The annual culinary gift thread

OK, I got an Ooni Kura 12 pizza oven (and pellets), a peel, an infrared thermometer from Betsy. I gave her a Hexclad pan, a new wok.
Dana gifts to me included a cute Fred "Coq au Vin" wine stopper (yellow chicken).Betsy made bags with gravlax, Everything Bagel sourdough, dill/mustard butter, Union Sq style nuts for about a dozen friends. We got the usual assortments of cookies, jams (homemade and gift shop), etc. One gift that I'm not sure giver understood was fig salami. Interesting to include fig in a salami. Well, actually it's a salami made with fig instead of meat. I'm not recommending anyone go out to look for this.

Also got a nice board for cheese etc, with a book on how to put together a cheese board. WHAT?!!?!?

What did you get? What did you give? What did you make?

I got a two lb box of special Sees Candies, from a neighbor who has a second home on the coast three hours from here. I watch their home when they are gone. They also bring a bag of local goodies from Humboldt Co. Honey, mustards, peppered smoked salmon,, a small dessert, cheeses. A fine gift which we love. A cookbook, Rebel Homemaker by Drew Barrymore, a fun read and one of my favorite film stars. We give money to our kids, as long ago we all decided we all had enough stuff. None of us want any more stuff, so gifts are usually some condiment or other type of food that is unusual or new to us. We give to each other throughout the year, so Christmas gift-giving is rare.

My good friend, Georgiana, gives me a cookbook for Christmas each year. This year she gave me Deep Run Roots by Vivian Howard. It's a great read. I can hear her voice as she provides the history of the foods/recipes from hear part of the country. This year I was lazy and sent gift boxes of candy to friends from Christopher Elbow. They are good chocolates. But, the shipping costs almost as much as the gift. Both are worth it.

One gift that I'm not sure giver understood was fig salami. Interesting to include fig in a salami. Well, actually it's a salami made with fig instead of meat. I'm not recommending anyone go out to look for this.

I don't eat meat, but I have seen salami with bits of fig in Europe (https://marche-de-catherine.de/produkt/ ... ami-feige/). There seem to be bits of so many things included in salami, not sure if fig is any more or less strange!

But, yours sounds a bit peculiar. I guess it's a pressed dried fruit bar in the shape of a salami?!

Fourteen years ago I planted an Ivan's Bell Mountain Ash tree from One Green World in Oregon. A cross between a Hawthorn and Mt. Ash it produces nearly black berries larger than the ordinary Mt. Ash. The tree was especially prolific this year and because of the long, mild fall the berries fully ripened on the tree. Harvested by my friend because I left for caregiving duties before they were fully ripe she made a wonderful savory sweet spread and gifted it back to me. The berries are terribly tannic when unripe but when fully ripe have a delicious tart sweet flavor rich with anthrocyanins. A great food gift and so much fun to play with various uses. I can see it as a sub for glazing pork or lamb or layering in a trifle or savory pavlova.

One gift that I'm not sure giver understood was fig salami. Interesting to include fig in a salami. Well, actually it's a salami made with fig instead of meat. I'm not recommending anyone go out to look for this.

I don't eat meat, but I have seen salami with bits of fig in Europe (https://marche-de-catherine.de/produkt/ ... ami-feige/). There seem to be bits of so many things included in salami, not sure if fig is any more or less strange!

But, yours sounds a bit peculiar. I guess it's a pressed dried fruit bar in the shape of a salami?!

Yes,
https://www.hellenicfarms.com/product-p ... -set-of-5'
We got the orange zest one. The givers were my SIL/BIL, I included on appetizer platter. They were ...er.. surprised when they tasted. They did think they were giving us (meat) salami with bits of fig. Seemed to be lots of leftover!

I forgot one wine gift, a bottle of Kiralyudvar Tokaji. Nice, although I seem to have more dessert wines than I'd drink in 100 years at current consumption rates.

[Jenise]

We received homemade cookie/candy treats from several friends. To about 12 friends and neighbors we gave little jars of cherries in syrup from Italy, rather expensive ($13 for what is probably a 6 ounce jar) but wow are they GOOD. I served them scooped over D'Affinoise cheese topped with pine nuts as an appetizer at our cognac tasting early last week--perfect choice! Would be killer over ice cream too.

From Bob I got six new pairs of tongs because 3 or 4 of my current stable of same have sprung springs so they don't lock closed and when they open they're too far open. Also Bryant Terry's fantastic book Black Food. Kind of a food gift, I gave Bob a donation in his name that would buy a goat for a family in Africa. Made it funny by setting him up with a first gift marked NO GOAT, which is Texan-ese for deodorant. And it was actually a bottle of what he normally uses, and a very mundane item of a type we don't usually gift each other so it was puzzling to him but okay. So when I handed him the next gift, labelled GOAT, the last thing he expected was a picture of an actual goat.

They were ...er.. surprised when they tasted. They did think they were giving us (meat) salami with bits of fig. Seemed to be lots of leftover...

Ha! I guess that's a hazard of going with that marketing. From my perspective, there's no need to associate dried fruit with meat. But, I suppose they know what they are doing with a broader marketing strategy!

On the gift front, I didn't get too much, some chocolate and various oils and vinegars. One of the oils is (hand-written) labeled 'nut and seed oil mixture' - and I'm not sure which nut(s) and seed(s) are included! It smells rich and roasty, but clean, so should be some nice flavor.

One of the most unusual gifts I heard about this year was a lady we know here in Redding who is married to a retired marine and gave her husband a flag pole installed while they were away on a trip over Christmas. On top is the USA flag and under it is the marine flag. She texted his friends when they would be home, so when they drove into their street, her husband spotted the flag, flying proudly, and his marine friends there to salute him. I guess the new flag poles have zero cords, work on a twisting motion apparently with the pole.
She is an entertainer, so does things in a huge way, he is the owner of a local radio station, and they are very well known here.

My upstairs neighbor gave me a set of eight different bitters by Scrappies.

My good friend, Georgiana, gives me a cookbook for Christmas each year. This year she gave me Deep Run Roots by Vivian Howard. It's a great read. I can hear her voice as she provides the history of the foods/recipes from hear part of the country. This year I was lazy and sent gift boxes of candy to friends from Christopher Elbow. They are good chocolates. But, the shipping costs almost as much as the gift. Both are worth it.

I have that cookbook and when I got it it felt a bit froo froo/pretentious….. should I go look it up again? I don’t think I made anything from it

Fourteen years ago I planted an Ivan's Bell Mountain Ash tree from One Green World in Oregon. A cross between a Hawthorn and Mt. Ash it produces nearly black berries larger than the ordinary Mt. Ash. The tree was especially prolific this year and because of the long, mild fall the berries fully ripened on the tree. Harvested by my friend because I left for caregiving duties before they were fully ripe she made a wonderful savory sweet spread and gifted it back to me. The berries are terribly tannic when unripe but when fully ripe have a delicious tart sweet flavor rich with anthrocyanins. A great food gift and so much fun to play with various uses. I can see it as a sub for glazing pork or lamb or layering in a trifle or savory pavlova.

We have moved so much it’s painful…. But now looks like maybe that chapter is closing… planting trees that can carry an arc in your life is an awesome idea

Homemade cranberry orange bread from one neighbor.

Various chocolates from another neighbor.

IBC root beer costumed as reindeer from a third neighbor. This was openly regifted to a friend who was going to a Xmas gathering with kids. They made root beer floats and were quite happy. The friend was happy to receive the item; we would have not used.

Sunbasket gift card to order meals. Not sure when we will use it. Husband in charge as it was from his family.

My good friend, Georgiana, gives me a cookbook for Christmas each year. This year she gave me Deep Run Roots by Vivian Howard. It's a great read. I can hear her voice as she provides the history of the foods/recipes from hear part of the country. This year I was lazy and sent gift boxes of candy to friends from Christopher Elbow. They are good chocolates. But, the shipping costs almost as much as the gift. Both are worth it.

I have that cookbook and when I got it it felt a bit froo froo/pretentious….. should I go look it up again? I don’t think I made anything from it

I like this book because each chapter starts with an introduction that includes her childhood, the town she grew up in, what the locals cooked and shared with one another from their farms, etc. It's not just recipes. But each section is dedicated to the local produce in and near her North Carolina roots. Many of the chapters come directly from her television program where she walks you through the development of recipes, taste-testing by the restaurant crew and delivery to her customers. I remembered specifically the program called "Pimp my Grits", which is also in the book. I love grits so I was drawn to this chapter. And, I love pecans (my nut of choice) and there is a chapter and many recipes dedicated to or including this ingredient. Of the recipes I've read so far, they are all homey and not a new-age remake to make a recipe "healthy" or using some alternative ingredient like spelt instead of flour. It's definitely southern regional cooking. I haven't made anything from the book yet, but no doubt I will. Besides, I always make something from the books to share with Georgiana as my way of saying thank you.