Apologies for the delay in last-minute gift ideas. I’ve been vacationing in the Colorado Rockies and dealing with ferocious storms and shabby-to-non-existent Internet access.
Here are a couple more ideas for Hanukah gifts (you still have a couple days to shop), New Year’s presents and, heck, any occasion in the future. I mean, really, who’s going to turn down a Crème Brulee Chocotini just because Santa’s sleigh is back in the barn?
So, OK, the Chocotini. It’s an easy-to-use powdered mix (primary ingredients are sugar, whey, cocoa powder and natural flavors); made by Urban Accents of Chicago; guaranteed to add personality to a shot of tasteless vodka.
Available for about $5 a package (two drinks) at some outposts of Target, Macy’s, Cost Plus and Sur La Table, it’s also available in a six-pack for $17.35 at Amazon.com.
Baseball Season (ing)
You’ll hit one out of the park when you give this powerhouse of pepper grinding. Made of beech wood
(sustainably harvested, no less), the full-size baseball bat by Cole and Mason features a stainless steel, professional quality grinding mechanism and a super-cool fire-branded logo.
Whether they’re skillfully seasoning those ribeyes on the grill or simply taking their cuts before the office league game, they’ll smile and thank you.
The full-size version costs $50 at Amazon.com. A smaller version (19 inches long) is also available at several Web sites for about $35. In San Diego, both sizes are also available at Great News!
Nifty NIbbles
Man can only exist on Geno’s pizza rolls for so long. (It might be Jeno’s….we’re talking thirty years ago here, folks!)
The new book, "Williams-Sonoma New Flavors for Appetizers," offers more than 40 delicious,
easy-to-do recipes for those of us who can whip up a complicated cassoulet but can’t seem to move beyond a dish of mixed nuts at cocktail hour.
The recipes, by Amy Sherman, are mostly contemporary riffs on classic hors d’oeuvres fare. I particularly liked the skewers of manchego cheese, prosciutto and watermelon cubes; and the wild mushroom cornmeal tartlets.
The book is widely available in bookstores; costs $22.95 at Williams-Sonoma; and $15.61 at Amazon.com.
Wishing everyone a happy holiday season! I'm taking a couple days off. Be back posting the end of this week. Can't wait to talk with you about the glitzification of oatmeal (!) and a fascinating new book about fancy-pants fruits.
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