Gifts From My Kitchen

Each year I look for some fun ideas for giving the gift of food.  The landscape is getting a bit harder to traverse however since folks are now gluten-free, nut-free, caffeine free, sugar free and on it goes.  I used to give lots of homemade booze gifts, had to scratch that too. 

So instead of being down and out about it...I'm starting with the younger generation :) 

This year, I am putting together Sugar Cookie Kits!  3 different colors of sanding sugars and 2 rolls of homemade refrigerator sugar cookie dough.  I am also including cute sheets of parchment paper in a polka dot pattern, all boxed up in a small crate!

I am giving the first set to our daughters.  They are busy girls that have very little in the way of baking supplies and time.  Viola...slice, sugar and bake!  I think that also makes this gift appealing to young children (mostly their parents :)) that there is no need for rolling pins, flour, cutters, etc.

I found the idea for the sanding sugar on ...wait for it....Pinterest!  Surprise!  The surprise was on me when it turned out so well!  I only had liquid food coloring on hand, so if you have paste food coloring, that would be really fun and expand your coloring options too!

You can poke around the internet for some cute printable cards to print the baking instructions on. Or if your printer is possessed like mine, hand print on a piece of card stock and run ribbon through 4 slits cut into the center of each edge with a box cutter.

I think the sky is the limit as to how cute you can make this gift!  I'm also sending one to our neighbors that have 2 small children and my niece and nephew that are teenagers but live with their dad and recently moved to a new home.....they really need cookies. 

SANDING SUGAR

¼ cup raw or turbinado sugar

10 drops of food coloring

Place sugar in small zip top bag, add food coloring drops directly to sugar and gently knead sugar until color is evenly distributed.  Pour out onto a sheet of parchment and allow to dry 2 hours.

REFRIGERATOR SUGAR COOKIE DOUGH

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

pinch of nutmeg

1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy on medium speed.  Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Turn mixer speed to low and alternately add dry ingredients and milk until a smooth dough has formed.  

Shape dough into a log and cover tightly with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate until firm.  Slice dough into 1/3 inch thick slices and bake on a parchment lined sheet for 8-10 minutes.

Dough lasts 7 days in fridge or can be frozen up to 3 months.

 

 

 

Yucky wine...

I'm not a wine snob.  We sample and drink a fair amount of wine through The Market and they are usually really decent wines.  I also like to buy wines I'm not familiar with, for their labels and bottle colors/shapes and or unusual varieties.  It's a way to get out of my comfort zone with wine drinking.

Occasionally we come wines that are nasty.  If I don't want to drink them, I don't want to cook with them either.  I dumped them down the drain for the longest time until I decided to make wine jelly after tasting some lovely Italian wine jelly made from Lambrusco wine.

The first couple batches I made from really lovely wines and they turned out fantastic.  Then I made a batch of wine jelly with a hideous Rose from Spain...and it was delicious!!! Since then, I have strictly used wines I don't care to drink and time after time the jelly turns out great!  Red, White or Rose, it doesn't make a difference and I have been known to throw in whatever wine is hanging around, regardless of color.

I usually buy some fun stemless wineglasses to fill for gift giving with a hunk of cheese, but any glass jar will work if you don't want a truly preserved jelly (no sealing of jars) and recipients should store refrigerated.  The jelly is an incredible accompaniment to salty, soft cheeses but also works great in thumbprint cookies and on toast/bagels/quick breads for a lovely brunch item.      

WINE JELLY

2 cups Wine (any will do!)
3 ¼ cups sugar
1 pouch liquid pectin

Bring wine and sugar to a boil.  Add the pouch of liquid pectin and boil for exactly 1 minute!  Pour into clean, hot jars and process in a water bath for 10 minutes.  (You can find directions on water bath processing in the pectin instructions.)

I think you'll love this recipe!  Let me know how your icky wines turn into beautiful jellies!

Organized Chaos

This weekend I picked up a couple of my favorite magazines' holiday issues.  I love the articles on foods (of course) and recipes and I am always eager to read the "I'm not going to go crazy again this year" holiday tips articles.  I am always disappointed...no magic solution yet.  

So, I am going to share a few of my tips with you.  John and I are swamped this time of year at the Market and we love it!  It is not a season for relaxing however and from years past experience, I have to be ridiculously organized, or we have cheese disasters and entertaining nightmares, mad family members and half cooked dishes to pass. 

• BUY A SMALL NOTEBOOK ,see previous post on leather one :)

Create all of your master lists in this notebook.  I write which gift I will buy for each person.  I keep note of every event we are attending, the time, date and location, what I am bringing and WEARING.  I even list ingredients for recipes, so I can pick them up anytime I'm at the grocery.  The notebook is kept in my handbag.  If I change my mind on a gift, or run across something fab that my daughter might like, it gets noted and changed in the notebook.  I also keep a paperclip on the back cover to clip all receipts.  I also include advil, pepto bismol, neosporin and bandaids to the list...you are gonna need them!    

•     BUY A PAIR OF SLACKS/SKIRT AND A COUPLE SHIRTS + ACCESSORIES THIS WEEK

I purchase a couple festive outfits for the holidays every year.  Sometimes, I have something from last year I really liked, so I will update accessories only.  I purchase clothing that is comfortable, washable and I feel great in it!  I keep it laundered, pressed and ready to go.  This way, I do not have to make any choices when it's time to get ready and I feel like I look great!

• PURCHASE ALL WRAPPING NECESSITIES AND CARDS

I usually take a few minutes at Thanksgiving time to go through ALL of last years gift wrap, ribbon etc.  I put it all on the list.  I purchase all of my cards, small envelopes and wrap together.  I like when everything works inter-changably and I'm not scrambling for matching ribbon.  I also do lots of "gifts from my kitchen" so I take a moment to go through my collected bottles, jars and boxes and run them through the dishwasher, check for chips etc. Check your list for needed amounts :)  I do ask for boxes and bags when shopping, (anything to keep it easier) and keep paper shopping bags for schleping dishes to pass, small gifts and my slippers!

• WRAP EARLY AND OFTEN, PREPARE A BOX FOR KITCHEN GIFTS

I wrap as gifts come into the house, and they get put under the tree or stashed in the closet.  Remember your list and check it off as you go, so you remember what you purchased!  I keep a box on my unheated porch for gifts from my kitchen to be stashed in.  

• PREPARE GIFTS FROM YOUR KITCHEN EARLY

Limoncello, vanilla extract, caramels, spicy nuts and wine jellies were gifts last year, and they kept fine out there.  Easy to prepare and a long storage life made them great gifts!  While I love baked goods, they are too time consuming to prepare and give, and they go stale too quickly.  These choices gave the recipients a longer time to enjoy them as well.  They were easy to grab hostess gifts for unexpected friends and cost very little to make.

• REMEMBER THAT IT'S ALL "ENOUGH"

The sheer amount of "everything" this time of the year is often overwhelming.  Whatever you make, buy, wrap and do is "enough" with the right spirit.  If someone else has a problem with, it's exactly that..their problem!  I do not feel the need to do "more" any longer.  The gifts cost enough, the food is good and plentiful enough, the house is big enough and decorated enough, you did enough!  There will always be someone that does more.  I often think this is the part of the holidays that really bring us all down.  Just say "it's enough" and "I love you". 


We have really ignored the holiday-hell in the past couple of years in our household.  The girls usually choose larger gifts (unaffordable to college students and minimum wage employees) and then I choose stocking stuffers and small gifts that I think they will love/use/appreciate.  We make an effort to ignore the not-nice things that happen at the holidays due to stress, expectations and lots of together time and enjoy our family, home, food and each other.  (By  the way, wine never hurts the situation!)   

(I always keep this mantra in my mind...it's called a GIFT!!!  I appreciate the fact someone thought of me and shared a bit of themselves or pocketbook with me.  It's the holidays...)