Gourmet Gift of the Day Blog

I love this time of year!  The apples are abundant, the leaves are turning and the kids are looking forward to Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas!  To celebrate this time of year, Holiday Gifts & Gift Baskets is offering a Fall Snack Chest that showcases rustic colors and a great mix of gourmet treats.

My mom’s birthday was a couple weeks ago, and we sent her this snack basket since we weren’t able to deliver a gift in person.  She called to thank us and explained that she wasn’t able to try everything in the basket since dad hid the snack mix and butter cookies from her – apparently they were so good that he didn’t want to share!  She did enjoy the fruit candies, chips and dip.  She was even able to sit down and relax with a cup of the Vanilla Spice Tea while she controlled the remote for the night (dad’s birthday gift to her).

We visited mom and dad house last week-end and I was pleased that the gift chest was being used to store her scarves. It was nice to see that the gift was not only tasty but also contained a practical item!

Some of the world’s most famous and best tasting beef comes from the heartland.  Corn-fed Kansas beef cattle provide moist, juicy and tender steaks filled with flavor!  My favorite cut of beef is a strip steak, the lean cut comes from one of the most tender parts of the animal.

Kansas City Steaks offers their strip steaks in four sizes – 8 oz, 10 oz, 12 oz or 16 oz.  We ordered 6 of the 10 oz cuts, which are currently on sale for $49.95.  When they arrived yesterday we tossed them on the grill and served them with a simple green salad.  Our friends came over for dinner and they commented a number of times on the deliciously tender cuts of beef that they were able to cut with a fork!  It was easy to grill these steaks to the exact temperature our guests requested because our order included a free gourmet guide that provided cooking tips and recipe suggestions.  We are repeat customers to this gourmet website and now our friends will be too!

Many years ago, during a high school trip to Florida, my classmates and I tried alligator meat at a restaurant.  Being from a small town in the midwest this was quite an exotic experience for us!  Since it has been nearly 20 years since that school trip I decided it was time to try alligator again.  I ordered this “Tail Gator” package from Gatorama – one of the original roadside attractions located Palmdale, FL.  As you can tell by their name Gatorama is all about alligators – they offer tours, shows, souvenirs and fresh farm-raised alligator meat.  The $99 package included 7 1/2 lbs of alligator tail meat, Everglades all purpose seasoning, “Swamp Mustard” for dipping and a package of alligator jerky.  To cook the meat we first covered it with all purpose seasoning, then baked it in the oven and dipped it in the “swamp mustard”.  I liked the meat without dip but my husband loved the dip!  The meat was great – moist and tasty with a mild flavor.  It’s hard to describe the flavor of the meat because one bite would remind of chicken, the next fish, the next like nothing I’ve ever had (or can remember anyway).  Overall we were very pleased with the meat and I’m looking forward to having it again – maybe this time during another trip to Florida!

By the way, the alligator jerky in this basket was outstanding!  My entire family loves jerky and it’s too bad we only received one piece because the four of us fought over it.  I’ve added alligator jerky to my “must order again” list!

My husband loves spice but I’m more of a tame gal – sometimes even breakfast sausage is too much for me!  So I went on a quest to find breakfast sausage my whole family could enjoy, and I’m happy to report that I hit the jackpot!  The Chicken Apple Sausage made fresh at the San Luis Sausage Company still has some spice, but it is tamed with Granny Smith apples, some mild onions and a touch of Sherry.  The result is tart, sweet and savory with just a touch of spice – and each link is naturally high in protein and low in fat.  The spices for each batch of sausages are still mixed by hand, and the links are preservative-free so they can only be shipped via overnight or 2nd day air in a frozen state.  A 1 pound package of these uniquely tasty links are available for $8.25 and can also be found in a few select retail locations in California, Idaho and Wyoming.

This year my sister joined her new in-laws for Easter Dinner.  Rather than our traditional Ham dinner, her mother-in-law served a smoked turkey .  My sister’s in-laws have relatives in Texas, and they happen to live near the New Braunfels Smokehouse so they have been sampled many tasty meats created there.  They sent a Peppered Smoked Turkey up north for Easter dinner and my sister was very happy that they did!  She really enjoyed the spices added to the meat, and the smoked flavor was just enough to compliment the hot cross buns and creamy mashed potatoes that were served with the meal.  The New Braunfels Smokehouse has been in the mail order business since 1945, and currently has their 9-11 pound Peppered Smoked Turkey on sale for $33.95.

Dating back into history, squab wasn’t always considered a delicacy.  The term ’squab’ used to represent the meat of all dove and pigeon species – including those wild birds that were hunted for their meat no matter what the taste.  However, today’s culinary term squab includes only the meat from a young (approximately one month old) domestic pigeon that has not yet flown, making the meat very tender and full of flavor.  The Squab Producers of California have been raising high quality squab for more than 60 years, shipping internationally and earning high acclaim by a number of gourmet chefs around the world.  You can experience this moist and tender poultry for yourself by ordering a “six pack” of air-chilled eviscerated squab for $77.00.  Each bird weighs between 15 and 17 ounces, and are shipped frozen via Fed Ex Priority.  The Squab Producers of California also offer a large number of gourmet recipes on their website, including Maple-Cured Squab Breast with Braised Lentils and Radicchio as pictured here.

Dating back to the very first Passover, roast lamb is the most traditional Easter dinner you can find.  One of the most tender and perfectly seasoned lamb roasts I have ever eaten came from Omaha Steaks.  The 2 1/2 lb roast was perfectly seasoned with garlic and butter, and came with simple preparation instructions.  The majority of my family prefers their meat done medium-well, but even cooking the roast longer than recommended didn’t cause it to dry out.  It was also nice to receive a boneless roast because we didn’t feel as if we had to pay shipping costs for something that was thrown away.

Currently on sale for $69.99, not only is this the tastiest lamb roast you can find, it is also one of the most reasonably priced!

If you are searching for a red meat that is low in fat and cholesterol but still has a great flavor, you should try venison.  My husband hunts whitetail deer every fall, so we are able to regularly enjoy this meat that many people consider a delicacy.  We love to put a venison roast in the oven with potatoes, onions and carrots.  We also save some steaks for summertime grilling and process some of the meat into snack sticks and jerky.  Venison is my 6 year old’s favorite meat.

The domestic venison available from Underhill Farms is a high quality protein source, with very little of the gamey flavor you would experience from a wild deer.  Their Fallow Deer are raised hormone-free on a farm in central Kansas, which is one of a select few farms in the United States that raise venison specifically for consumption.  The venison medallions are tender, boneless pieces of tender steak, and are available for $22/lb.

For a superb Italian hoagie or a unique flavor combination for your antipasto plate, try this Salami Toscano.  The DiBruno Brothers offer this dry Italian-style salami seasoned with garlic, sea salt, wine and a unique blend of herbs.  When I first tasted this I was reminded of a Genoa salami, but after a few bites the flavor is quite unique – I was especially able to pick out the garlic and sea salt which blended very well with the Provolone cheese and crusty bread (a combination suggested by the seller).  After our taste-testing at the office, it was my turn to bring the leftovers home where my husband made himself a sandwich – layering salami, Provolone, jalapenos and spicy mustard.  It is his new favorite, so I ordered another pound for his lunches!  One pound of this Fra Mani Salami Toscano is currently on sale for $21.99.

If you are ready for the smells and tastes of summer barbeque, but it’s not quite time to dig out the grill, the order up this delightful combination of 3 smoked and barbequed meats, sure to tempt your senses!  Joe’s Barbeque Company is offering a selection of pork ribs, smoked sausage and a smoked brisket – all fully cooked and available for immediate shipping.  They will also pack in a complimentary jar of Joe’s Barbeque Sauce to add your own amount of flavor.

This combination provides enough food to feed 4 comfortably, and if you place your order in February you will receive free shipping (check out the link to Joe’s daily specials).  The combo sells for $109.95.