12 Holiday Gift Ideas for Chefs, Cooks, Foodies & the Like

Why hello my peaches, and Happy Holidays to you all!

What with super shopping day, Black Friday (heavens, what a foreboding title!) behind us, and the holidays (Hanukkah! Christmas! Kwanzaa! New Years!) looming large, I thought I would break out my top 12 holiday present suggestions for all of the foodies, chefs, cooks and more in your life...all road tested and Fresh Approach approved!


Enjoy!

Mwoah,
Rachael


1. The exceedingly fabulous Mary and Chris of Maryink in Tennessee, have conjured up what can only be described as the must have item of the year. The Fruit Basket Waist Apron.

Sweet, but not cloying, these beauties are too good to be true.

They are hand screen printed on natural cotton duck and at $12 each. Really kids, at that price, how can you go wrong?

Available online from super-site Etsy.


2. Based in the Alps, Sarah Finn is an wood-working artist extraordinaire. Her incredibly stunning laser cut (that are sturdy and wipe-able!) place mats...well, sigh, right?

They measure 14"w x 17" and are just so darned stylish, I can't get over it. She also makes napkin rings and all sorts of other kitchen-centric fantasticness.

These beauties run about $25 each.


3. How sweet is this hand-crafted Pea Pod necklace? I love it so much!

Created by the brilliant Aimee Addison of Wear Me Jewels, in Eugene, OR, it is sterling silver and Russian Serpentine on a leather cord.

Pick yours up for $35

She also offers jewelry making classes if you are in the area!


4. Looking for something with an old school vibe? Want a way to bring that extra something special to your next cocktail soiree?

Look no further than the taste-titillating bitters brought to you by the Fee Brothers. ("Don't Squeeze, Use Fee's!)I personally have been using the limited edition Whiskey Barrel Bitters for months now and cannot imagine my mixology without it on hand. They also offer Grapefruit, Lemon and much more.

If you haven't experienced old fashioned, (since 1835!) hand-made bitters, I suggest you get your hands on a bottle, stat.


5. Why not get all those recipes you have been collecting organized into your very own personal cookbook from TasteBook? For me, this was a dream come true. Stunning results and easy as can be follow along directions. Get over there and be on your way to becoming the (self) published author you know you should be! 100 recipes for $35


6. Willow Pond Farm in Fairfield, PA offers the most incredibly delectable Rosemary Jelly. This truly artisan product is made one batch at a time with certified organic herbs from their own garden. Use it to make their famous thumb-print cookies, or go wild (as I did) and keep a jar on hand until next summer, so you can glaze fig tarts in the most unexpected way. One 4 oz. jar is $3.75 and they are available online, unless you want to go visit the farm! (I certainly would if I were anywhere nearby!)



7. Now, under normal circumstances I always advocate buying the absolutely highest quality (forged!) knife you can afford...but if you're picking up a gift for someone more focused on style, well, Los Angeles based CulinHome Decor knives are just too whimsical to pass up.

Available in three patterns, Hibiscus, Jax and Splash, they are just the coolest darned things goin'. Prices vary...check their site for where to buy in your area. In LA they can be picked up at Il-Lit-Erature on La Brea.



8. Wanna get your ham-on? (Jamon?)


If you are serious about the pork, and trust the ultimate food lover, Jeffery Steingarten's taste (and who doesn't, really) - the man who declared this is the tops - then get thee over to La Quercia Rossa for their ethereal Heirloom Breed Culaccia Prosciutto.

Simply the best. Hand crafted in Iowa. Prices vary. Also available from Williams-Sonoma.


9. And since we talked ham, I figure the next logical step, is cheese!

In this case, a sublime Gouda Boere Kaas, made right here in Southern California by the Dutch craftsmen of Winchester Cheese.

Their cheese is award winning and rightly so.

Available online or at The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills.




10. The Crystal Dragon martini glass, heck, the whole bar set, makes me dizzy with desire.

Could anything be more swank? Glamour, glamour, glamour.

The imperial design is sand-etched onto mouth blown clear lead crystal from Hungary and ready to make all your Eastern dreams come true.

Starting at $95 these beauties are available exclusively from Gumps of San Francisco.


11. Tell the truth, how excited would you be to receive an upside down tomato garden this holiday season? Seriously. Local tomatoes! As in, from your own kitchen! Too amazing!

"Hanging vines need almost no attention as tomatoes ripen in the air (not on the ground) where they wont rot. Complementary plants like basil, parsley, rosemary, and peppers can be planted on top, which holds up to 80 lbs. of topsoil. The compact planter can fit in any space with ample sunlight, even condominium balconies."

All this for $75 plus shipping!



12. Choco LA LA Fair Trade Chocolates. Those cheeky chocolatiers. Sassy and ethical, not to mention, makers of glorious, fresh, hand-made chocolates!

Try the dark chocolate truffles - "a rich dark center with a hint of chili and coconut, all enclosed in a dark chocolate shell."

For me, a trip to England is never complete without getting my hands on a box these (which also includes their chocolate covered mango...sigh.), and now, they are available online!


Prices vary.


Well there you go my dears, I hope you found something you like!
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All of the photos in this post come from their respective websites. Credit where credit is due.

Wanna see my suggestions from years gone by? Check it out here and here.

One last gift suggestion...make a donation...there are a few worthy causes listed on the left...

German Cabbage Salad

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And here I sit.

Hung over as can be.

Too much beer, I fear.

Pout.

We hit an early Octoberfest potluck party, repleat with Ommpah band and lederhosen. It was enough to make a girl long for the old country. Even if that country isn't her own. Beer was flowing, people danced. It brought a tear to my eye, I tell ya, a tear. Of joy.

The Ombudsman, being a German-American had graciously (if somewhat clumsily) acted as my sous-chef for this vibrant delight, and while he claims it is particularly inauthentic, he still contends it is lip smackin good. So there you go. From the horses mouth. Or, should I say, from the mouth of das pferd.

Inspired. Tangy. Crisp. Sweet. Sour.

Try it my peaches, and taste the joy.

1 head of red cabbage
4 red onions
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups red wine vinegar
2 cups cold water
Salt
Caraway seeds
Black pepper

Okay, so you slice the cabbage as thin as can be. Then you do the same with the red onions.

Grind about a teaspoon of caraway seeds.

Combine the sugar, vinegar, water, a bit of the caraway seeds and some salt. Add the onions, and simmer for 30 minutes. Taste and adjust any which way you think it needs.

Let that cool completely, then toss it with the cabbage. Let it all just sit and get mellow. Sprinkle with some more caraway, then eat. Makes a whole-lotta-food.

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The Dutch originated coleslaw: kool means cabbage and sla means salad

Caraway seeds are not actually seeds, but the small ripe fruit of the caraway plant

Penne with Five-Spiced Pumpkin

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Ever since The Ombudsman took me out for a rousing day of G-rated (actually, not entirely, that place has some racy stuff! And a lot of super duper icky stuff! So, you know. It was fun!) at the California Science Center, I have been thinking about the delicate balance of my body's culinary needs.

All that and I've been thinking I need a warm drink. Mmm. Yes, a warm drink.

Wait, no, what I really need is warm, hearty food. Yes. That's what I learned at the museum! Our bodies need a balance of nutrient rich foods as the weather turns colder. Who knew!

So in my science inspired mood, I contemplated dinner.

It would have to be something toothsome (oh for the love of/in the name of all that/for pities sake...did I just use that word? Gack. Sorry. Loathsome.), something with heft and stout resolution. Something carb-tastic (now, isn't that a much better word than toothsome? Yes, I think so too.) Something that positively reeks of late autumn, with the clever addition of Chinese five-spice powder. That all-balancing spice combo of note that incorporates all that is good in spirit and food balancing. It was what the doctor (had one practicing Eastern medicine been one involved) ordered for my scien-tiffic (oh wow do I think that's clever! Grin.) dinner bonanza.

Newly up-to-date on the human body and all its wonders, I cozied up to the Ombudsman with a steamy bowl of this all-nourishing, beta-carotene rich fantastic-ness. Balanced perfection. And it was warm and robust and filling and I'm sure your body will agree, super yummy.

So try it my dears, and taste the joy.


1 pound (whole wheat) penne pasta
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 cup fresh or canned pumpkin puree
1 T five spice powder
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce
1 teaspoon chile flakes
1/2 cup green onion
2 carrots cut into matchsticks (julienne)
1 cup green cabbage, finely shredded

In a large pot of boiling, salted, water cook the penne until al dente.

In a saute pan, heat the vegetable oil, then add the pumpkin and five spice and saute for one minute, stirring. Add the stock, hot sauce and chile flakes. Warm through. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Toss with the pasta, add carrots, green onion and cabbage. Toss, taste, and serve.

Makes four servings.

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Emeril Lagasse will throw down his last "Bam!" on Dec. 11, when he tapes his last "Emeril Live!" for the Food Network. The show is being canceled after 10 years, though the network says his studio show will remain on the air. - TMZ.com

Five spice incorporates the five basic flavors of Chinese cooking — sweet, sour, bitter, savory and salty. It consists of cassia (cinnamon), star anise, ginger, fennel seeds and Szechuan pepper

Looking Back: Burgers

My blog may be horribly neglected, but fortunately I've still be cooking and taking pictures when I remember or have time. For this post, I'm going to go way back to the August issue of Cooking Light which featured several different tempting-sounding gourmet burgers. I've already reviewed the Italian Meatball Burgers, but we've also tried the Saté Burgers and the Southwestern Turkey Cheddar Burgers with Grilled Onions.

I don't have pictures of Saté Burgers, but they were quite good. This is a turkey and pork burger that combines the elements of a typical sate with ingredients such as peanuts, lime, cilantro and fish sauce. The result is an exotic, moist, flavorful burger. The recipe suggests skipping the bun and serving them with rice. We decided to be burger traditionalists and decided to serve them on hamburger buns but were put off by the fact that there was no sauce - it seemed like they would be a bit boring and bland just slapped on a dry bun. We decided to try them with bottled Teriyaki sauce and that worked pretty well, but I think perhaps CL knew what they were talking about when they suggested the rice.

Southwestern Turkey-Cheddar Burgers with Grilled Onion

The next burger we tried was the Southwestern turkey burger. This burger is a bit more straightforward, combining turkey with a few Tex-Mex spices and a bit of wheat germ. The burgers are topped off with grilled onions, cheddar cheese and a spicy Chipotle-Poblano ketchup that really takes this burger up a notch. Our only complaint with this burger is that it perhaps had a bit too much onion in the burger itself - this seemed unnecessary with the grilled onion topping.

As a side note, each of these recipes makes 6 burgers. We didn't want to end up with 2 leftover burgers, so instead of reducing the recipe to make 4, we upped the recipes to make 8 and froze the leftovers for a later meal. In fact, I think we still have some of the Southwestern burgers left, waiting for a cold day this winter when we want to bring a little summer indoors.

Only one burger left to try from that issue - the Korean Barbecue Burgers. Yum - I love Korean barbecue - called bulgogi and/or galbi - so we will definitely give these burgers a try and I'm pretty sure we won't be able to wait until summer......

On this day in..........
2006: Sweet Rolls on Sunday
2005: Would you cook if you couldn't taste anything?

Salt-Cod in Piquillo Peppers (Pimentos Rellenos de Bacalo)

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Me, I'm a lucky girl to have two older brothers whom I love very much...the seriously brilliant one (IBBBH*) and the stunningly genius one (IBBBJ**).

And, heck yes, I'm bragging.

Both of my brothers are tall and handsome, hard working and goodhearted. (Frankly, I find it altogether shocking we all come from the same gene-pool. I can barely balance my checkbook half the time! So really, I got nothin' on um. Plus the really disconcerting part is that our sister is actually the smart one. Scary...innit?)

The younger (I'm the youngest) is the one who makes me laugh, he is the political one, with a serious penchant for quality foods, and the older one (well, also political) is the one who challenges me to be a better person, who sits up straight, and is infinitely patient.

IBBBJ lives in NYC. Making the world a better place. IBBBH resides in Southern Spain...making the world a better place too.

I love visiting NYC to hang out with my IBBBJ. I am always beyond excited to see him and go out do dinner, so he "can show off by getting (me) something fancy."

It takes a bit more to get organized enough to haul myself across two continents. But when I do I bask in the warmth of IBBBH's wonderfulness (no, not a word...) where the main focus is always family (and, flamenco, or so it seems. Lots of Flamenco.) and eating. This is me after all. While UBBBH is not exactly a foodie - he likes his brown bread and herring more than most things - he is indulgent (if not bemused) by my obsession.

What both of these boys (okay, fine, they are men) can agree on, food wise, is this extremely classic tapas, inspired by the bounty of Andalusia.

So easy to make, so deliciously tempting. It will make your head spin for a moment. In Spain, or New York, or where ever your family happens to be.

So try it my dears, and taste the joy.

8oz - 10 oz. salt cod
2 medium (Yukon Gold is best) potatoes, peeled and cut
3 cloves garlic
3 T Spanish olive oil
12 roasted piquillo peppers

Soak the salt cod over night in cold water. Change the water at least twice.

When it is softened, rinse the cod and flake.

In a medium sauce pan of cold water, add the cod, garlic cloves and potatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are soft, then drain.

Add that mix to your food processor and puree, along with half the oil. Add more oil if it is still chunky, otherwise, use it all.

Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Fill peppers with the puree and serve on a bed of the extra puree (if there is any)

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*How smart? He once co-authored a paper entitled: The Quantum Vacuum and the Cosmological Constant Problem

**How smart? He earned his masters degree at age 19.

Locally, piquillo peppers can be purchased at Surfas in Culver City, La Española in Harbor City and Nicole's in Pasadena. I have also seen them at Cost Plus, Whole Foods and Bristol Farms.

The name piquillo means "little beak". Traditionally piquillo peppers are grown in Northern Spain - GourmetSleuth.com

Happy Thanksgiving!

No food pictures to post today, so I'll just post a photo I took earlier this fall - I loved the way the fog was settled in amongst the fall foliage. And if you look closely, you can see Bailey out enjoying the beautiful day. We still have quite a few leaves on the trees around here! It looks more like the end of October than the end of November!

I continue to neglect my blog, but I appreciate all who stop by to take a look. Though I haven't been writing, I have been taking pictures of quite a few of our cooking ventures, so I hope to get caught up on my posts in the near future.

Have a wonderful holiday.

Haricot Vert with Filberts (Or, Green Beans with Hazelnuts)

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Hello my dears!

I must start this post with a bit of info I am certain you don't need...but it is followed up at the bottom with a recipe that I am certain you do need...it's just too divine to pass up.

The somewhat (or, you know, entirely) irrelevant info, that I am compelled to share, is that I have got a stupendously random song stuck in my head in my head on auto-loop.

ACK!

I have only the slightest notion how it got there, (Okay, I confess, I know perfectly well how it got there, but I cannot fathom how it became so deeply lodged) and in all honesty, it's driving me to the brink...la lalalalla la la. The brink I say!

For DAYS, (going on weeks frankly) all the blessed souls around me have been pleading (at first with their eyes, then quite vocally) that I stop tra-la-la-ing the refrain every time there is even a hint of a lull in conversation... it really is that...well, catchy actually, but ultimately, bothersome.

So tell me my sweets, is there a cure? Is there anything to be done?

Whoa is me.

And much like that song, this recipe* is driving me to distraction as well. I must have some sort of compulsive disorder.

Happily, the dish (unlike the song) is easy to ingest, and that makes a happy girl indeedeeeee.

The combination of flavors and textures, the way it smells as it bubbles and sputters in the pan, it has a grip on me. I crave it.

And - bonus - it's perfect for a Thanksgiving side dish.

So my peaches, try it, and taste the joy.


2 Tablespoons butter
1 pound/4 cups French green beans, trimmed
1/4 cup filberts
Salt, pepper and lemon zest to season


In a large saute pan, melt the butter then add the beans and nuts. Let that cook until the butter is slightly browned, when that happens, remove from the pan, toss with salt, pepper and zest and serve.

*Adapted from a recipe given to me by She-Who-Inspires-Me, AKA Taji, at Simple Gourmet
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The Hazelnut Growers of Oregon accounted for 1/3 of the nation’s 27,000-ton production last year. Virtually all U.S. hazelnuts are grown in Oregon.

Fresh beans are classified into two basic categories: edible pod beans and shell beans. Green beans, otherwise known as snap or string beans, are the most popular edible pod bean in the United States. The lima bean is the most common shell bean sold in the United States.

Jamie Oliver will be returning to The Food Network with a new show called Jamie at Home. The show will feature him preparing meals with produce from his country garden. Each episode will feature a different ingredient and show a variety of recipes that focus on that ingredient. The show premiers on Saturday, January 12, 2008