Summer Hostess Gifts You Can Make Yourself – Part 2
August 9, 2011
More DIY food gift ideas compliments of
MINI LOAF CAKES WRAPPED IN PARCHMENT
What hostess wouldn’t love a basket filled with little individual cakes for each of the guests! Bake your favorite loaf cake such as banana bread, pound cake, or zucchini bread in paper disposable mini loaf pans. When the cakes have cooled completely, simply wrap a strip of parchment paper or tinted vellum around each one and tie with satin ribbon. Paper loaf pans can be found at baking supply stores and Target. Click here for the chocolate cake recipe shown in the photo.
DINNER-IN-A-BASKET
This garden’s bounty gift is perfect if you are going to be guests for an entire weekend. Since several meals will take place during your stay, why not give the hosts a break and bring one of the meals with you! Place a deep dish tomato pie (Click here for the recipe) in a large, shallow basket that you’ve lined with a pretty dish towel. Add a half dozen or so ears of unshucked corn, fresh from the garden, a bottle of wine and fresh berries for dessert. Rest assured. You will be invited back!
BARBEQUE SPICE RUBS
This gift couldn’t be easier to make and you probably have all the ingredients right in your pantry. Spice rubs give meats an intense flavor that can’t be matched by barbeque sauce alone. Click here for two of my favorite rub recipes.
Craft store mini jars or large salt & pepper shakers make fine containers. Add a handmade label and you’re good to go! If you want to take it to the next level, arrange the jars of spice rub in a small, galvanized tub or bucket along with other grilling supplies such as tongs, oven mitts, flavored grilling wood chips, skewers, a chef’s apron, and a 6-pack of beer.
Love the idea of a gift basket, but not the DIY part? We’ll do it all for you. Click here to start shopping!
Summer Hostess Gifts You Can Make Yourself
August 2, 2011
Make thoughtful summer food gifts with these charming ideas from
Ah, those friends with the summer beach house have finally invited you for the weekend! Forgo the usual bottle of wine and create a more meaningful gift to show your hosts just how much you appreciate them. You do want to be invited back, don’t you?
LAVENDER LEMONADE
Click here for the recipe for my Lavender Lemonade, pictured above. Decant the lemonade into a fancy glass bottle with the handwritten recipe and a sprig of lavender tied to the neck. Add a basket filled with a couple dozen of your favorite homemade cookies and Ta-Da! You’ve got the perfect gift for a summer garden party.
MORNING AFTER BASKET
Hosts of a cocktail party or reception destined to go into the wee hours will remember you fondly the next morning when they crack into this thoughtful gift. Line a pretty basket with a crisp new tea towel. Fill the basket with homemade muffins or scones, a jar of jam, a sack of coffee beans, a couple of unique mugs, fresh fruit, magazines, Bloody Mary mix, and a small bottle of aspirin.
BASIL BASKET
If your basil grows like mine, by mid-summer you’ve got more than you know what to do with. Make pesto! Fill a pint size, vintage canning jar with some of your fresh pesto and arrange it in a half bushel farmstand basket along with a baguette, a big hunk of Parmesan, artisan pasta, a handful of tomatoes, a bottle of good olive oil and a small potted basil plant.
THE HUNTER & GATHERER’S BASKET
So you don’t like to cook, but you’re an expert eater and you know the local gourmet shop like the back of your hand. You’re uniquely qualified to put together a “cocktail-party-waiting-to happen” basket. Grab a basket and go shopping! Fill it with all your favorite cocktail nibbles… oil cured olives, nuts, assorted cheeses, crackers, breadsticks, cured meats, cheese straws and crudités. Now add that perfect bottle and a set of pretty cocktail napkins. Done and done! You are sooooooo going to be the hit of the party! Well, actually, you are the party!
Not in the DIY mood? Click here for hostess gifts aplenty. We can arrange for your gift to arrive the same day you do!
Make a sweet gift for Dad with this easy recipe from
Kids can help with practically every step of this peanut-ty Father’s Day gift project. They’ll be particularly good at rolling the dough into balls and decorating the container. You may want to stretch this activity out over two weekends. Make the dough this weekend and freeze it while the kids decorate the container. Next weekend, they can roll the thawed dough into balls and you can bake off the cookies.
Make the cookies:
INGREDIENTS
(Makes about 48 cookies)
1 cup roasted salted peanuts
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon each baking soda, baking powder, and salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup chunky peanut butter
1 cup milk chocolate chunks
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, chop the nuts until very fine (like coarse meal), being careful not to overprocess them into peanut butter. Set aside. Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
2. Cream the cooled melted butter and sugars together in a large bowl. Add the eggs, vanilla, and peanut butter and beat until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Stir in the chopped peanuts and chocolate chunks. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for 10 minutes (or up to 6 hours) to firm up the dough.
3. Using your hands, roll the dough into walnut-sized balls. Place the balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet, about 3 inches apart. Press each cookie with the back of a fork to flatten. (If dough sticks, dip the fork into flour before pressing.) Bake cookies until golden, about 12 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
(This recipe was adapted from a peanut butter cookie recipe developed by Lauren Chattman.)
Decorate the container:
Craft stores, party supply stores, and online specialty stores like Oriental Trading are brimming with gift boxes and containers just waiting to be decorated and filled. Use stickers, family photos and/or foam letters to jazz up a brightly colored treat box, basket, wooden crate, or lunch pail. Fill it with cookies and add a handmade Father’s Day card.
Click here to see Elizabeth W. Gift Basket’s selection of Father’s Day gift baskets like the “Angler’s Delight” shown below.
How to Make a Mother’s Day Gift Basket
April 28, 2011
Show Mom how much you love her with this easy recipe from
Whipping up a homemade gift for your mom is easier than you may think. Buy a cookbook you know she’ll like. (I chose one of my favorite basic baking books, “Mom’s Big Book of Baking” by Lauren Chattman.) Bake one of the loaf cakes from the book, or use my favorite chocolate loaf cake recipe below. Wrap the cooled cake in a fancy new dishtowel with a spatula on top. Arrange it all in a pretty basket. Done! Now wasn’t that easy?
BASIC CHOCOLATE LOAF CAKE
INGREDIENTS
(Makes one 9 by 5-inch loaf)
1 ½ sticks butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 ¾ cups unsifted flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 (8-ounce) carton plain yogurt
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan. Cream together butter and sugars, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and beat on high speed for 2 minutes.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa. Add the flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture alternately with yogurt, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix well after each addition.
3. Scrape the batter into the pan and bake for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes; remove cake from pan and let cool completely on a rack.
Baking’s not your thing? We can help. Click here to see our selection of Mother’s Day gifts like the “Sweet Surrender” shown above.
NO-FUSS MOTHER’S DAY MENU
Want to make lunch for Mom on her special day, but just don’t have the time? Snag a quiche, a bag of salad greens, dressing, a bottle of wine, and some fancy cupcakes from any large grocery store. Serve it all on your best china with a fresh flower centerpiece. (You can get the flowers at the grocery too.) See, Mom doesn’t really care if you made it all from scratch yourself. Mom just cares that you care.
Easter Hostess Gift
April 20, 2011
Create the perfect Easter hostess gift with this easy recipe from
Forgo the usual bottle of wine and toss together a more meaningful gift for your Easter dinner hosts this year. Use the recipe below, or if you’re really pressed for time, pick up scones, biscuits or muffins from your favorite bakery. Line a pretty basket with a crisp, new tea towel and fill it with your baked goods, a jar of jam, a spreader, and a craft store bird’s nest filled with jellybeans and artificial eggs. Add a charming card and you’re good to go!
DRIED CHERRY-PISTACHIO SCONES WITH VANILLA DRIZZLE
INGREDIENTS
(Makes 8 servings)
For the scones:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 cup half & half, divided
¼ cup salted roasted pistachios, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup dried cherries
For the drizzle:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon milk
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Stir together first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Add the chilled butter pieces and, with an electric mixer on low speed or a pastry blender, cut the butter in until the mixture is crumbly and resembles coarse meal. Freeze for 5 minutes. Add all but 2 tablespoons of the half & half, the pistachios, and the dried cherries, stirring until dry ingredients are just moistened. Do not overmix.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and, with floured hands, gently shape into an 8-inch round. Cut round into 8 wedges and place ½-inch apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush tops with the remaining 2 tablespoons of half & half. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until golden. Let cool.
- Stir together the confectioners’ sugar, milk and vanilla, adding more milk if necessary to create desired consistency. Drizzle over the cooled scones. Let drizzle set for about 20 minutes before arranging scones in basket.
10 Cool Father’s Day Gifts You Can Make Yourself
June 8, 2009
And not a necktie or playlist among them…
not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Happy Father’s Day from Elizabeth W. Gift Baskets!
News Flash: World renowned Epicurious.com just posted a lovely review of my gift baskets! Check it out here.
- Animal Cracker Ice Cream Sandwiches – Kids will love helping make these bite-size beauties. Sandwich ice cream or sherbet between two animal crackers using a melon baller to make mini-scoops. Wrap each sandwich in plastic wrap and freeze. Decorate a plain round tin with circus animal stickers and layer the wrapped sandwiches inside. Since the filled tin will need to be stored in the freezer, you may wish to present Dad with a card listing mysterious clues that eventually lead him to his present in the freezer.
- Tree of Promises – Purchase a ready-to-plant potted tree, such as a Dogwood, from a nursery or home supply store. Buy fancy tags from a craft supply store (or, make your own on the computer.) Have each family member think of two or three chores or favors they are willing to promise to do for Dad. Younger kids might promise to shine his shoes or read him a story, while teenagers could commit to washing the car or babysitting their young siblings while Mom & Dad have a night on the town. Write each promise on a tag and hang it on the tree for Dad to pluck when he needs a special treat. When all the tags are gone, Dad can plant the tree outside and use it to hold tags for family celebrations for years to come.
- Daddy Dossier – You Tube has turned us all into amateur cinematographers. Gather your siblings and make a movie of memories for Dad. Visit spots around your area where Dad earned his reputation for being the best Dad in the world… The local baseball field where he, fearlessly and without the aid of controlled substances, taught you how to drive… The row of 40-foot walnut trees that you and Dad planted as seedlings for a school 4-H project… The Wishnik troll doll (am I dating myself?) that Dad gallantly rescued after it accidentally flew out the car window on I-95. Film each other on location documenting the events in your lives that shaped treasured memories of Dad.
- King for a Day – Plan a full day of activities that Dad loves and type up a fancy itinerary on your computer. Entries might include breakfast in bed, followed by a round of golf, followed by a picnic in the park, followed by his choice of movies and so on. Put the itinerary in a box and wrap with pretty paper and ribbon. Present it on a tray along with the breakfast in bed.
- Thrill of the Grill – Mix up a couple of barbeque spice rubs for grilling. Check out my previous post for two good recipes. Put the rubs in airtight bottles or jars and add pretty labels. Buy a large washtub (that can later be filled with ice for chilling drinks), a bag of charcoal, grilling tools, an apron and perhaps a 6-pack of beer. Arrange all the items in the washtub and add a big bow.
- Storytime – This is a great gift for grandfathers. Choose one day a week, or one day a month, depending on your availability, to read aloud to your recipient. Pick a book you both like and read a chapter each visit. Sure, you could just buy a couple of books on CD, but that’s not the point. This is actually nothing more than a commitment to spend time with a loved one. Besides, with a book on CD you can’t stop and discuss the plot with the reader, or share a cup of tea, or a hug.
- Cookie Emergency Kit – Nothing tastes better than freshly baked cookies, still warm from the oven. Mix up cookie doughs in three or four flavors you know Dad will like. An assortment of chocolate chip, oatmeal, peanut butter and sugar cookies makes a good combo. Shape the doughs into logs and wrap each in parchment paper. Attach a tag with baking instructions to each log of dough. Buy a nonstick cookie sheet, an oven mitt, and a metal spatula. Arrange the logs of dough, mitt and spatula on the cookie sheet and tie with a pretty ribbon. Dad can store the doughs in the freezer and lop off a chunk whenever he is craving homemade cookies. He can bake a whole plateful or just slice off enough dough to make one or two cookies at a time. (Like anybody just eats one or two cookies at a time!)
- Young Wine - This is a great gift for a young Dad-to-be. Ask the folks at your local wine shop to help you pick out a wine that needs to age for several years before it becomes truly spectacular. Give it to the Dad with a note that says, “Drink this wine to celebrate your baby’s 13th birthday,” or “Do not open until the day you write your first school tuition check.”
- Tub-o-Treats - Maybe Dallas Cowboys season tickets are not in your budget, but you can still surprise Dad with an impressive gift that keeps on giving. Collect lots of little things that Dad can use while he watches his favorite sports events on TV. Wrap each one in pretty paper and ribbons and put them in a large bucket or canvas tote. Let Dad open one gift every time he sits down to watch a sports event. Items might include a large tin of gourmet nuts, a baseball cap with his team’s logo, a Rubik’s Cube, a beverage can cozy, a case of microwave popcorn, a stadium blanket, a TV remote holder and a book about his favorite sport.
- Cook the Book - If you like to cook and your Dad lives nearby, this is for you. Buy a cookbook with recipes for foods Dad likes. Wrap it in fancy paper and include a special handmade coupon with the card. The coupon entitles the bearer to one recipe of his choice per month, prepared and delivered by you. For example, if Dad has a sweet tooth, you might give him a dessert cookbook. The card could say something like, “Real men eat dessert first. Here’s a coupon for one sweet treat a month for the next year. You pick it and I’ll make it.”
FIND A GIFT FOR EVERYONE ON YOUR LIST AT ELIZABETH W. GIFT BASKETS
Make a Cookie Gift
April 15, 2009
Happy Earth Day (April 22) from Elizabeth W. Gift Baskets!
If you’re on a budget, but still want to make an impressive gift, homemade cookies are the answer. Everyone loves cookies, and even if you’re not the world’s best baker, they’ll love the idea that you cared enough to make a special gift just for them. This recipe for rich, brownie-like cookies is pretty hard to mess up, so tie on your apron and get busy. Present your creations in a pretty tin, box, cookie jar, or simply tied in a stack with ribbon and tucked into a small shopping bag. Or, make several logs of different cookie doughs, wrap them in parchment, attach baking directions and deliver them in a pretty basket. Your recipient can have warm, freshly baked cookies any time he wants by just slicing and baking a few at a time. The rest can be stored in the freezer until the next cookie craving hits. Who wouldn’t love that!
BROWNIE COOKIES
These cookies taste like skinny, round brownies. Substitute chocolate chips, peanut butter chips or butterscotch chips for the white chunks, if you like. During the winter holidays I make them with peppermint chocolate chips. For the white chocolate chunks used here, I buy good quality white chocolate bars and chop them myself.
(Makes 18 to 20 cookies)
Ingredients
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, at room temperature
¾ cup sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup flour
¾ cup white chocolate chunks
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, egg and vanilla with an electric mixer until well blended. With the mixer on low speed, beat in the cocoa, then the flour. Stir in the white chocolate chunks.
- Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dough onto parchment-lined cookie sheet(s), spacing them about 2 inches apart. (Alternatively, form the dough into a log, wrap in waxed paper, and freeze until ready to bake. Thaw briefly before slicing and baking.)
- Bake until the tops look dry, but cookies are still soft, 11 to 13 minutes. Cool cookies on the sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days or frozen up to 1 month.
FIND A GIFT FOR EVERYONE ON YOUR LIST AT ELIZABETH W. GIFT BASKETS!
The Fine Art of Re-Gifting
October 9, 2008
Gift-Giving in the Workplace
September 21, 2008
Gift-giving season is fast approaching. During these crazy economic times choosing gifts for business associates, bosses and co-workers can be tricky. Here are some tips to save you from making career limiting gift choices and keep you on the A-list. Because these days it’s really, really important to keep your job. To find a gift for any occasion, including the Chocolate Calling Card above, go to www.elizabethwgiftbaskets.com
1. Don’t overspend on the boss. Not only does it make the boss uncomfortable, it makes you look a little desperate.
2. Do your research. It’s great to give gifts to clients for holidays, birthdays or “just because.” Just make sure they are in a position to accept them. Some companies forbid employees to accept gifts from certain suppliers, considering it swag. Others may place a dollar limit on gifts that can be received. By the same token, clients who receive corporate gifts that they feel are cheap or insufficient will tell the world about it. Do a little research before you order those tiny $20 candy bouquets to send to clients who spend thousands with you annually. You may want to raise the bar a little. Also, be sure you are straight on what’s tax deductible and what’s not before you buy.
3. Avoid self-help gifts. No matter how many times your coworker has complained about those extra 10 pounds, DO NOT, repeat DO NOT present her with the latest new dieting book. Well-intentioned gifts like this are extremely risky. You may mean well by giving a self-help gift to an office mate who fears public speaking, is going through a divorce, or is trying to quit smoking, but this sort of gesture could really hurt their feelings.
4. Don’t bring cut flowers to a dinner party. There’s nothing wrong with giving someone a big bouquet of beautiful flowers. Just don’t show up at the door with them when you’re invited to the boss’s fancy dinner party. Your host has enough to do as guests are arriving without having to go hunt a vase to put your flowers in. Besides, it’s a pretty safe bet that the centerpieces and party decorations for this party are already in place, so not only will the host have to find the vase and arrange the flowers (while oohing and aahing for your benefit,) she’ll then have to find a place of honor for them that doesn’t clash with the existing décor. If you’re really set on flowers, order them in a vase and have them delivered the day before the party.
5. Don’t give thoughtless gifts. Just because you love your meat and potatoes, doesn’t mean your vegetarian office mate will be thrilled with an Omaha Steaks gift certificate. Trying to impose your tastes on others can be construed as aggressive and offensive in a competitive work environment.
6. Don’t try to be funny. Even though it seems like you spend more time with these folks than your own family, you may not know them as well as you think. Something you think is hilarious may be perceived as tasteless and gauche to a colleague. And office mates aren’t as forgiving as family.
7. Avoid Booze. Unless you know for an absolute fact that your recipient has long been a connoisseur of rare single malt scotches, for example, reconsider a gift of hard liquor. If you really want to give libations, wine or champagne are safer (albeit somewhat boring) choices. When giving wine remember, one really great bottle is better than three mediocre ones.
8. Don’t give embarrassing gifts. This may sound like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised at what goes on in some offices. Suffice it to say, even though your boss is pregnant with her first, and even though you’ve had three and know all there is to know about babies, you still shouldn’t give her a breast pump as a birthday present. It’s just wrong.
9. Don’t give advice to an expert. If your recipient has a long time hobby or deep knowledge about a particular subject, it’s tempting to try to find something that directly relates to that expertise. Trouble is, if they’ve spent years developing this expertise, they probably already have it or don’t need it. The guy who has been fly fishing since childhood most likely doesn’t need another book on the basics of fly fishing.
10. Avoid gifts that are religious, sexual or racist in nature. It’s tacky to give your Jewish employees miniature Christmas trees just because that’s what you’re giving everyone else. And those tickets to Chippendales for the female staff members? Wrong.
What have I missed? Do you have a story about a disastrous office gift? I’d love to hear about it.
