for a customized tip guaranteed to make your holiday preparations even easier this year.

(photography by Abbi Masters)

Since I've been pregnant, my cravings can be summed up in 3 words: beef, cheese, and chocolate. The latter of the 3 is pretty much a necessity each day, so when my brother-in-law picked up this curious little tin while my husband and I were vacationing with the family, I had to try it out.

What lied inside was truly fabulous! Upon further investigation, I learned that Sin in a Tin (visit http://sininatin.org/), as it was cleverly named by its creator, Chef William Guthrie, can be served by itself, with fresh fruit, or spread on cookies. It's also gluten-free and makes a GREAT gift! But I had to know, would others love this treat as much as I did?

With only 8 days remaining in my race-to-the-alter countdown, I'm getting down to baking business in my apartment. The hotel welcome bags are almost complete.  In fact, Mom's already taken the candied pecans I made and bagged home. The last thing on my welcome-bag list?  Biscotti.

A few months ago, one of my girlfriends made homemade biscotti for a brunch we threw and everyone raved about it, then she let the secret out: biscotti is easy to make!  The basic ingredients are flour, eggs, butter, sugar, baking powder, salt, & vanilla. That's it!  Then I added chocolate chips and chopped walnuts to mine. 

The only thing about biscotti is that it takes some time.  First you make the simple batter, then you shape it into narrow logs and bake for about 30 minutes.  Then you slice it up and let it crisp for 30 more minutes, turning every 10.  Basically, it's the perfect recipe to make while bad TV is on at night--you can flip it during commercial breaks! 

I'm making biscotti instead of, say, cookies, because while most baked goods need to be 1-2 days fresh, biscotti is already a crisp cookie, so making it ahead of time is super easy.  I dropped two pieces of biscotti in a clear treat bag, tied it up with a ribbon, and dropped the whole batch of 89 bags into a big air-tight container, where they'll hang out until I put the bags together on Wednesday.

The best part?  Biscotti is another budget-friendly wedding idea and a great do-it-yourself wedding favor or welcome bag treat.  It keeps for about 6-8 weeks, or six months if frozen, and costs pennies to make.  If I'd ordered the number of pieces I needed online, it would've cost me $234.96, and I still would've needed to purchase the treat bags ($1.99 for 50) and the ribbon ($3 per spool).  Instead, I used on-hand items and made a personal treat for my guests for the cost of a bag of chocolate chips and a bag of chopped walnuts, and whatever it will cost to let my dress out after I ate no fewer than 8 pieces.  That's what I call smart saving!

After reading Ashley Johnson’s blog, We Heart Cupcakes, I was inspired and had a fervent desire to be my own Bakerella for our office Christmas party. I know I’m suppose to be writing about something different, but seriously I wanted to sacrifice an inventive blog post to reiterate how right Ashley was. These are so much fun to make!

Santa Bellies and Milk Chocolate Toffee Topping
For mine I decided to go with the token Santa belt for the decor. I followed the red velvet cake instructions, mixed the crumbled cake with cream cheese frosting, structured the palm size balls, and stuck them in the freezer to get the yummy cake spheres firm enough to dip in milk chocolate and red colored white chocolate.

Following, I bought the ready-to-use Wilton icing, black for the belt and yellow for the buckle. I used a flat decorating tip to cord the belt and then I lined the buckle with the yellow. To top it off I added white sprinkles for the belt loops. The milk chocolate dipped cupcake balls were covered with toffee crumbles.

These are really great for parties, because they are bite-size and easy to make. You can be creative, messy, and your very own Bakerella. So, I want to again express my gratitude to Ashley’s blog entry and Bakerella. These are fabulous and festive.

Can you think of some creative ways to decorate and dress-up your baked goods?

The idea of giving a gift basket to a family member, friend, coworker, or colleague during the holidays or for any special event has always been a part of my life. My grandfather, Raymond Contri, opened a gift basket and specialty foods shop called Contri Brothers Gift Basket in Birmingham, Alabama, 41 years ago as an expansion of the family grocery business begun in 1925. Since then, the Gift Basket has remained in the family managed at some point in time by my father, uncle, mother, aunt, and cousins. For as long as I can remember, the holidays have always revolved around "The Basket." Looking back at the time I've spent working at Contri's, I think it is pretty safe to say I've done just about all things one can possibly do to a gift basket--make, shrink wrap, drop, stock, accidentally destroy, create themes for, ship, inventory, sell, eat the contents of, deliver, and of course, give as a gift.

So, when challenged to create The Ultimate Gift Basket Guide for our Holiday Food Gifts channel, I reverted back to my high school holiday break mentality and was geared up to work on all things gift basket.

I've been fortunate to have attended many food shows and developed relationships with various companies, PR agents, and purveyors of specialty foods and food related items. Based on some of the favorites I've found, as well as some of the staffs' favorite products and recipes, I was able to create 10 different themed baskets featuring everything from Italian and wine to spices and cookie decorating. What I love most about giving a gift basket is the opportunity to be thoughtful and to find the perfect items to fit your recipient's needs.

If you have any favorite basket themes or other personalized gift ideas--please share!

A few weekends ago, my baking buddy Joanna and I embarked on an epic baking day with a single mission: to master Bakerella's famous and delicious Cupcake Bites. Bakerella is known for her over-the-top adorable bite-sized treats including Halloween-inspired goblins, crazy-cute turkeys, and even some Dukes of Hazard-inspired cupcake treats. She's a master of the miniature.

We decided to try making the cupcake bites because, honestly, who doesn't love mini cupcakes?  Bakerella's recipe calls for boxed red velvet cake, cooked and crumbled, mixed with store-bought cream cheese icing.  It gets a little messy, so hold on tight.  Roll the cake mixture into balls, then press into a flower-shaped cookie cutter (to give the cupcakes the fluted edge).  Chill the shaped cake for a bit in the fridge (a few segments of a chick flick will do), then get to decorating!

I'd picked up some necessities at Hobby Lobby including chocolate candy melts, pink chocolate candy melts, gift bags, ribbon, M&Ms (for the cherries!), and edible glitter (for the sprinkles).

It was a blast!  We definitely got messy dipping and topping these tiny treats, but it was a great time. At first we thought they might not end up nearly as cute as her version, but once they were decorated, they totally lived up to the site's pictures (which are gorgeous). I took them to my fiance's family for Thanksgiving and they were a hit!  Super moist, very filling, and cute as buttons.  Plus, the candy melts surround the cake, giving it a kind of shell that keeps the cake moist and delicious for days.

Set aside an afternoon and get baking!  Save time by making the cake ahead.  You can crumble it, mix it with the icing, and shape it the night before so it has time to chill in the fridge, then invite some friends over and get decorating.  Package them three to a bag for a super budget-friendly giftable treat sure to impress friends, family, and even future in-laws this holiday season.

I’ve been dabbling in food prepping, styling, and plating recipes for Holley’s cooking segment on Talk of Alabama, a local morning show with a very eclectic guest line-up.

For the past few months I have been spending my Wednesday nights cooking up the recipes that are featured Thursday mornings. This week we decided on two recipes from Food Gifts under $3 and two recipes from Perk Up With Peppermint.

So I suited up last night, put on my apron, and made Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies and chocolate cookies for Peppermint Patties. I also threw some poppy seed bread in the oven. I needed speedy and economical holiday gifts to give to friends this weekend.

While all of these sweet treats were finishing up and cooling in my small apartment kitchen, I couldn’t help but truly indulge in the wonderful smells. I wanted to bottle up the aroma and give it as a gift. So, if anyone is thinking of making a peanut butter-chocolate chip oatmeal peppermint patty cookie and poppy seed bread candle I’ll be your first customer.

Happy Holidays!

What are some of your favorite holiday scents?

Last weekend kicked off the 2008 college football season and I was fortunate enough to attend the Alabama/Clemson game in Atlanta. My sister (1st girl from right) and I (2nd girl from right) decided against throwing a big tailgate for this game so we set off on foot to visit our friends’ tailgates around the Georgia Dome and Centennial Park. Not wanting to carry a heavy cooler but also not wanting to mooch off our friends, I strapped on the Beer Holster from our Xtreme Tailgating guide and had Angela (my sis) load it up with beer. Granted, the holster only holds 4 cans so our "loading" wasn't anything too wild but it was the perfect-sized cooler for two (or one depending on how much you want to drink). Once we were finished with our very cold beers (it held the cold temp great!), we rolled up the holster and stuffed it into her purse. (Another plus considering I have stashed many a cooler before a ballgame only to come back to find it gone.)

One thing to note: When wearing the Beer Holster, don't spend too much time around the cops. We were standing in front of 3 police officers in Centennial Park for about 5 minutes and I apparently was making them very nervous. My back was to them so I couldn't see but the people standing across from me said that they were all on the edge of their seats checking me (and the holster) out. Rephrase...checking the holster out. Once I unzipped it and pulled out a beer, they let out a huge sigh of relief and started to laugh. I offered them a cold beer but they declined since they were on duty. Maybe next time...

I have a problem.  I've been given 9 delicious gourmet cookies and I can't eat them. 

I got engaged a few weeks ago and was given a cookie basket from Cookies In Bloom in Bellevue, Washington as an engagement present.  "Given" might be too strong of a word.  Really the basket (featuring my fiance, his family, a pair of doves, a cookie engagement ring, and myself) was given to my soon-to-be in-laws, and I begged, pleaded, and held my breath until they agreed that I could take it home and enjoy the image of myself as a "Southern Bride" all dressed in buttercream.

The cookies are gorgeous.  I can only hope that my husband-to-be and I are half as pulled together as the cookie versions of ourselves (and that my hair stays anywhere near that smooth in the humid Alabama air).  The problem is that they're almost too pretty to eat.  I walk by it every time I enter my apartment's kitchen and am instantly met with the most delicious sugar-and-lemon cookie smell just beckoning me to bite my fiance's head off.  Or at least nibble on his top hat.  Do I eat his parents first? That can't be good for future family relations.  How about his brothers?  The doves are safe enough, but they give the basket its ambiance, so if I ate them, I'm pretty sure it would turn into a sugar cookie consumption free-for-all that would leave me in a sugar comma humming "Here Comes the Bride" with buttercream permanently jammed under my fingernails.

The worst part is, I hear the cookies are delicious and that they taste even better than they smell.  I've been told to wrap them and freeze them, so we can enjoy them in the coming months while we plan the wedding, and then simply microwave them for just a few seconds to return them to their soft, mouth-watering state.

While I'm still pondering how best to enjoy the basket, I do know that it's the best bouquet of anything I've ever received.  This is one gift idea I'm definitely passing on to friends and family over the next few months. It's especially perfect for boyfriends who hate giving flowers "because they'll die in a week."  These cookies live forever! One word of advice: When you personalize your basket, get all the key characters in, but ask the kind people at Cookies In Bloom to please, please, please include one ugly cookie of an aunt you don't like or your favorite love-to-hate sports rival.  That way, you can dig in without reservations and savor this guaranteed-to-please gift.

My kitchen and pantry "staples" tend to be fairly limited, so when I find a product that takes the place of half a dozen others without compromising on any of the taste, you can bet that I'll gladly add it to my stock.  Passion Fruit Balsamic Vinegar,  a great product by Mediterraneo Imports and another great find from the 2008 Gourmet Housewares show in Las Vegas, does just that.  It's a refreshingly different vinegar, loaded with bright fruity flavor.  I tried it on bread squares, fruit wedges, and on a tiny plastic spoon, and my only thought was "this makes everything taste better." 

Drizzle it over salmon before baking to add a Caribbean flair, mix with olive oil for a zesty two-ingredient salad dressing, or toss it with a fresh fruit salad.  I guarantee you that your dinner guests will leave wondering what mixture of herbs and spices you used to create such a fragrant and tasty topper, so go ahead and decide whether you'll share the secret or keep it to yourself.  The aged pear variety is also wonderful, so consider trying a few, or sending the bottles as gourmet gifts.