The first time I tasted homemade candied citrus peel was last Christmas, when my friend Jamie made it as part of her holiday cookie plate. I was wowed by the pungency and flavor that she had gotten out of grapefruit peel and I added it to my mental list of things I wanted to make someday.
I still haven't gotten around to it yet this season, but the YumSugar crew made it this year as part of their 12 Days of Edible Gifts feature. They used oranges, but you could also use lemons or grapefruit (as Jamie did). They've included, as part of their post, a step by step slide show that will walk you through the process of making your candied peel, which is very helpful for the first timers.
I have a good friend who used to bring a bowl of homemade glazed and roasted nuts to every party she attended. I would make sure to station myself near her vessel of nuts as soon as she placed them on the buffet, so to make sure I was able to gorge myself on those sweet, spicy, rosemary-flecked cashews, peanuts and pecans. Sadly, she moved out of state about a year ago, and so these days, if I want a taste of that flavor, I have to make it myself.
I think I've hit on something close to her recipe, melting together four tablespoons of butter with the same amount of maple syrup and then adding two tablespoons of recently dried, crushed rosemary (fresh is probably best, but I have a bunch from a friend's garden that I dried this summer so I've been trying to use it) and a scant 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
These gorgeous, deeply roasted nuts are sweet, crunchy, fragrant and have just a bit of a peppery kick. Once they cool, I'm planning on filling up a collection of canning jars and giving them to some of my co-workers (only the deserving ones!).
When you think of good edibles for holiday giving, pancake mix doesn't naturally spring to mind. However, it's what my parents give out to their friends and family just about every year. My dad spent some time working at IHOP during the seventies and that experience with their mediocre pancake recipe led him to develop his own special blend. It's a mix of flours and whole grains, that when mixed with milk, beaten and egg and oil, turns out some truly awesome pancakes (it also makes a darn fine waffle). The recipe for Mo's Famous Pancakes (my dad's name is Morris) is after the jump.
We always gave it away packed in gallon-sized zip-top bags, with an instruction sheet tucked inside the bag. However, if you wanted to get fancy, you could also package it in wide-mouth quart size jars. If you're feeling flush, you can also give a bottle of real maple syrup along with your jar/bag of mix, but these days, that stuff is darn pricey.
While I've never been much of an apron wearer while cooking (although I keep thinking I should become one, as I end up staining my clothes more often than I'd like to admit), I've always liked the idea of them. These charming, food-themed aprons from Etsy seller Snappy Shop would make great gifts for food lovers in your life who are also fans of the unique and handmade. In addition to the designs you see above, there are several other foodie options in the shop.
Must like the Rosemary Scented Salt I mentioned earlier in the month, Vanilla Sugar is one those things that requires very little effort for a whole lot of payout. All it takes is a jar, sugar and a vanilla bean. When making vanilla sugar at home for your own use, you can use beans that you've already split and scraped for other baking projects. However, when you're giving it as a gift, it's nice to use fresh beans. They can be a little spendy, but it's possible to get some really terrific deals on vanilla beans if you shop around.
To make the sugar, lay a vanilla bean down on a cutting board. Using the tip of a paring knife, score the bean, leaving the ends intact so that it holds together but releases its fragrance and flavor. Fill a jar with sugar (I like to use the less-processed cane sugar) and nestle the vanilla bean down into the sugar. Let it sit for at least a couple days before using or gifting.
The marshmallows most of us know are fluffy, useless things that are best melted down into rice krispies treats or toasted on pointy sticks over open fires. However, there's another version of marshmallow, one that you can make in your own kitchen, that are far superior to the ones you buy at the local grocery store for $1.29 a bag and they make an excellent edible holiday gift.
Two years ago, Nicole Weston (during her Slashfood years) posted an excellent recipe for homemade marshmallows that will wow your friends and make your family praise your name (if you have questions about the recipe, make sure to read the comment section on the old post, it contains a bunch of helpful tips). The recipe is after the jump.
I'm going to let you all in on a little secret. Fudge is one of the easiest things in the world to make and it never fails to delight a chocolate lover. My favorite recipe requires just three ingredients - 1 pound of chocolate, 1 can of sweetened condensed milk and half a stick of butter (you can also add a couple of glugs of booze for a more adult treat). Sure, there are more complex recipes that require you to work harder, but everyone I've ever served this quick fudge to happily laps it up and then comes back for more.
Simply melt the ingredients together in double boiler until smooth and combined. While it's melting, line a 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper. When the chocolate mixture is melted, pour into the lined pan and smooth with spatula. Let sit until cool (I put it into a pan of cold water to speed the process) and then refrigerate for at least two hours to let it set. Cutting while cold will ease the process and keep the cuts smooth. Give to chocolate loving friends and family in small boxes or tins.
By this time of the year, most jammable fruit has long since left the produce and farmers markets. However, the humble pear makes a mighty good butter that's simple to prepare, delicious on toast and makes a great gift. This year, I was lucky enough to receive a gift of pears from a friend's neighbor's tree. They were a little bruised up (they were all windfall pears), but a little careful knife work left them free of spots and they cooked up some of the sweetest, evenly textured pear butter I've ever tasted.
I don't have a specific recipe for pear butter, I just chop the fruit and let it cook down in a slow cooker for 6-8 hours (I often do it overnight) until it is reduced by half. Then I run the fruit through a food mill or strainer to get rid of the skins into a smaller pot. Puree it with a hand mixer, stir in some cinnamon, nutmeg and a little lemon juice and taste for sweetness.
Sometimes pear butter is sweet enough all on its own that no sugar is required, but sometimes it needs a little perking up. Brown sugar or maple syrup plays best with the pear flavor. You can can and process if you feel comfortable doing that, or you can simply spoon the pear butter into jars and refrigerate until it's time to distribute them to friends and family. In the fridge, it will last up to a month. The more sugar you put into the butter, the longer its shelf life will be.
The picture above is from my mom's recipe book, a half-size three-ring binder that she's been filling with delicious favorites since 1970. Her granola recipe originally came from her dear friend Melinda and makes some of the best granola I've ever tasted. It is endlessly customizable and makes a wonderful holiday gift, especially because it's easy to make it in fairly large quantities.
To dress up this granola for holiday giving, I would stir in mini-chocolate chips and some dried cranberries. Seasoning the whole mix with cinnamon prior to baking is also a wonderful, seasonal way to go. I would package it canning jars or lined paper bags. Decorate with ribbon or handmade labels.
All month long, we'll be featuring homemade gifts and treats that you can create for your friends and family this holiday season. Today's offering is a jar of rosemary scented kosher salt and it couldn't be easier to make. Fill a canning jar half full with kosher salt and then tuck several sprigs of fresh rosemary down into the salt. Fill the jar the rest of the way up and then let it sit at least overnight (but a week or so is even better). Prior to gifting, remove the original rosemary and pop in some fresh sprigs to ensure maximum scent.
When you go to wrap the jars, tie an additional sprig of fresh rosemary on with a ribbon or some twine to make it even prettier.
It has been my experience that you can never really have too many measuring cups. I have several sets of graduated, stacking measures, as well as some sturdy, old glass Pyrex ones that belonged to my great-grandmother. I love having multiples, because it means that I can pop them into the dishwasher after a baking project, instead of having to handwash after each round of baking (because you know that when you have just one set, you're going to need them before you get a chance to run the dishwasher).
I've always had a policy of keeping my measuring cups fairly simple, feeling like it was important to favor utility over aesthetics. However, wandering around the Home section of Anthropologie yesterday after work, I totally abandoned that position when I spotted these Matryoshka Measuring Cups*. As opposed to standard wooden stacking dolls, these are made of china and each top and bottom is sized to hold a different standard measure. They are charming, combining usefulness with whimsical design. It took everything I had not to buy them right then and there.
For all the cooking and baking I've done in my life, one area of food preparation that I've stayed fairly far away from is the realm of candy making. I already eat enough candy without adding to the load by making my own. However, I am always impressed by the people who take it upon themselves to make gorgeous hard candies, fudges and chocolates.
I ran across this very awe-inspiring post over on Caramel Cooks a couple of days ago, all about his adventure making filled chocolates for the holidays. I am dumbstruck by the amount of work that went into those chocolates, as well as totally envious that I didn't get a chance to taste them, as they look fantastic. If you want to whet your appetite for making filled chocolates at home, definitely take a look at this post. If that's a project you'd prefer to stay far away from, still take a look, because it is impressive.
I am constantly in awe of my friend Jennie's (she of Straight from the Farm fame) level of food creativity. She is constantly coming up with delicious new recipes, doing things like making cheese (people keep telling me that cheesemaking is easy, but I've yet to give a whirl) and making cranberries dance and sing (well, not literally). But I do believe that she has outdone herself this time with these jars of homemade dulce de leche. It actually appears to be pretty easy to make and if you're looking for a last-minute homemade holiday gift, this might be your answer.
Dem bones. Dem bones. Hand bone connected to the arm bone. Arm bone connected to the salt!? Well, in this case, yes.
Don't worry dese bones are not hollowed bones that have been harvested from the morgue and fitted with corks. They're porcelain shakers created by Chris Stiles, a Los Angeles artist who calls the set Dry Bones, after the famous spiritual.
At $24 a set, they are a tad pricy, but not nearly as much as Vera Wang's sleek pair, which sells for over $50. They're perfect for the Deadhead chef on your holiday shopping list. Or perhaps, the dog lover, then again maybe not. Fido might run off with one and try to bury it. Of course, if he's one of those dogs who like people food, you just might find him sitting down to a feast and using the salt and pepper to fine-tune the flavor of his table scraps. [Thanks to Spluch for the tip and photo]
I am assuming that if you're reading this, then you have very wisely chosen to stay in today and either 1) keep digesting all the food you ate last night (I am, too!), or 2) start your holiday shopping from the comfort of your own home. That is, of course, unless you are surfing the Internet from your Sidekick 3, in which case, good for you for reading Slashfood everywhere!
In order to help you with your shopping, I am poking around the web for great places to find gifts for your food-ish friends, family, and of course, for yourself. Personal Shopper is a website that has put together quite a comprehensive list of gift guides . Rather than simply listing gifts "For Him," "For Her," and "For Kids," they have narrowed the lists down by fairly specific "types." Personal Shopper is not a store; rather it points you to online stores where you can find their gift selections. For us here at Slashfood, we like gifts for The Chef at Heart.
The marshmallows most of us know are fluffy, useless things that are best melted down into rice krispies treats or toasted on pointy sticks over open fires. However, there's another version of marshmallow, one that you can make in your own kitchen, that are far superior to the ones you buy at the local grocery store for $1.29 a bag and they make an excellent edible holiday gift. 
It has been my experience that you can never really have too many measuring cups. I have several sets of graduated, stacking measures, as well as some sturdy, old glass Pyrex ones that belonged to my great-grandmother. I love having multiples, because it means that I can pop them into the dishwasher after a baking project, instead of having to handwash after each round of baking (because you know that when you have just one set, you're going to need them before you get a chance to run the dishwasher). 
Dem bones. 
I am assuming that if you're reading this, then you have very wisely chosen to stay in today and either 1) keep digesting all the food you ate last night (I am, too!), or 2) start your holiday shopping from the comfort of your own home. That is, of course, unless you are surfing the Internet from your Sidekick 3, in which case, good for you for reading Slashfood everywhere!
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