Taking Your Steak's Temperature

Have trouble with knowing when your steaks are done - especially if you've got different cuts and different guest requests to keep track of?  These mini steak thermometers will help you through your summer bbq's.

Steak Thermometers  |  $22 at Smith & Hawken

By Robert | May 28, 2008 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, Kitchen Gadgets | Permalink | Comments (1)
Search Related Tags: bbq, steak

Sending A Toast via Mail

When a toast is in order and you can't be there, send this beautiful letterpress card by design studio Chewing the Cud.

Make Your Own Toast Letterpress Card | $4.25 via Etsy

By Robert | May 5, 2008 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)
Search Related Tags: letterpress, stationery

Etsy Find: Wishbone Bag

Give the power to grant three wishes with this bag of wishbones.

By Robert | January 20, 2008 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

Malaga - a Modern Wood Wine Rack

A beautiful wine rack from Modern Cellars starts with a base unit that accommodates additional units ($160) as you wish.  Finished with hand rubbed walnut oil.

Malaga Wine Rack Base  |  $180 at Greener Grass Design

By Robert | December 1, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)
Search Related Tags: wine_rack

Holiday Gift for the Host of the Party

By Michelle Alderson | November 15, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cafe Pelé Espresso Cup

This uniquely designed espresso cup designed by Julie Pfligersdorffer will let your guests know you didn't just pick it up at Crate and Barrel.

Café Pelé Espresso Cup  |  $30 at industreal

By Michelle Alderson | September 5, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (1)

Cherry Coaster

I was reading my friend Lizzie’s blog, designwatcher.blogspot.com, and discovered a mention of this very cool product line, iomoi. One of my favorite products is the cherry coaster that you can have monogramed.

Cherry Coaster  |  1 for $25 or 4 for $90 at iomoi.com

By Michelle Alderson | August 13, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

Magnets from Pink Loves Brown

Pink Loves Brown now offers a line of magnets to their already popular paper products. Buy them alone or in a group to create your own refrigerator art.

Bicycle Magnet  |  $3.50 at Pink Loves Brown

By Michelle Alderson | July 31, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fruit Stack by Chiasso

This new take on the fruit bowl allows you to store your fruit without bruising and making a statement at the same time.

Fruit Stack  |  $28 at Chiasso

By Michelle Alderson | July 30, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

Apron from Rock Scissor Paper

One of three new aprons offered at Rock Scissor Paper, this bird apron adds some "chirp" to your cooking.

Bird Apron  |  $35 at Rock Scissor Paper

By Michelle Alderson | July 25, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

Um Tote by Josh Jakus

We love the shape of this Um Tote. Designed by Josh Jakus, the versatile tote can be used for so many things (there is a wine tote, as well). Handmade from 100% industrial wool felt, this uniquely designed tote is also environmentally friendly; the material is collected from factory waste.

Um Tote  |  $115 at branchhome.com

By Michelle Alderson | July 6, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Art of Ratatouille

The Disney animation film Ratatouille about a lovable rat wanna-be chef opens up tomorrow. For those cooks who love animated film and food, this illustration book, with a forward by Brad Bird, is a nice addition to their cookbook collection.

The Art of Ratatouille  |  $26.40 at amazon.com

By Michelle Alderson | June 28, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jack and Lulu Scratch 'N Sniff Cards

These scratch ‘n sniff are perfect cards for kids and adults alike. From design team Jack and Lulu, the cards are available in ice cream/bubble gum and chocolate/mint scents.

Jack and Lulu Cards |  $8 for a set of two at fredflare.com

By Michelle Alderson | June 28, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

Eva Solo Fridge Carafe

This colorful, useful carafe from Eva Solo is a perfect way to keep drinks cold this summer. The carafe fits comfortably in your refrigerator door and has a neoprene cover for transferring to outdoor parties. The cover comes in five shades: black, red, orange, lime and blue.

Fridge Carafe  |  $85 at greengrassdesign.com 

By Michelle Alderson | June 27, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tray by Offi

Designed for today's breakfast-in-bedder, the overlap tray from OFFI allows you to work or play while enjoying the comforts of your own pillow.

OFFI Overlap Tray  |  $99 at 2modern.com

By Michelle Alderson | June 25, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Cupcake Deck

25 cupcakes, 25 cards, 25 recipes - Oh Joy! loves The Cupcake Deck. 

By Robert | June 14, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, Baking | Permalink | Comments (0)
Search Related Tags: cupcakes

Chocolate Note Cards

Chocoholics will understand the beauty of giving and receiving these "Chocolate on the Brain" note cards.  Each card is blank inside for your own message, and a recipe is on the back of the card to give your recipient something to cook after reading.  Four recipes include Triple Chocolate Brownies, Incredibly Easy Chocolate Mousse, Overly Indulgent Cupcakes, and Parisian Hot Chocolate.

Chocolate on the Brain Stationery Note Cards  |  $8.50 for 12 cards/envelopes at Galison

By Robert | June 13, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, Chocolate | Permalink | Comments (0)
Search Related Tags: cupcakes

Bacon & Egg Cufflink Set

With Father's Day coming up, here's a unique set of cufflinks that's a gift out of the ordinary.

Bacon & Eggs Cufflinks  |  $300 at Barneys

By Robert | June 7, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

Silver-plated Ice Cream Container Holder

Having ice cream straight from the container becomes a bit more civilized when you slip your pint into these silver plated ice cream container holders ($95 at Vivre).

By Robert | June 2, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (1)

Grow Herbs from a Book of Matches

Matchstick Garden makes starting a casual herb garden easy.  Just tear off a matchstick and plant the tip into some soil and you'll have your own little herb (or flower) garden in no time.

Matchstick Garden, mixed herbs or flowers  |  $6 at MOMA Store 

By Robert | May 23, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

Backyard Wood-Burning Oven: Beautiful and Expensive

At $2000, this rustic handcrafted wood-buring oven is definitely not for everyone, but it's a great conversation piece, regardless if you're buying, green with envy, or just looking.

Handcrafted Terra Cotta Wood-burning Oven  |  $2000 at Sur la Table 

[via BornRich]

By Robert | May 22, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, Parties & Entertaining | Permalink | Comments (0)

Metrokane Vacuum Wine Decanter

On those occasions where you've decanted your wine but didn't finish it all off, then Metrokane's Vacuum Decanter will let you store your left-over wine to keep it fresh a few days longer.

Metrokane Vacuum Decanter  |  $70 at Kitchenzing 

By Robert | May 14, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, All Things Wine | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wine Excursion Backpack Gift Basket

Have a great picnic for two with Wine.com's great "gift basket in a backpack" package.  The Wine Excursion Backpack includes a California white wine, smoked salmon, cheese, and pistachio nuts along with wine glasses, plates, utensils and a corkscrew for two.

Wine Excursion Backpack - Gourmet Gift Basket  |  $99 at Wine.com

By Robert | May 9, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, All Things Wine | Permalink | Comments (0)

Room & Board Goes Underground - NYC Pentatrays

Serve up your martinis and cocktail nuts on these conversation starting serving trays.  NYC Pentatrays are one-of-kind pieces handmade from NY subway graphics.  Unique enough to be signed and dated by the artist.

NYC Pentatrays  |  $165 at Room & Board

By Robert | May 4, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (1)

Laser Cut Wooden Coaster by Sarah Finn

Coasters take many forms and we love this set by Sarah Finn who lasers cuts her floral patterns into a richly stained wood.

Laser-Cut Wood Coasters  |  $40 for set of 8 at A+R 

By Robert | May 3, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (1)

Oil and Vinegar Birds

Stoneware oil and vinegar birds cuddle together - created by Dutch designer Margriet Foolen.

Oil and Vinegar Birds  |  $27.50 EUR at Bijzonder MOOI* 

By Robert | April 25, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mood Bottle Openers - Say "cheese" or not

Named "Shocked", "Crazy", and "Happy", these Mood Bottle Openers brings some life to the tired bottle opener.

Mood Bottle Openers  |  $13 each at Poketo

[via Tastespotting] 

By Robert | April 12, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, Kitchen Gadgets | Permalink | Comments (0)

Chork

East meets west in this beautifully designed Chork, a combination Chopstick/Fork just right for your next Asian Fusian meal. 

Chork  |  $17 for one, $30 for a pair at Laura Rittenhouse

Final Word: Chork, like a Spork, but better.

By Bryce Longton | March 26, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, Tabletop Design | Permalink | Comments (1)

Mousse Cups for Dessert

A shot glass of delicious, these delectable mousse cups come in three flavors: Crème Caramel, Double Chocolate and Cappuccino Chocolate.

Mousse Cups  |  $40 for 12 servings from Mackenzie Ltd.

By Bryce Longton | March 14, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bacon Alarm Clock

If you like waking up to the smell and sizzle of bacon frying in a pan, but you don’t want the hassle of getting up to cook it—this alarm clock is for you. The alarm works by slow cooking a piece of frozen bacon over a ten minute time period, allowing you the luxury of having breakfast in bed, every morning.

link: Wake 'N Bacon Project Site 

[via The Project Room]

By Bryce Longton | March 13, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

Edible Chess Pieces

These charming chess piece moulds make for a great dessert conversation piece.

link: Edible Chess Pieces Cookie Cutters

By Bryce Longton | March 12, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, Baking | Permalink | Comments (1)

Steel Wine Style

Some us wanted to grow up and be cowboys and samurais. Some of us are executives, have a green thumb and looking forward to the last lesson before becoming a pilot. No matter who you are, what you wanted to be, or your favorite thing in your life – your wine can play dress up to suit your days or your dreams, with H&K Steel Sculptors. H&K Steel Sculptors are a German import that allows your wine collection to really show off your personality while displaying your collection.

link: H & K Steel Sculptors @ Marcus Ashley Galleries

By Lilly Stein | March 9, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cutting Up Knives

Cutting Up Knives takes the regular table knife and repurposes it as a beautiful bottle opener. 

Final Word: Dad’s birthday is coming up…

link: Cutting Up Knives 

By Bryce Longton | March 5, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sporadic Wall Panel

Get abstract with this super cool wine wall panel from Modern Cellar. Just insert bottles into the randomly placed holes in the panel, twist occasionally to keep the cork moist and voila, instant, drinkable art.

Final Word: If all the wine gets drunk, is it still art?

Sporadic Wall Panel  |  $155 at Modern Cellar

By Bryce Longton | March 1, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wall Mounted Fruit Holder

Fruit makes for renewable, changeable, eatable, art with this wall mounted fruit holder. This porcelain ring holds plenty of apples, oranges, kiwis, or any other roundish variety of fruit. The ring is well ventilated and quite the space saver for those with limited counter/table space.

Final Word: Still life on the wall.

link:  The Ring Fruit Bowl 

By Bryce Longton | February 12, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (2)

Vinotagz ID's Your Wine Glasses

Unlike dangly little wine glass charms that can be confusing to claim after a glass or two--did I have the grape or the bottle charm?-- Vinotagz makes it easy and modern with their boxy wine glass rings.  The abstractly patterned rings slip on through a slight opening in the squared circle, and store neatly stacked on the neck of a wine bottle. To make it even easier, the rings are made to be written on with ballpoint pens, wiped and reused. They even do double duty as napkin rings.

Final Word: Square is the new circle

By Bryce Longton | January 27, 2007 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, All Things Wine, Parties & Entertaining | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tealight Tree Candelabra

Dress up your holiday table top with a little bit of nature with this silver finished tealight tree.

Tealight Tree Candelabra  |  $128 at Patina  

By Robert | December 9, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, Tabletop Design | Permalink | Comments (0)

Holiday Gift Guide

Hop on over to Yahoo! Food and check out our holiday gift guides -

• Coffee Table Books for the Cook and Foodie
• Coffee Machines for the Design Lover
• Hostess Gifts with the Mostest
• Is Tequila the New Cognac?

By Robert | December 7, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

December Picks from O Magazine

December's issue of O Magazine features some great foodie gift finds from Oprah.  Here's a selection of our favorites -

Drosselmeyer's Nutcracker Cone bring a contemporary look to their traditional Nutcracker Suite of nutcrackers.  

Blis Bourbon Barrel Maple Syrup is aged in specially selected twelve to eighteen year old single barrel bourbon casks.  Available in a maple syrup gift box packaged with their Tahitian vanilla infused version too.

Oprah also loves the rum cake from Rum Cake Fairy Dessert Company, citrus and herb flavored olive oils from O & Co., and the chocolate bars from Pierre Marcolini Chocolatier.

link: Oprah's O List

By Robert | November 25, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fast Chilling Wine Decanter

Rapid Cool, by Eisch, is not your ordinary decanter.  Store it in your freeze to cool the anti-freeze/water mixture in its inner walls, then decant your wine to chill it at the dinner table from room temperature to about 45 degrees fahrenheit in just minutes.

Eisch Rapid Wine Cooler  |  $150 from Wineware

By Robert | November 14, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, All Things Wine | Permalink | Comments (0)

Turning Oil and Vinegar on its Head

Dutch design studio, Jansen + Co, turns the traditional wine glass silhouette upside down and created a unique Oil and Vinegar Set.

Ming Oil and Vinegar Set  |  $28 at Elsewares 

By Robert | November 11, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

Anne Black's "black is blue" Porcelain Cups

Danish ceramic designer, Anne Black, created her new line "black is blue" to express "the beauty that comes from the inside" by handpainting blue flower patterns inside her cast porcelain pieces.

Anne Black Porcelain Cups  |  $24 each at PeekKeep 

By Robert | November 7, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, Tabletop Design | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gourmet Cakes Delivered to Your Doorstep

Now here is a great idea for a gift - Bake Me a Wish - a gourmet cake sent through the mail to your favorite person. All you have to do is specify the occasion and a delivery date, and your cake will be baked, decorated, and delivered.

This week, I was lucky enough to receive an unbelievably luscious rich chocolate mouse cake with fudgy rosettes in the mail from Bake Me a Wish, a New York based bakery that was founded in 2004. This has to be their most decadent offering, with the cake itself arriving in perfect order in an attractive gift box packed in a dry ice container, and they even put a message on the cake.

If chocolate cake is a bit rich for your tastes, there are plenty of others to choose from. These include the strawberry shortcake topped with whipped cream and Belgium white chocolate shavings or the vanilla bean layer cake with buttercream mousse.

link:  Bake Me A Wish

By Michael Hepworth | October 21, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, Special Delivery | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Moody Champagne Chiller

The Moodlight Champagne Chiller glows and changes color to your own programmed lighting scenarios through a control at the base.  Safe and waterproof, the chiller charges up to six hours away from its rechargeable base.

Mood Light Chiller  |  $184 at Unica Home 

By Robert | October 15, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, All Things Wine | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nesting Lotus Flower Bowls

The simple beauty of this set of 8 nesting lotus flower bowls is sure to find a place in your home and entertaining table.

Lotus Nesting Bowls  |  $89 at Koo de Kir 

By Robert | September 26, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, Parties & Entertaining | Permalink | Comments (0)

No Tip Wine Serving Tray

Glide easily through your mingling guests without fear of knocking over your tray of wine glasses with this Wine Tray from MuNiMulA.  Available in 9 different extruded aluminum colors.

UU22 Wine Tray  |   $98 at 2Modern.com

By Robert | September 7, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, All Things Wine | Permalink | Comments (0)

When two bottles are just not enough...

BuiltNY introduces a new three bottle wine tote to go with their growing neoprene bag line.

Three-bottle Tote  |  $29.99 at BuiltNY.com 

By Robert | September 2, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, All Things Wine | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tree of Life Serving Plate by Michael Aram

Set Michael Aram's Tree of Life platter on your tabletop at your next party, and your guests will know they're in for a special night.

Tree of Life Serving Plate  |  $115 at Michael Aram online

By Robert | August 8, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, Parties & Entertaining | Permalink | Comments (0)

New "Bon Appetit Cookbook" Pre-sales Soaring

Pre-orders for upcoming Bon Appetit Cookbook is best ever!

Our contact at eCookbooks reports that pre-orders for the new Bon Appetit Cookbook have set a new record for most copies sold before its release.  Due to ship on August 12th, seems like The Bon Appetit Cookbook has set the early pace for the hottest cookbook for the holiday season.  Yeah, I know, it's not even Labor Day yet, but pre-sales have already beaten last year's holiday bestseller, The Silver Spoon.

Our review will be coming soon, and all I know about the book is that it's over 800 pages filled with 1,200 of the most-loved recipes from the magazine 50 year history.  Author, Barbara Fairchild says,

"You can always tell a Bon Appétit? recipe: It's a sophisticated twist on a beloved classic, and it's easy to make...our goal is to give you the cumulative expertise of Bon Appétit, with more than 1,200 recipes that will be delicious, first time out."

Pre-order The Bon Appetit Cookbook for shipping on August 12th from eCookbooks at 40% off for $20.97.  Or purchase the cookbook and a one year subscription to Bon Appetit, you'll qualify for eCookbook's free shipping minimum.

By Robert | August 7, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, Cookbooks | Permalink | Comments (0)

Have Tea with a Noguchi Twist

Sculptor and artist, Isamu Noguchi, designed a tea cup in 1952 that was never put into production until 2002, when the line was "re-issued".  Available in two saucer designs, one as a stand and a larger version (shown above) to hold as a handle.

Noguchi Tea Cup Set  |  $55 - 65 per set at Velocity Art and Design  

By Robert | August 4, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, Parties & Entertaining | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sampler-size Starters are the Focus of Mustards Grill Cindy Pawlcyn's New Cookbook

Visitors to Napa Valley have either been to or heard of Mustards Grill, the long standing Napa Valley restaurant started by Cindy Pawlcyn over 20 years ago.  Big Small Plates is her new book featuring over 150 recipes of Pawlcyn's sampler-size starter dishes.  eCookbooks writes:

Cindy Pawlcyn, of Mustards Grill fame and the author of the acclaimed Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook does it again.  Big Small Plates is here, and what a joy it is.  Customers of Mustards Grill have long been making meals of the sampler-size starters, the premise of this book.  Here are generously scaled recipes with less fuss and more flavor than traditional appetizers.  And, to whet your whistle, the recipe for Grilled "Street" Corn appears below.  Also in this week, James Oseland's Cradle of Flavor. Home Cooking from the Spice Islands of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.  Oseland is the executive editor of Saveur, and his book is infused with not only the recipes of the region, but with a writing style that joyously invites you to celebrate the food, the region, and the people.

Get Big Small Plates at eCookbooks for $21.00 (40% off).

Also available is Pawlcyn's Mustards Grill: Napa Vally Cookbook awarded the James Beard's Best American Cookbook in 2002.

By Robert | August 2, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, Chef Books, Cookbooks | Permalink | Comments (0)
Search Related Tags: napa valley

See the Beauty of Honey Highlighted by BeeRaw

BeeRaw packages a line of artisinal honeys in a collection of clear vials to show off the color range of different honey varietals.  Founder, Anne Becker, first started Bee Raw simply because she thought the transluscent coloring was so beautiful.  Today, her company is committed to suppporting the community of small scale beekeepers in the United States who are passionate about artisanal honey.

The four pack gift set of honey varietals include orange blossom, raspberry, blueberry and cranberry.  Individual honeys are also available in 8 oz. bottles.

BeeRaw Varietal Honey Gift Set  |  $45 for 4 vials - $78 for 9 vials

[via Bon Appetit, August 2006] 

By Robert | July 20, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

Stainless Steel Melamine Bowls help with hot and cold mixing

By Robert | May 13, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, Kitchen Essentials | Permalink | Comments (0)

Low Cholesterol Crab Cakes by Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay Crab Cakes features a American Heart Association certified crab cakes as part of their offerings.  Using no salt cracker crumbs, no salt worcestershire sauce, and no fat mayonnaise, Chesapeake has crafted a crab cake that is low in saturated fat and cholesterol.  Might be worth a try if you're craving crab and want some guilt free indulgence.

8 Crab Cakes - AHA certified  |  $62 at Chesapeake Crab Cakes 

By Robert | April 4, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

Daily Olive Shopping Guide

KITCHEN
	Sur la Table
	Cooking.com
	Chefs.com
	Food Network
COOKBOOKS
	eCookbooks.com Save up to 40% off on bestselling cookbooks

By Robert | March 22, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ina Garten launches the Barefoot Contessa Pantry

Author and Food Network hostess, Ina Garten, has launched the Barefoot Contessa Pantry with specialty food producer, Stonewall Kitchen.  The exuberant chef with the down-to-earth cooking style has recently completed overseeing the development and production of this line of products that includes preserves, baking mixes, savory and dessert sauces and more. Each recipe has been carefully created from Ina’s tried and true favorites from her four cookbooks.

Continue reading "Ina Garten launches the Barefoot Contessa Pantry"

By Robert | March 3, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, Food | Permalink | Comments (9)
Search Related Tags: cupcakes

Hip Wine Glasses: Stack 'em Up

Stackable wine glasses? It's new to us, but we think they're pretty cool looking. These stackable acrylic wine glasses from Crate and Barrel can spruce up any party. They come in green, blue (pictured), and clear and are much hipper than any plastic ones you can buy. And just a bit more sophisticated, don't you think?

By Michelle Alderson | March 3, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, All Things Wine, Parties & Entertaining | Permalink | Comments (0)

Oscar Party: Star Cookies

Can't make the Governor's Ball this year? Sure, the big stars may get Wolfgang Puck's chocolate Oscars, but you can have custom-made sweets for your own Oscar night party. Eleni's New York creates frosted shortbread cookies decorated with the Best Actress and Best Actor nominees, and fun cut outs for all the Best Picture noms. A tin of 18 cookies costs $58.50 (for actresses and actors); the Best Picture tin is $65. Last year, although he didn't win an award, we found Johnny Depp to be especially tasty.

Check out elenis.com for more info

By Lesley Balla | February 27, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

Chop Chop - a Cutting Board and Serving Tray

Vessel's Chop Chop Cutting board is a pair of bamboo cutting boards that can also be a serving tray for two.  Perfect from kitchen to table.

Chop Chop Tray  |  $76 at DesignPublic

By Robert | February 20, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (1)

Got $1,000? Why Not Try a Golden Opulence Sundae?

I know. It sounds crazy: $1,000 for an ice cream sundae? But, the sundae is The Grand Opulence Sundae from famed Serendipity of New York City and it's made up of the best of the best.  According to the restaurant, they sell approximately one a month, so apparently, quite a few people have some money to indulge in such opulence.

The Golden Opulence Sundae, the "World's most expensive sundae", was created to celebrate Serendipity's 50th Anniversay last year. (If you are paying attention, the 50th anniversary is the "golden" anniversary. Get it?)

Made with "5 scoops of the richest Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream infused with Madagascar vanilla and covered in 23K edible gold leaf, the sundae is drizzled with the world's most expensive chocolate, Amedei Porceleana, and covered with chunks of rare Chuao chocolate, which is from cocoa beans harvested by the Caribbean Sea on Venezuela's coast. The masterpiece is suffused with exotic candied fruits from Paris, gold dragets, truffles and Marzipan Cherries. It is topped with a tiny glass bowl of Grand Passion Caviar, an exclusive dessert caviar, made of salt-free American Golden caviar, known for its sparkling golden color. It's sweetened and infused with fresh passion fruit, orange and Armagnac. The sundae is served in a baccarat Harcourt crystal goblet with an 18K gold spoon to partake in the indulgenceserved with a petite mother of pearl spoon and topped with a gilded sugar flower by Ron Ben-Israel."

Wow. Now that's spectacular. Worth $1,000? Well, I'd like to find out, if only I can get out of paying my rent this month...

Visit Serendipity's website www.serendipity3.com for more information.

By Michelle Alderson | February 10, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, Desserts & Other Sweets, Valentine's Day | Permalink | Comments (40)

Curious George Lunch Box Gift "Basket"

Remember growing up reading about your favorite mischievous monkey, Curious George?  With the opening of the new Curious George movie, a whole grown-up generation is reminded of one of our favorite childhood memories.  For all of us and our friends, NY's DEAN & DELUCA is offering two special Curious George gift baskets packed into a classic metal lunch box.  One basket is packed with snacks and candy, and the second is a filled with fixings for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  It's bound to bring back memories to your lucky chosen recipient.

By Robert | February 10, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (2)

Top Ten Valentine's Day Gifts

1. Valentine Pez. Need we say more?
2. Strip chocolate board game. We're not sure how the rules work here, but chocolate with anything is a bonus.
3. Red Heart Casserole from Le Creuset. They make some of the best products around.
4. Valentine fortune cookie. You get to choose what fortune will be in the cookie. Nice.
5. Chocolate dipped Oreos. Chocolate + Oreos = yum.
6. Heart-shaped candy dish. A great gift for the person who loves to throw parties.
7. Fun foodie T-shirt. Love it. May have to buy it ourselves.
8. Wine tote in red. It's practical for wine lovers and perfect for V-day.
9.