Sun food critic Mia Stainsby serves up some ideas for those on your list who like to cook, eat, drink or entertain
Mia Stainsby
Sun
One thing everyone does is eat. And most adults, at one time or other, cook, drink and entertain.
So when you’re out there this month, dazed and confused, looking for Christmas presents to give to friends and family, think food. Here are some ideas to put under the tree.
JAMIE OLIVER
Okay, there’s no getting Jamie Oliver himself, but his seventh cookbook, Cook with Jamie: My Guide To Making You A Better Cook, $41.95, is available and less distracting than having him in your kitchen in the flesh. In an easy-breezy writing style, he shows you his way to cook delicious, healthy foods. “In this book, I’m going to treat you just as I would one of my students and give you some inspiration for good, rock-solid cooking,” he says, and does.
DELUXE DOG TREATS
Vancouver company K9 Biscuit Company customizes dog biscuits by putting your pampered pooch’s mug on the front of the foil pack with a personalized label (right). The treats are called My K9 Biscuits. For instance, one dog client named Maggie Thatcher will soon be getting her own line of bickies with the caption “Maggie Still Rules,” as scary as that sounds. The human-grade dog biscuits are peanut butter and honey. Five bags are $29.95, 10 bags are $49.95, including shipping. See www.k9biscuit.com.
VISTA D’ORO PRODUCTS
Perfect little hostess gifts. Among the gourmet choices of jams and condiments, Cranberry Ice Wine spread would go nicely with turkey or over warm camembert cheese; Turkish fig jam with walnut wine is a great match with Poplar Grove double-cream camembert; $6.75 to $8.50 depending on size. Available at Vista d’Oro Farm in Langley, Edible B.C. (Granville Island Public Market), Whole Foods, Les Amis du Fromage, some Lower Mainland wineries and wine shops. (www.vistadoro.com)
CHOCOLATE
I’m a goner for Zotter fair trade chocolate bars (left). They come in 90 arresting flavour combos, including celery truffle and port wine; sour cherries and port wine; organic beer; balsamic caramel; coffee plum and caramelized bacon; Jordanian dates with coffee, shiitake; white poppy with cinnamon and apricot spirit; scotch whisky; white nougat with walnuts and red wine; almond roses; pomegranite and cedar nuts. They’re $6.59 each; two for $13.99 or five for $30.99. Get ‘em at Monde Chocolate, 2391 Burrard St. While you’re there, check out the chocolate bars for making hot chocolate, in exotic flavours.
MEASURING DEVICES
Trudeau silicon Flipper measuring cups and spoons (right) are reversible, saving space and fumbling time. Here’s an example of how it works — reverse the one teaspoon, flip the silicon down and on the other side, you have a half-teaspoon; a one-cup holder flips into 1/2 cup on the other side. And so on. A spoon set is $11.99; the cup set is $19.99. For a retailer selling Trudeau kitchen utensils near you, call 1-800-TRUDEAU.
BREATHABLE WINE GLASSES
Through a yet-secret technology, these wine glasses eliminate the need to decant and aerate wines and other beverages. Eisch Glaskultur (www.eisch.de) says it goes through an oxygenization treatment which gives the glass this property. Rudi Herzog of Herzog stores, which carries them, says he feels an immediate improvement of the taste of wine and cognac. The glasses are available in red wine, burgundy, bordeaux, chardonnary, riesling, port, cognac and single-malt shapes. $27.50 each; 10 per cent less in boxes of 6. Available at Herzog, 535 Howe St. and Park Royal North.
BASKET CASES
Langley‘s gourmet food store, Well Seasoned, does up gift baskets (right) for the season, from $25 to $80 with themes like Buy B.C., Breakfast in Bed, Hostess with the Mostess, King of the Grill. Or, if you’d rather, customize your gift by going to the store and making your own basket. (Baskets on sale, too.) 20771 Langley By-Pass, 604-530-1518. www.wellseasoned.ca.
COOKBOOK
The Williams-Sonoma Tools and Techniques cookbook includes a good overview of classic and modern kitchen tools and equipment, explains some 300 cooking techniques, 50 basic recipes and variations, lots of how-to tips, 1,500 colour photos for easy learning. $49.95 At Williams-Sonoma, 2903 Granville St.
ARTISAN GOODS
The Wood Co-Op represents some 75 artisans who craft things for kitchen and dining room, from a compact toothpick holder all the way up to dining room sets. Consider the once-in-a-lifetime Ross Pilgrim marquetry rolling pin (right), made of various woods ($190), or the $80 Hawkins nut cracker (far right). Put your nut in a chamber, a hammer comes down a post, cracks the shell and the nut rolls out. And for someone who’s been very, very good, dining room sets, like one by Arnt Arntzen, made with wood and reclaimed metal, can run to $12,000. One table (above) has recycled fluted lampposts for legs. You’ll find the shop at 1592 Johnston St., on Granville Island.
WINE SPA
For wine lovers who have more wine than real estate, give them the gift of cellaring space at Vancouver Wine Vault. The cost is $3 a month per case. There, the precious cargo will be housed peacefully under the right conditions. Owner Rick Underwood (right, in his storage area) can help with evaluations and appraisals should they require for investment wines. Staff can pick up and drop off wines; customers have access to their inventory online. No need to be embarrassed about near-plonk.
“I’ve got some people who have home brew here,” says Underwood, “but most are fairly seasoned collectors.” They’re at 1008 Homer St., 604-805-4725, www.vancouverwinevault.ca
TEA TIME
The Happy Tzar, a hand-blown glass samovar (left), serves tea for up to 35. Why would anyone spend $1,950 for a teapot? This is the only existing glass samovar (usually, they’re metal) and designed by Mariage Frere, one of the most exclusive tea houses in the world. Available at The Urban Tea Merchant, Village at Park Royal.
WINE SMARTS
For those who know no bounds when it comes to wine knowledge, send them to university. The University of B.C.‘s Continuing Studies department (partnering with the UBC Wine Research Centre) offers a variety of courses for oenophiles, from understanding it, to tasting it, to matching with food, to understanding regions. There’s also a course for beer and spirit fans. Courses cost $375 to $495 at the UBC Point Grey and UBC Robson Square campuses. Call 604-822-0800 for more details.
FOR SMALL POURS
For tea for two or four, Roost makes a Branch teapot set (right) with handles that look like a branch, a more interesting alternative for someone who’s making do with a Brown Betty. The teapot costs $95 at The Cross Decor and Design in Yaletown, 1198 Homer St. The matching cream and sugar set is $85.
ESPRESSO MACHINE
The regal Williams-Sonoma has landed. One of the higher-end offerings, the Delonghi Gran Dama Espresso machine (left), makes short work of making coffee. It makes cappucinos, lattes and macchiatos at the touch of a button and has a self-cleaning system. The milk container detaches for cool storage. It has a 15-bar pressure pump system, built-in burr grinder (as opposed to blade, for more consistent grind) and cup-size and strength settings with digital display, all for $2,999 (gulp!). At Williams-Sonoma, 2903 Granville St.
