Delectables are always eminently appropriate gifts, whether they're handmade from your kitchen, picked from a tree, or bought full-priced and expensively wrapped at an upscale store.
The Bay area has a bountiful variety of holiday gift possibilities, from candies called "mint humbugs" at a store carrying English specialties all the way to grapefruit picked from your backyard trees. So, lest you find yourself empty-handed and bereft of inspiration, allow me to suggest a few edible gifts that might cheer family and friends.
Gift certificates to restaurants are always welcome. Everything from the engraved card announcing a $100 certificate to Bern's Steak House to the credit-card style plastic version available at the eight Piccadilly Cafeteria locations can be purchased by loving gift-givers. Some of the certificates are already enclosed in pretty holiday envelopes, and all you have to do is sign it with a flourish, address the envelope, and you're done.
Other gift certificates can be applied to takeout. Choose a fresh bread and chicken-liver and truffle pate ($3.49 per quarter-pound) at Fancy's Specialty Market in St. Petersburg; or perhaps the excellent meat and cheese lasagna ($5.75 per pound) made by Castellano & Pizzo Italian Gourmet Foods. It's perfect for a new mom or someone who's recuperating from injury or illness.
Living in Florida, we have at our fingertips a lovely selection of fruit all winter. For a totally cheap gift, ask a neighbor or friend who has a backyard grapefruit or orange tree if you might pick a dozen pieces of fruit. Scrub them with water and a vegetable brush, wrap in tissue or newspapers and place gently in a box. Use festive seasonal paper for a healthful, inexpensive gift.
Another local product you might want to give is fruit wine, made from citrus and other fruits at Florida Orange Groves Inc. in St. Petersburg. You can buy one of their 21 fruit wines, made from grapefruit, cherry, blueberry, even strawberry and tangerine. My favorites around the holidays, however, are an award-winning Key lime wine ($12.95 for a 750-millileter bottle) and an excellent cranberry wine ($18.95 for a 750-millileter bottle) — an unusual treat for holiday guests.
Check out London Pride, which stocks a ambrosial array of imported British groceries and sweets, teas, pies, bacon, sausages, scones and even Devon cream, a delicacy difficult to find in the U.S. This is a particularly rich source of weird items like "mint humbugs," which are a striped, chewy candy ($2.25 for a 100-gram bag), Bird's trifle (pudding) mix ($5.50 for six servings) and canned Hartley gooseberries ($2.60 for 300-gram can).
Or, do your traipsing on the Internet, which opens the whole world's marketplace to you. For an unusual treat, find excellent, homemade English apple cider (£1.55 per 500 milliliters, with a pound equaling about $1.42 per dollar) at sheppyscider.com. Made in England, it is 7.2 percent alcoholic and has a rich, apple flavor. Choose from dozens of varieties. Order online.
Maybe there's a special man in your life who is bored with neckties and handkerchiefs, has all the shoes and shirts he could ever wear and rides a desk all day at the office. Consider purchasing a gift certificate for a fishing trip in the Gulf, and he'll have a great time battling the elements in the salt air, plus, he'll (hopefully) bring fresh fish home for you to eat. Try Miss Pass-a-Grille Deep Sea Fishing, which offers half-day outings ($32 per adult, $22 per kid).
If you're handy in the kitchen, make edible gifts yourself and pass out to family and friends. Because fewer and fewer people have the time and skill to bake, a tray of homemade cookies or bread is becoming almost unusual — and a welcome respite from the daily round of commercially baked products most people eat every day.
For particularly daring cooks, a half-day of making jam and jelly will pay off in thanks from recipients. At a fruit stand or farmer's market (perhaps the Ybor City Fresh Market, open on Saturdays) buy a flat of fresh strawberries ($10-$15). Go to the grocery store and purchase Sure-Jell (in the baking aisle), which provides directions for a time-saving and easy way to make jellies and jams, and away you go. Follow product directions exactly, and you'll have a delicious treat to give your family and friends.
New kitchen gadgets are always on a cook's wish list. At Beans About Cooking, a kitchen supply store in Clearwater, you'll find the latest culinary implements. This year, one very popular choice is wine charms, personalized charms attached to the base of the wine glass to help your guests keep track of their drinks ($11.95-$25).
Those living on teensy budgets can provide unusual kitchen gadgets at a fraction of their retail cost by shopping garage and estate sales. You'll find old-fashioned potato ricers, sturdy meat grinders that have passed the test of time, and all manner of knives, cutlery, pans, bowls and even appliances. Be sure to wash cookware in hot soap and water before wrapping.
Finally, for someone who might like to indulge his ladylove with an engagement ring this holiday season, I hope you'll consider going over the top: Find out the date of the next nighttime space shuttle launch, and plot your fete accordingly. Take her to a swanky restaurant called Manuel's on the 28th, located on the 28th floor of a downtown high-rise. (Dinner for two will set you back $100, more with wine; or order prix fixe dinner at $45 per person).
Wait for the space launch, which will occur in the inky sky 90 miles to the east, sending a thundering sonic boom and shock waves that rattle the windows, cascading a fiery trail behind it as it slowly slips from the earth's bonds. Then, pop the question and give her the ring.
She won't ever be able to forget it — or you.
Happy holidays!
Contact food critic Sara Kennedy at sara.kennedy@weeklyplanet.com or call 813-248-8888, ext. 116.
This article appears in Nov 29 – Dec 5, 2001.