• Acrylic Salad Hand Tossers

We are addicted to Pinterest and have found it possible to find the coolest Culinary Utensils around.

$16.50 on Amazon

1. Verve Coffee – for someone who LOVES coffee, get them the exceptional – Kenya Karatu $23.40 OR a 3-6 month subscription.
2. el Salchichero Charcuterie Butcher for fixings for a Cheese & Charcuterie Platter - in Santa Cruz on Swift Street. Persimmon Mostarda - Emperor Norton Canning Company (savory-tangy-sweet flavor) OR other canned goodies for a Charcuterie Meat & Cheese Tray with all the trimmings. House Made Curry Raisins – made at el Salchichero Chacuterie Butcher
3. Friend in Cheeses Jam Company - “Chow Chow”, “Pinot Cherries,” “Carrot Marmalade,” “Forbidden Fruit Marmalade,” “Fig Fennel Jam,” and “Spring Onion Jam” that you can buy in Santa Cruz at New Leaf, Shopper’s Corner, Staff of Life, Hay Market (Willow Glen) … or order online for $8 a jar.              For suggested pairings from owner Tabitha, – see here.
4. Sones Cellars-Refillable Bottle - Hedgehog Red, a petite sirah-zinfandel blend classified as a red table wine that is tapped from a tasting room barrel and sold in refillable bottles. $5 for the bottle $12 for refills ($10 for wine club members).  We tasted it yesterday and it was, yes, very tasty!
5. Santa Cruz Food Tour Tickets! ($52.50 ea. – lasts 3.5 hours, all food included)

5 Stocking Stuffer List for Foodies:

• FusionBrand StirStik •  Stir, Flip, Spread & they look like Paint Stir Sticks - $7

• FusionBrand FoodPod • the boil/blanch/steam/drain silicone pod – $14.99
  

• Food Fighter Party Picks • For Finger Foods – $9.99

• Fridge Mount for iPad 2 • Read your recipes with ease – $29.99

• Joseph Joseph 5 in 1 Utensil – $7.99

Alrighty, this is my Valentine’s Day Gift Pick for your special lady:

• Rose Pearl Green Tea ($144 lb.) from Ten Ren Tea in Cupertino (SF, Milpitas, Richmond, Newark, & LA locations too)

After a Chinese New Year’s occasion of Dim Sum at Joy Luck Palace with a friend we ventured around the Cupertino Village Asian strip mall of stores and restaurants all there together, to buy more of, one of my all-time favorites, Jasmin Pearl Tea.  Jasmin Pearl Tea is quite expensive at about $100 lb and reminds me of my childhood (not sure why at all, but it does).  At Ten Ren Tea, sitting on the shelf next to the Jasmin Pearl Tea, was another lovely looking blend called Rose Pearl Green Tea that had a combination of Jasmin Pearl Tea and dried Rose Buds for $144 lb.  I knew it would be good and thought, this is the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for your girlfriend (s), mother, grandmother, and wife.  You don’t want to buy a pound because that would be a LOT of tea.  A $15-20 sachet worth of tea is the perfect amount.  With the tea, you could include a beautiful tea pot set, mug, candies, chocolates or … !

Chex Mix or Tijuana Tidbits?  You either love em’ or your hate em’ or you start munching on em’ and can’t stop.  Either way, party mix gets consumed and that seems to be what the holidays are all about!  AND, the lucky recipient of your TT’s won’t forget you because love and hate are strong emotions.  But really, this recipe is a little bit different.  My mom claims that Tijuana Tidbits are a snack mix that even men like.  I think she is onto something here.  Who knew that men liked em’ hot and sweet?

Tijuana Tidbits Recipe

Makes 18 cups

Ingredients:

• 4 cups tortilla chips, broken into 1 1/2” pieces
• 3 cups Crispix cereal
• 1 bag microwave popcorn popped (8-9cups)
• 1, 12 ounce can of mixed cocktail nuts
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 TBSP chili powder
• 1/8 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/8-1/4 tsp ground red pepper

Preparation:

Heat oven to 250F.

Combine chips, cereal, popcorn, and nuts in large roasting pan. Combine other ingredients in small saucepan, heat to boiling.   Pour over cereal mixture in pan, stirring to coat. Bake 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes. Remove from oven and turn onto sheet of wax paper to cool.

Store in airtight container up to 2 weeks.

A few years ago my cousin’s wife, originally from Ohio who now lives in Florida, told us about Mom Wilson’s Country Sausage that is actually located in my childhood hometown.  She told us that each time she drives through our hometown in Ohio on her way to Northern Ohio that she stops at Mom Wilson’s Country Sausages to pick up a Smoked Ham. It was weird to me because I had lived near Ma Wilson’s for twenty some years before moving to California and had no idea Mom Wilson’s was that good. I finally figured out that it is a local gem and on todays visit we spotted something too good and too kitschy to pass up, a Candy-Cane shaped spicy “Cracker Sausage.”

Inside Mom Wilson’s they have lots of tastes to figure out what you may want to buy from hot pickles to spicy sausage, braunschwaiger, caramel corn, and other country sausages and cheese. I asked them what their biggest seller was and they told me it was the Cracker Sausage. After tasting it and finding out it was delicious, I looked in the refrigerator and saw a Candy-Cane shaped Cracker Sausage for $5.60. John and I both said, “That is awesome!”

You can’t order it online, yes, that is how local they are, but you can call them and they will ship it out to you. Then pair it with a box of crackers or their horseradish cheese and it’s a unique gift for friends or your holiday party.

Mom Wilson’s Country Sausage
7720 U.S. Route 23 North
Delaware, Ohio 43015

Phone

(740) 726-2636

For the Photo-Foodie:

• The Camera Lens Mug (for Canon or Nikon lovers) $24-30 + Shipping – For the Photo & Coffee Geek by Photo JoJo OR Give the foodie photographer or blogger a Studio Photo-Tent Dome for their plated foods too (OK, just a bit more than $30, range from $35-100)!

For the Mess-in-the-Kitchen:

• Owl Tea Towels $12 Each + Shipping

- Hand screen printed using color-fast ink in red. Washing machine/dryer safe. Absorbent flour sack is 28″ x 29″. Colors: Dark Blue , Arctic Blue (light) , Sweet Pea Green , Clementine , Red Raspberry , Chocolate Pudding Brown

For the OCD-Kitchen Cook:

• 2-in-1 Brush Baster (Classic Bristles & Modern Silicon w/ Rotating locking head) $9.95
• Oxo Good Grips Hand-Held Mandoline Slicer $20

-Slice your veggies or any food item precisely and more quickly than pulling out your big-old $200 Mandolin.

For the Wine-Lover:

• Been Doon So Long: A Randall Graham Vinthology $24

- James Beard Foundation Book Award Beverage Winner 2010 – Written by visionary California winemaker and founder of Bonny Doon Vineyard (from Santa Cruz!)

• Chinese Zodiac Wine Stoppers $15 + Shipping

- 12 Zodiac Animal Head Choices

For the Sweet Tooth:

• Caramel Toffee Chocolate Chunk Brownie Mix by Vosges Haut Chocolat $18 + Shipping (Read Review of Brownie Mix on Serious Eats)
• Chocolate Pecan Boomchunka Cookie from Cherry Republic $3.95 – 2Pack + Shipping (You can’t go wrong with any of their products – We’ve been sampling them for years! OR what about the Chocolate Cherry Coffee Cake)
• Apple Pie in Jar (3 in an 8oz. Canning Jar) $13.96 + Shipping

For the Fashionable Foodie’s Stocking:

• The Diner’s Necklace $16 + Shipping
• 2 Carat Cup $15 + Shipping + A bag of Verve Coffee Roasters Five Bean Holiday Blend 12 oz. for $13.50 from Santa Cruz, CA
• Dining Room Measuring Spoons $24 + Shipping
• Spoon Coffee Mug $3.95 + Shipping & you could add a personal touch with a bag of homemade marshmallows recipe
• Tuffy Tea Steepers $8.95 + Shipping (or at Sur la table)
• Pomegranate Cocktail Rim Sugar for a Pomegranate Margarita $4.00 + Shipping

For the Herb Lover:

• Vintage Silverware Garden Herb Markers – Set of 4 $24 + Shipping
• The Best Dried Red Chili Powder from the Chili Shop in Santa Fe $7.95 a lb. + Shipping
• Gourmet Popcorn Spice Kit $15 + Shipping (Flavors are: 1)Beer 2)Dill Pickle 3)Kettle Corn 4)White Cheddar 5)Southwest Jalapeno 6)Barbeque 7)Buffalo 8)Chocolate Caramel)

For the Bacon Lover: Are we still loving Bacon Stuff? YES!

• Bacon Jam – $13 per 11oz jar +shipping OR try making your own Slow Cooker Bacon Jam, made some tonight so will update you with it soon!

- This is a savory jam cooked down with onions and spices. – Serve it on sandwiches and such

• Bacon Explosion - 1/2 Bacon Explosion – $17.99 Full Bacon Explosion – $29.99 + shipping

- Quilted Bacon (retains all of the fat, so watch out) with sausage, BBQ sauce, BBQ rub and it is then smoked – Put it on toothpicks to serve because it has a pretty intense, rich flavor

• Mo’s Dark Bacon Bar $7.50 & Mo’s Bacon Chocolate Chip Pancake Mix $12 + Shipping from Vosges Haut Chocolat (I know, I listed this last year but couldn’t help but add this deliciousness again).

I met Serena of GrassRoutes Guides (Oakland, CA) at a Food Blogging dinner in SF and quickly wanted to know when she would come down and write a guidebook about Silicon Valley/South Bay because we are not the ugly step sister of SF.  I really liked Serena’s energy and optimism about Oakland in particular.  Now we have a ton more spots to check out in our often frequented Oakland (and then some spots from her other guides on SF, Wine Country, Portland, & Seattle).  Serena told me that Eco-Tourism should not just be for the exotic travels to such locales as Costa Rica but that even urban places in the Bay Area, that are Eco-conscious, can enrich and enlighten our travels and explorations at home.

The Oakland/Berkeley Guidebook page online has lots of restaurant descriptions and suggestions for places to eat in Categories such as:

• Do Lunch (Bake Sale Betty – Famous Fried Chix Sandwich)
• Casual Night Out – (One pick we’ve tried is – Dona Tomas – Great Cookbook and Creative, Upscale Mexican Spot)
• Coffee Time (Blue Bottle of course! – Don’t miss it!)
• Dress Up
• Farm to Table
• International Grocery
• Sweet Tooth
• Imbibe (Need to add Beer Revolution & Friday at Drakes Brewery to the list (I know it is in San Leandro but it is so worth it))

Need a gift for a Thanksgiving host or do you need to make sure your kitchen is stocked for your “Guest Thanksgiving Chef” aka your Mom is in town for Turkey Day.  Here are few beloved finds.

Decorative Pie Crust Cutters:

These make your pies look professional & cute.

• Set of 4, Spring Loaded ($18)
• Seriously Cool Bird Pie Top Cutters ($10.17)

Heavy Duty Brining Bags

Seriously handy if you want a moist bird. I’ve looked into alternatives to buying the Brining Bags such as using garbage bags (don’t suggest it when they say, not food safe on the box) or a cooler. One of the best alternatives I have found is the culinary bucket bought at a food supplies store.  Or, you know what, just get one of these bags and call it a day.

• Set of 4 reusable bags, 2 small and 2 large (for Turkey or Chicken) ($16)
• Set of 2, Heavy Duty Bags ($9.99)

Oven-Proof Probe Thermometers

Convenient, especially when many folks are relying on YOUR big bird and you’ve never made one before.

• Maverick Oven and Roasting Digital Thermometer with Timer ($30)
• Remote Thermometer ($40)
• Remote Roasting Thermometer ($49.99)

Oh, Last thing - Pie Crust Beads

Are you a Store-Bought or Homemade Pie Crust Chef?

• Fox Run Ceramic Pie Weights ($8)
• Pie Crust Weight Alternative: Rice or Dried Beans (Keep in a jar labeled – Pie Weights)

A cousin of ours has a family salmon business up in Alaska called Wild Kenai Red Salmon.  They actually shipped us these beautiful frozen and  smoked salmon fillets to try after hearing about our food blog in an annual family Christmas letter.   The fillets were delivered overnight via fed-ex in a Styrofoam cooler, arriving cold and fresh as ever.

We grilled the salmon fillet on a cedar plank with a mild soy-based glaze.

It looks like they have some nice recipes for salmon on their blog too: http://www.wildkenaisalmon.com/blog/

Zach: I have never been a fan of cooked salmon (I prefer it raw).  Nor have I ever had sockeye salmon before.  This fillet knocked my socks off.  It was dense and tasted like a clean ocean spray, not fishy at all.

John: It was amazing how fast the salmon was delivered to us.  The freshness was palpable.  The fresh salmon was better than most cooked salmon I’ve had at restaurants.  The skin was actually edible and did not have that fish-sitting-on-display-all-day taste.

Les: What struck me most about the fillet (delivered frozen) was the amazing color.  I think these fillets would be an amazing foodie gift for friends and family who have it all and love fine foods.