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Friday, Dec 18, 2009
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Tasteful -- and tasty -- treats for the relentlessly picky foodie in your life.
By Sarah Karnasiewicz
He spends more in restaurant tabs than he does in rent; she travels with a special suitcase, designed for smuggling raw milk cheeses and exotic spices through customs. But before you have a panic attack in Sur La Table because you don't know the difference between a saucier and a Silpat, take a look at these gourmet gift suggestions that are sure to please even the pickiest palate.
Illustrations by Ryan Germick
Your friend might not have been to the manor born, but for one night you can make it seem so. For your Forked Tongue's next dinner party, offer to dress the table with linen and fresh-cut flowers. Don a suit or a cocktail sheath to pour the champagne and pass the canapés. And when the evening is over, grab an apron and scrub the dishes -- while he entertains his company over truffles and port.
Send your coupon now.
What's the easiest way to win a foodie's heart? With super-premium designer chocolate, of course! Measuring in at 60 percent fine Colombian cacao and wrapped in a festive -- and foxy -- illustrated paper sleeve, for only $15, MarieBelle's Pin-up Girl Chocolate Bars are a sure way to bring some sweetness and sexiness to his Christmas stocking. The antioxidants may protect his heart, but naughty "Ethel" will get it racing!
Sometimes the offerings at Stop & Shop just don't make the grade. So help your friend avoid his next gourmet-grocery emergency by giving him the Shiitake Mushroom Log ($38), available online from Red Envelope. Nestled in an artful base, the 10-inch log will yield a new crop of mushrooms every two months for years and years. No green thumb required.
Is your friend's "World's Best Chef" apron looking a little tattered after too many days in front of the stove? Revive that kitchen wardrobe with one of Lotta Jansdotter's lovely hand-printed cafe aprons ($44). Machine washable, cut from durable natural linen and decorated with a single pocket and understated natural designs, they're sure to make any cook feel graceful under even the hottest fires.
For super-tasters with a sweet tooth, mass-produced, pre-packaged goodies full of refined sugars and preservatives just will not do. Instead, satisfy their gooey cravings with a four-piece honey sample set ($45), featuring fruity varieties -- like raspberry, blueberry and cranberry -- of some very sophisticated bees' hard work. The sticky stuff is packaged in single-ounce glass bottles that rest on a wooden block, like precious vials of a rare perfume. In fact, it tastes so divine you'd almost be excused for rubbing it on your neck.
Because no one should have to go through life without knowing 72 recipes for soufflé, the exhaustive and encyclopedic cookbook, "Larousse Gastronomique" ($55) is the bible for any serious (or aspiring) gourmet. Though it puts an emphasis on traditional "continental" fare, like Ile flottante and frogs legs à la lyonnaise, there are enough surprises in its 1,360 pages to guarantee that it will find a place at your bedside as well as on your butcher block. Martha Stewart may be unlikely to feature recipes for bear in her next book of hors d'oeuvres -- but who cares while we've got Larousse?
Before green glass jugs and spout-pour boxes became the world's wine
vessels of choice, there was the amphora. But of all the remnants
archaeologists have dug up in the ruins of Rome and Greece, not a one
has been made of crystal. Still, good design is timeless, and now
that housewares companies are in a position to correct the
oversight, the world's first decanter has received an elegant reinvention. This Italian-made, two-piece, crystal
decanter
($129.95) is sure to delight oenophiles with its storied history and
graceful curves -- and elicit plenty of ooh-la-las when it's unveiled at
the dinner table, brimming with good grape.
To the average eater, salt might seem an uncomplicated seasoning, with the table, kosher and sea varieties morphing into an indistinguishable mass of, well, saltiness. But dedicated gourmets know there's more to salt than Morton. Show them just how much more with the Ultimate Salt Collection ($138.50), a sampler containing 12 unusual salts including Cyprus Flake and Chardonnay & Oak Fumee de Sel from such far-flung locations as India, Portugal and Bali and in such unexpected colors as black, gray and apricot. But the next time your friends cook for you, just make sure they teach you to taste the difference.
Did you know that every day your friend gazes forlornly out the kitchen window, surveying the yard, feeling like something is missing? No, not a swimming pool, silly -- a giant wooden box in which to cook a whole pig! La Caja China ($289.99) is a Cuban-style roaster that can accommodate one 70-pound pig, 16-18 whole chickens, 4-6 turkeys, 8-10 pork rib slabs, 8-10 pork shoulders or any other type of meat or fish. Beloved by such ur-foodies as Jeffrey Steingarten and Bobby Flay, La Caja is the best toy your pork-loving pal could wish for. How am I sure? In the New York Times, John Willoughby, executive editor of Gourmet magazine, declared the results "pig candy." Nuff said.
Since for a chef, nothing says "I love you" quite like razor-edged
steel, give your food-loving friend the most thoughtful gift of all:
a 23-piece set of Kershaw Shun
knives. The deluxe package, which costs $1,849.95 (but you'll be saving $600 over purchasing the pieces separately), includes paring,
slicing, boning, carving and sharpening knives -- all of which fit
neatly into a solid bamboo knife block. That's all the tools a
dedicated, or dabbling, cook needs to whip (or slash) up a
scrumptious post-holiday feast.
If your friend has already chowed her way through your city, maybe it's time to send her to another continent. For $5,400 per person (excluding airfare) you can secure a spot in the Culinary Institute of America's extravagant tour of India, taking place from Jan. 24-Feb. 4, 2007, and led by renowned chef Julie Sahni. In the interests of true culinary immersion, Sahni pays special attention to the diverse regional dishes of the north, the east and the spicy south coast -- and steers her participants through tours of markets and conversations with vendors, tandoor masters, spice experts, biryani chefs, dosa specialists and other local cooks. By the time your friend gets home, Saag paneer will never look the same again.
