Gourmet Gift of the Day Blog

I have to thank my girlfriend Jodie for introducing me to Paella.  She is more adventurous than I am, and a few weeks ago she convinced me to try a new Spanish dish that she made in her cooking class.  The dish is served in a large wok-type pan (called a palleras), and contained rice, shrimp, lobster, vegetables and spicy seasonings.  It looked great and tasted delicious (although a bit spicy).  Luckily, Jodie and I also shared a bottle of our favorite wine with dinner to cool the spices.  Since then I have wanted to make paella myself so I have been searching for a paella pan online.  I did find the pan, and during my search I also found that one of my favorite websites offers a Paella Gift Set – complete with wine!  Unfortunately I couldn’t order this for myself (wine cannot be shipped to Minnesota), but I thought the set was a great idea for a wedding gift.  The gift set contains the paella pan, paella rice, saffron, spicy paprika, Spanish tapas plates for serving and a bottle of Campo Viejo Tempranillo Reserva Rioja.  If you know an adventurous couple who enjoys new flavors, this gift set is a great deal at $76 plus shipping.  Just make sure that they will be home when you send it because gifts with alcohol require an adult signature for delivery.

Five years ago, my husband and I took a trip that included an overnight stay at the Comfort Inn & Suites in Rapid City, SD.  What I remember most about the entire trip was the flavor of the Belgian Waffles that we had for breakfast at the hotel!  The waffles had a crisp outside and fluffy inside, with a rich malted flavor and a sweet maple syrup sprinkled with toasted pecans.  I have never been able to reproduce this recipe exactly, but the waffle mix and syrup I found online are the closest I have come.

Robert Rothschild Farm sells a terrific Pancake and Waffle Mix that produces sweet and thick waffles.  The recipe also says it can be used for crepes, but I haven’t tried it because a flavor this rich needs to be in a fluffy pastry!  I also liked the additional recipes sent in the package – including sweet breads and cookies.  The Roasted Pecan Syrup that we purchased to go with the Waffle Mix has a great maple base, then adds a deep layer of Pecan flavor – so tasty that you may want to order 2 jars right away!  The syrup also comes with recipe suggestions, but we have enjoyed the syrup so much with our pancakes, waffles, and ice cream that we haven’t had a chance to try any of the recipes yet.

You can get a 32 ounce box of Waffle Mix for $13.49, and a 12 ounce jar of Roasted Pecan Syrup for $9.49.   If you like to order in bulk, you will get a 10% case discount.

With the huge amount of snow that has been dumped on the US so far this year, there are millions of kids outdoors building a snowman, hoping that the top hat they found will turn their creation into Frosty – just like the cartoon character!  Although it is very unlikely that this will happen you can still send them their own Frosty keepsake, one that will last long after the snow melts.  Cookie Gift Baskets offers a cute ceramic snowman jar filled with 17 candy bars in varying sizes, then decorated with a huge colorful bow.  The chocolate will re-energize them after they have built their snowman, and the jar makes a great place to keep trinkets, hot cocoa packets, or even more candy.  Send this to your favorite snow artist for $45 + $9.95 ground shipping.

For a sweet and chewy experience, the salt water taffy from taffyshop.com is some of the best.  With 70 flavors to choose from, you are sure to find one that is a perfect match for your tastes.  My favorite is Banana Cream Pie, my husband is partial to Strawberry and my 6 year old loves Cherry Cola.  Aunt Bonnie sent us an assortment for Christmas and we had a lot of fun sampling the different flavors!  I love the creaminess of the taffy, the candy was a welcome change for this self-proclaimed chocoholic.

5 lbs of this taffy can be shipped for $18.95 plus $11.50 shipping.  There are approximately 60 pieces of taffy per pound, so the candy is very reasonably priced at around $.10 per piece.

What better way to celebrate the new year than with a decadent dessert!  This 3 lb New York style cheesecake is covered in chocolate ganache and candy sprinkles, then finished with “Happy New Year” written in delicious white chocolate.  The 8″ size will serve 12 people, so it would be perfect for my family of 4 (with some leftovers just for me!).  With such rich and creamy filling, I may be tempted to put off my healthy eating plan for a few days.  Holiday Gifts & Gift Baskets will overnight this cheesecake right to your door for $77.95.  If you prefer, send this scrumptious dessert to a faraway friend and help them ring in the New Year with cheesecake!

One of my New Year’s resolutions this year is to eat more fruits and vegetables.  Of course fresh is best, but sometimes a prepared meal is more convenient.  Because of the great products I have received from Home Bistro in the past, I am looking forward to trying this Vegetable Cannelloni as well.  The pasta shells are filled with oven roasted vegetables and portobello mushrooms that are combined with spinach and an Italian three cheese blend.  Each meal includes steamed vegetables on the side and a rich shallot butter sauce with fennell and sambuca.  When vegetables look this good, I’ll have no trouble sticking to my New Year’s resolution!  The cost of the meal is $11.95 plus shipping, and you can order as few as one or as many as you like.

I love giving out favors during birthday celebrations, dinner parties or other gatherings that we host.  Cookies are always a hit with our guests but I don’t always have time to bake them and get all the other party planning done.  I have found a great alternative to baking – the delicious cookie favors offered by Gourmet Cookie Bouquets.  I have used them as birthday party favors, baby shower favors, and now – New Year’s party favors.

Our neighborhood New Year’s party will be held at our house this year, and since we travel for Christmas I don’t have a lot of time to get the house clean before we welcome more than 25 neighbors and their families into our home.  Luckily, the meal is a pot luck so everyone will be bringing a dish to share.  Just before midnight I will bring out these surprise favors for our friends and their children.  The rich buttercreme cookies will be decorated to look like red and gold wine bottles and will say 2009 on them.  I was able to pick the colors and the saying, and even chose what day to have them delivered so they will be fresh for our party!  The cookies range in price from $4.50 to $5.75 each (depending on how many you purchase), and can still arrive in time for your New Year’s celebration!

I have a secret obsession with The Food Network.  I long to be an Iron Chef, or to make gorgeous cakes that compete on The Food Network Challenge.  I wasn’t blessed with an amazing cooking gene so I won’t be starring on either of those shows, but I am able to make many of the tasty dishes that Rachel Ray showcases on her program.  I also like to try the foods that she recommends, which is the only reason I ordered these Guacachips.  I have only tried guacamole twice before in my lifetime, so this purchase was really going out on a limb for me!

Luckily I was not disappointed!  When the box of Guacachips arrived my husband thought I had gone crazy, because who wants to eat a green chip?  But after he tried them with a bit of his favorite hot salsa, he agreed that Rachel Ray made a great recommendation – the chips were a hit!  I am not a “dipper” like my husband, so I enjoyed the big bite of flavor that I get from the chip itself.  We also used these chips with a layered taco dip and our party guests thought they were tasting a whole new dip (when in reality, I make this taco dip all the time).  The Snak King company has found a way to infuse guacamole into a corn tortilla chip without compromising the crunch of the chip itself. These great chips can be found in a number of local stores or you can purchase a 5 pack of 12 ounce bags online for $13.99.

After the hustle of Christmas is over, you may want to just sit back and relax for New Year’s.  The perfect addition to a quiet night in is this “Cheers” New Year’s gift bucket.  The painted metal tub can be used to chill your beverage of choice for the evening, and the goodies inside make great snacks while you wait for the New Year to arrive.  Treats included are:

• cheese
• crackers
• peanuts
• pretzels
• dipping mustard
• candy
• chocolate
• Godiva cookies
• sparkling apple cider

Available for $77 plus shipping, this bucket would also make a great wedding or retirement gift!

Eggnog is a great holiday drink that I enjoy at our family Christmas, but it is a bit too sweet to have any other time of the year.  Thankfully I have found another option when I want the eggnog flavor, without the overpowering sweetness.  This Eggnog Cake has a wonderfully moist texture, and mixes the eggnog flavor with some extra cinnamon and nutmeg to give it a more savory taste.  The cake is iced with a simple white sugar glaze, and is so delicious that I could eat it year-round!  I love the decorative bundt pans that are used to bake these cakes, and Mrs. Beasley’s website even recommends freezing the cakes to enjoy at a later time (since they can only be purchased during the Christmas season).   A 10″ cake will serve 10-12 people, and is currently on sale for $19.95.