Culinary Gifts for the Holidays - The Best Gifts for your Chef
By Lynn Schwartz
‘Tis the season and I like to express my year-round appreciation to family, friends, teachers, neighbors, workmates, clients and the party hostess. The list is long. Finding a reasonably priced gift that is thoughtful and fun, creative and useful is daunting. Over the years, I have discovered that culinary gifts work best. This season, here are a few of my favorite foodie things —
The Ultimate Kitchen Companion
Food and drink luminaries, Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, are esteemed for their groundbreaking culinary books including
What to Drink with What You Eat. They have done it again with
The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide To Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America’s Most Imaginative Chefs.
This invaluable kitchen companion is a compilation of eight years of extensive flavor pairing research. Since 2000, the couple spent thousands of hours visiting restaurants, interviewing chefs, combing menus, Web sites and cookbooks. The 384-page flavor guidebook is unique, but easy to use. Thousands of ingredients, herbs, spices and seasoning entries are organized alphabetically and cross-referenced, making it what the title promises — a flavor bible. Choose from achiote seeds to zucchini blossoms. Look up techniques, seasons and cuisines. You’ll also find signature dishes, tips and bits of wisdom from America’s most respected chefs including Mario Batali, José Andrés and Charlie Trotter.
Inspiration is the book’s purpose — helping cooks understand how to best season ingredients while simultaneously encouraging individual creativity. This is a must-have for both the experienced chef and home cook beginner.
Available online and in bookstores. The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg (Little, Brown and Company; $35)
Sweet Inspirations
Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito dumped their advertising day jobs and in 2005 opened BAKED, a Red Hook, Brooklyn bakery, to instant rave reviews. BAKED’s brownie was chosen as one of Oprah’s favorite things and their Sweet and Salty Cake has been featured on Martha Stewart’s daytime show.
Like the bakery, their new cookbook,
BAKED: New Frontiers in Baking, is eclectic and spunky, full of not-too-sweet recipes and tempting photographs. From chocolaty to savory, the book includes recipes for their famous cupcakes, layer cakes, scones, muffins, truffles and pies. There are original desserts like Almond Green Tea Cupcakes adorned with a fortune cookie. Try the Pumpkin Whoopie Pie; a fun winter treat for the dessert table. The online Bakedshop offers cute and yummy gift sets including mugs, cookies, brownies, granola and the perfect hot chocolate topping — homemade marshmallows.
Cookbook available online and in bookstores; BAKED: New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito (Stewart, Tabori, & Chang; $29.95). Bakedshop gifts at: www.bakednyc.com. $4.50 - $68.00.
Tabletop Elegance
Suvir Saran, chef, cookbook author and Indian food authority, and his partner Charlie Burd have designed two stunning platters for their American Masala Collection of tabletop and kitchenware items. Soft scalloping and hand-gilded edges make the platters an “heirloom” gift for your mother, best friend, deserving client, or the winter bride. A playful pattern of flowers, twigs and leaves appear to be painted onto the dish itself. The repeat design echoes the wooden block fabric printing method employed in 12th-century Rajasthan, India.
The medium-sized platter (16 ¾ inches by 11 ¾ inches), Jodhpur, has a rich indigo background. It’s perfect for roasted vegetables or chicken entrées. Jaipur, the large platter, (17 ½ inches by 13 ½ inches) has a cream background and makes a festive presentation for pasta or your holiday roast.
The Indian inspired collection also includes handsome porcelain Mortar & Pestle Sets in Cardamom Green or Saffron Orange (perfect for the man who likes to cook). With 2-cup or 5-cup capacity, they work well for making spice blends, rubs, herb mixtures and marinades. The pestle base is extra wide to prevent spices from “popping” out during grinding.
All are dishwasher safe and boxed for gift-giving. Platters: Jodhpur $125 and Jaipur $150. Mortar & Pestle Sets: $50 and $60. Manufactured by Wade Ceramics Ltd. Purchase online at The Kitchen Store at J.K. Adams (www.thekitchenstoreonline.com)
Eastern Shore Goodies
Chef Mark Salter, Executive Chef at the world-famous Inn at Perry Cabin in St. Michaels, Maryland and owner of Salter’s Chesapeake Gourmet has combined three of his favorite creations for a tasty holiday gift. The trio consists of Salter’s Eastern Shore Pub Sauce, Spiced Almonds from the Eastern Shore and Cranberry Orange and Port Wine Relish. Salter refers to the Pub Sauce as “ketchup for the big kids” since it is a delicious complement to crab cakes, fried oysters, steak, chicken and even French fries. Wrapped in a seasonal gift bag, this makes a great hostess gift.
Order online at www.salterschesapeakegourmet.com (item TPP20 $26.00). Chef Salter’s products can also be purchased at Tastings Gourmet Market in Annapolis and The Inn at Perry Cabin and Hype in St. Michaels, Maryland.
Lynn Schwartz is an award-winning writer and restaurateur who teaches fiction at St. John’s College and Life Story writing at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts. She is the show manager for The Food & Wine Festival at National Harbor, www.foodandwinenh.com.
dec 08
lynn schwartz
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