Gift Ideas?

[mlou]

After reading the thread on vanilla and getting the bonus of Kahlua recipes(I never knew you could do that),I decided to make these things as gifts. Does anyone have other ideas for this kind of stuff that is not baked goods & such but things that help people who do cook. I thought these were really cool things to make and I am tiring of cookies & muffins.

[Jeanne G]

mlou,
I wish you success and will enjoy reading ideas from this thread. What a great idea especially in time for holiday parties!! I wish I could help with inventive ideas!

[Ralph]

Can't come up with any suggestions for "homemade" gifts, but American Spoon Foods (www.spoon.com) has some wonderful gifty stuff for foodies.

[Kelly]

mlou - there are a couple of posts here that talk about layering ingredients for cookies, hot cocoa, etc in mason jars. I'm planning to give these as gifts this year.

[ellielk]

mlou - There was a thread a while ago about homemade spice mixes. I like to put these in pretty jars, maybe with a small spoon for scooping if it's not a shaker, and accompany them with a recipe on a decorated recipe card.

[Colleen]

mlou,
I must really be out of the loop.
The vanilla thread and kalhua recipes sound GREAT!!! would you mind letting me know where I can find them?

Also, if anyone knows about the homeade vinager Runnerkim was talking about, I would love to hear it.

I gave a friend of mine a really pretty tray filled with packages of cookie mix and the layered cookie mix that I put together in a jar. I also added some hot chocolate mix that I found in WS and a bottle of peppermint schnapps =) (hot chocolate and peppermint schnapps, what a great combination) I completed the set with mugs and other things I thought would be useful for this cheery creation.

[This message has been edited by Colleen (edited 10-26-2000).]

[mlou]

There is a thread about vanilla somewhere around page 6 and on that thread are directions for making vanilla and kahlua. If you can't find it let me know and I will post directions. Mine are both aging right now and I can't wait to see if it works. The layered cookie idea sounds really cool too. Thanks to everyone who replied http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[mlou]

Colleen, It is on page 8, a thread called Status of homemade vanilla. Might be page 9 by the time you check. Still, let me know if you have trouble.

[RunnerKim]

Before I came upon the homemade vanilla idea I was thinking about making flavored vinegars. I know CL did an article on it awhile back as I saw the issue at my grandparents, but I don't have it.

[RunnerKim]

whoops - duplicate post.

[This message has been edited by RunnerKim (edited 10-26-2000).]

[Beth]

Try doing a search for the vanilla (you can limit it to the subject line so you won't pull up every recipe with vanilla too). That might be quicker than paging down until you find it.

As for holiday gifts, I'm pushing pecans since I am part of a group that is selling them to benefit a scholarship fund. We're putting together a book of recipes, each of which includes pecans. I'm picking up on the mixes in a jar and may do a pound of pecans, a jar of mix and a cookbook for some quick gifts.

In the past, I've given some of the Penzey's gift boxes for holiday gifts, as well as the vac-u-vin wine pump that was talked about on another thread with a bottle of wine. Some form of MasterCook or CL software would be good too, but these things don't involve much "making" if that's important to you.

How about putting together a MasterCook cookbook of some of your favorite recipes on a disk either in a basket of goodies or with a copy of the program if they don't already have it. Too bad we didn't all eat more Cheerios!

[JeanneL]

Here are some ideas for gift baskets (from Creative Cook's Kitchen cookbook):

1) cook's gift basket: basket, wooden spoons/servers, measuring spoons, cutting board, lemon reamer, timer, kitchen towels, whisk, spatula, fresh herbs, bread twists

2) apple lover's basket: basket, napkins, apple butter, several varieties of apples, apple muffins, apple corer, dried apples, cinnamon sticks

3) pizza lover's basket: basket, kitchen towel, canned Italian tomatoes, pizza dough mix, parmesan cheese wedge, mixing bowl, pizza cutter, pizza pan, olive oil, fresh tomatoes

4) homemade soup kit: soup pot, cloth napkins, carrots/celery, spoons, jar of stock, small bowls, onion, potatoes, garlic, bag of lentils, large spoon, loaf of bread

5) pie kit: basket, pie dough (in plastic), pie tin, pie plate, rolling pin, piecrust canvas, edging tool, metal pie weights, canned pie fillings

6) cajun gift set: lobster pot w/ lid, dish towel, oven mitts, red beans & rice, jar crab boil, spice rub, hot sauce, jar chile peppers, lobster cracker, kitchen tongs, spoonbread in baking pan, wooden spoon

Include recipes w/ each of these baskets. there are more like hot cocoa gift basket, coffee lover's gift basket, hiking gift pack (w/ cookies & trail mix), cheese spread combo, ice cream sundae kit, wok gift basket, etc.

Use your imagination! Include a thermos in the hot cocoa basket, cheese cutter in the cheese basket, etc.

Enjoy! Share any ideas you have.

[AndreaU]

To add to JeanneL's wonderful gift basket suggestions... I once received a pasta gift basket which I loved. Things like gourmet sauce & pasta, pasta fork, spaghetti measuring tool, cheese grater, etc. were all beautifully arranged in a very nice colander.

[SandyDee]

This isn't as "foody" as the others but I recently made a birthday gift basket for a friend. In it I put a teapot for one (cup with pot on top) an assortment of teas, some honey sticks, and a package of imported tea biscuits. To that I added a good book and a cd of her favorite opera. She loved it.

[This message has been edited by SandyDee (edited 10-28-2000).]

[andi]

I love making gift baskets! I'm adding my homemade jams with bread and muffin mixes. I'm also making apple butter this weekend and plan to tie rafia around the jars and decorate with dried apple slices-I'll add my homemade loaves of bread. I'm not sure what to do for my vanilla-I'm sure there's got to be a creative way to "basket" those! I'll have to re-read that thread...Jeanne, great ideas!

[mlou]

Thanks again for all the replies http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif This has been a lot of fun. What exactly kind of cookies do you all use in jars, I was thinking about this idea and can't think of any cookie recipes with lots of color variations. Also I'd love the recipes for the hot chocolate to put in a jar.

Meantime, my kahlua and vanilla are aging, hope they work out well!

[mlou]

Please??! Post these recipes, it is a great idea.

[Beth]

Originally posted by mlou:
Please??! Post these recipes, it is a great idea.

These have all been posted recently under stuff in a jar, cookies in a jar, things to layer in jars, or some near variations. I think Ed posted the hot chocolate mix, possibly under the nonfat dry milk thread. There were also a couple of websites listed with the cookie threads for getting more recipes. I can't do it now, but search this site, and I think you'll find them. If not, let us know.

[Vanessa]

mlou:
Look under 9-26 thread by Kelly called "Looking for ingredients layered in jars".Here you will also find the different hot chocolate mixes. Also Ed posted a recipe for hot chocolate.The thread of 10-6 by Andreau called "recipes in a jar" has more recipes

[This message has been edited by Vanessa (edited 10-31-2000).]

[mlou]

Thank-You http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif