2012 Culinary Gift Guide

Give the gift of good taste this season with one of these sure-to-be-a-hit culinary-themed gifts. From cooking classes to monthly wine deliveries to handmade chocolates–plus a special deal on a global dinner club–there’s something here for everyone… including yourself. (It’s okay, we won’t tell.)


Sweets for Your Sweeties
Ladybug chocolates almost too cute to eat, but too delicious not to. Honey caramel bees sure to fly off the plate. Decadent figs stuffed with whiskey ganache. Not to mention salted caramels, cinnamon & cashew tortoises, pistachio toffee, and irresistible fruit squares. Philadelphia-based chocolatiers John Doyle and Kira Baker-Doyle source their ingredients from local and family-run farms, including urban school gardens in Philly, making their confections something to feel good about as you devour them. Chocolates from John & Kira’s make a terrific hostess gift… if you can keep your hands off them long enough to share.


Global Eats
For many parents, their planet-hopping days may be temporarily behind them. But thanks to Hungry Globetrotter’s World Dinner Club, you don’t have to give up eating your way around the world just because you have to stay at home. Every month, this San Francisco-based company sends its subscribers a box with goods focused on one region of the world. The box includes recipes, a grocery list, and specialty ingredients. You gift the subscriptions, so that a friend can provide the fresh produce and proteins, then use the dinner club treats to whip up simple, mouth-watering dishes that will expand her family’s palates and tickle their taste buds. Upcoming themes include Mexican, Thai/Malaysian, and Middle Eastern. Enter the code NYFoodieFamiles at check-out to receive $20 off a three-month subscription. ($34.95 a month)


Let Them Eat Pie!
Ever fantasize about ditching the city for life on a country farm? Gesine Bullock-Prado did just that, chucking her career as a Hollywood exec for the baker’s life in her Vermont kitchen. And it’s lucky for us: Delicious pies and scrumptious candies can be yours all year ‘round when you cook from her tantalizing cookbooks Pie it Forward and Sugar Baby. Standout recipes include Gesine’s Damn Good Peanut Butter Fudge and a decadent nutella tart. Gesine’s laugh-out-loud stories and passion for her craft will inspire you. Give these books as a gift and cross your fingers that your recipient will thank you with the fruits of their culinary labors.

 


Wine & Dine
Keep adults happy this holiday season with a subscription to the September Wine Club from September Wines & Spirits, a Lower East Side mainstay. Choose from a variety of different monthly boxes, all of which include two to three bottles of wine, tasting notes, and food pairing suggestions. September’s experts choose the wine and deliver the bottles right to your door. (From $35 a month, plus shipping)

 


Stock the Larder
Give a taste of Brooklyn with these wooden crates packed with delicious, gourmet foodstuffs from Brooklyn Larder, one of the borough’s best-loved gourmet food shops. Several scrumptious boxes are available, including: “The Brooklyn: Kings County” packed with Brooklyn-made granola, pickles, chocolate, and more; and “The Chef’s Larder” highlighting some of the globe’s top gourmet staples. (from $35-$199, plus shipping)

 

 


Get Out of the Cold, Get Into the Kitchen
In the spirit of teaching a man to fish rather than buying him a fish, treat your friends and family to the culinary gift that will endure, by giving them a cooking class. Various organizations around the city offer hands-on culinary instruction for all ages, interests, and budgets. At the Institute of Culinary Education in Chelsea, choose from a bevy of recreational classes ranging from Best Homemade Pizza to Mastering Butchery to Simple Meatless Meals. My fellow Yummy Delicious blogger Jessi Walter Brelsford’s Taste Buds Kitchen offers popular kids cooking classes like Gingerbread House Decorating. For private, in-home cooking classes or cooking parties visit me at Rosaberry.


The Mother of All Cookies
The nearly half-pound cookies at Levain Bakery bring out the kid in everyone–crisp on the outside, pillow-y and almost doughy on the inside. (My mouth is watering as I type this!) These one-of-a-kind cookies are a New York institution, and they’ll be sure to make your friends and family swoon. Cookie varieties include chocolate chip walnut, oatmeal raisin, dark chocolate chocolate chip, and dark chocolate peanut butter chip. Gift boxes of four to 12 cookies available. (From $22 plus shipping)

 

 


Have a Cow (Or a Chicken or a Goat)
The holidays are a great time to remind children to help others, and Heifer International asks people to “think outside the gift-wrapped box” and give the gift of a livelihood to struggling families across the globe. In a friend’s or child’s name, buy anything from a flock of ducks ($20) or a trio of rabbits ($60) to a pig ($120) or a heifer ($500 or $50 for a share), then Heifer will give the animals to a family in need. Those families will then have a way to generate income–and you’ll have a gift that epitomizes the true meaning of the holidays.

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Brooklyn Music School

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For over a century, we at The Brooklyn Music School have strived to make the joy of music, dance and performance accessible to everyone no matter their age, background, or financial status.</span></p> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In addition to offering affordable in-person and online private and group music lessons, dance classes, after-school programs, and community outreach, we also provide space for </span></p> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brooklyn and NYC artists to perform in our 250-seat Spanish-style theatre. Come by for a night of live music, or join us for a class!</span></p> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Visit BrooklynMusicSchool.org to learn more, register for classes, or view our calendar for upcoming events. </span></p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-4b378613-7fff-f89d-3c88-fe6beaabeb55"></span></p>

Cucu's PlayHouse

<div style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: #ffffff;">Interactive, live-streaming music and movement class in Spanish for babies, toddlers and preschoolers!<br />Join us every day from Monday through Saturday at 1:30 pm EST to sing, dance and play together while learning Spanish from your home.</div> <div style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: #ffffff;"> </div> <div style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: #ffffff;">This class is part of a Spanish Immersion Program where your child will be introduced to basic concepts like the animals, colors, numbers and letters. All of these through the universal language of Music. Each session is fun, interactive and engaging.<br />A selection of Children Songs in Spanish guides the class from start to finish. Activities are related to the lyrics, in order to familiarize the children with the words and their meanings. Some of the songs encourage the children to dance. Nilda uses puppets, musical instruments, and props to teach children basic vocabulary through action and interaction, rather than through translation.</div> <div style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: #ffffff;"><br />The classes are streamed on Zoom's webinar platform. Participants (children, parents, nannies) are able to join the video from their homes and interact with us in real-time, it is a fun and engaging experience.</div>

Gaga Madness

<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" data-sheets-value="{" data-sheets-userformat="{">Gaga is the hottest new sport in NYC. We've taken the fun of GAGA and pushed it into overdrive. Energetic coaches, pumped up music, sideline commentary, gear giveaways and more. Stay active and keep fit with this new craze that's sweeping the city.</span></p>