ALT-1 Gourmet Cooking Gift Ideas
If you have a friend or family-member that enjoys gourmet cooking, it can be tricky to come up with knock-out gift ideas for birthdays and holidays. Many times they already have the neat tool or appliance you were thinking of buying them, so you’re left trying to figure out the next great gift idea. Here is a list of 3 ideas for the gourmet chef in your life, perfect for any occasion.
A gourmet pasta gift basket. Purchase a decorative iron basket (try a Google search, or visitwww.bellacor.comfor really nice baskets in a variety of different textures) and fill with the following for an extravagant gourmet pasta gift basket: A package of imported pasta. Or, fill with ingredients for your budding or experienced chef to make their own pasta, such as flour, a good-quality olive oil and a few gadgets such as a pasta-drying rack or a chitarra, an old-world device that has two sides for cutting different sizes of pasta. A jar of imported or other good-quality pasta sauce. Again, you can also include the key ingredients to a red or white-type pasta sauce, such as: tomato pasta, tomato sauce, fresh or dried oregano and basil, jarred or fresh garlic, and a nice wedge of authentic Parmesan, a loaf of French bread, or earthy artisan bread. A silver, monogrammed pasta server (check outwww.silversuperstore.comfor many different servers to choose from). Be sure to include a good bottle of wine, either red or white, whichever your gourmet cook enjoys most. Also include a nice grater for the wedge of Parmesan.
A picnic basket of the cook’s favorite food items. Gather together a collection of your chef’s favorite food items for a gourmet gift they’ll love. Here are some great ideas to get you started: For the sweets lover or baker, make up a picnic basket filled with different chocolates, brownies or homemade muffins; for the baker, fill a big red (or their favorite color) mixing bowl with a sack of all-purpose or cake flour, a nice wooden spoon, assorted chopped nuts and dried fruits and maybe even a jar of homemade jam or preserves. For the wine lover, pick out one or two bottles of their favorite vino; add a loaf of artisan bread, nice chunks of cheese such as sharp Cheddar and a mild Brie, a cheese slicer and two no-stem wine glasses.
Create a gourmet coffee or tea gift “basket”. Get creative with the vessel for these java or tea-inspired gifts. Ditch the traditional basket and go for an extra-large coffee mug to put in sample bags of flavored coffee, chocolate-coated stirring spoons (do a Google search on how to make these yourself), and add a few packages of cookies or biscotti to go with the gourmet coffee. For a gourmet tea gift, purchase a large, elegant tea pot and fill with assorted tea bags, a package of loose tea, a silver tea ball, some cookies (if they’ll fit) and maybe a gift certificate to an online tea purveyor.
