COOKING GIFT BASKETS
It seems that every time we look on the internet for cooking gift baskets, almost every page that pops up is about barbecue gift baskets. Now, there's nothing wrong with these, and we will most likely add one or two to this page in time, but that's just not what we usually think of when we think about cooks, cooking, and cooking gift baskets! (Maybe it's because we're based in the Northeast, but probably only about one fiftieth of the meals we cook over the course of the year are done on the grill.)
Do you know someone who just loves to cook? Or perhaps you need a gift for somebody who's just learning how to cook. In either case, our cooking gift baskets are sure to hit the spot! One of our family members successfully finished an intensive course in the culinary arts and his Christmas gift that year was a big cooking gift basket, filled with gourmet cooking ingredients and implements.
The cooking gift basket is one of my own favorites since I've been interested in cooking just about all of my life. I started at about the age of seven and am still just as intrigued with nifty kitchen gadgets and new recipes, not to mention the gourmet ingredients from all over the world that are becoming more readily available.
The designs on this page are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what we can design for your own special cook. Just let us know what kind of cooking gift basket you have in mind and we'll be happy to work with you.
THE "KISS THE COOK" GIFT BASKET
Whether an accomplished cook or a beginner, anyone who likes to cook will appreciate this cooking gift basket. It's packed with herbs and whole spices, including a gourmet quality whole vanilla bean.
As every good cook knows, whole spices retain their flavor longer than the ground variety generally found in the grocery store aisle. Some spices, like the whole cumin seed in this cooking gift basket, also benefit from being roasted in a dry pan just before being ground for use. (I find that a small cast iron skillet works well for this.) The mortar and pestle included in this basket is the perfect tool to prepare spices and herbs just prior to use in any favorite recipe.
Speaking from experience, there's no such thing as too many cookbooks ----- so we've included one here! (Please note that we will vary the cookbooks. Most people would probably not appreciate a soup cookbook in August, for instance.)
Just think, this is a gift that keeps on giving as not only the recipient, but friends and family will benefit from the savory treats cooked up with the ingredients in this gift basket.
$50.00 Add To Cart
THE PASTA GIFT BASKET
Let's be honest now, who doesn't like pasta? Our pasta cooking gift basket comes in a stainless steel colander instead of a woven basket. It will come in handy time after time and will remind the recipient of your thoughtfulness long after the delicious contents have been eaten. (To get a closer view of this cooking gift basket, just click on the pictures.)
We can personally vouch for the gourmet flavored pastas and sauce mixes as we've tested several at home. The gourmet bread sticks and Italian cookies help round out the meal. This basket also comes with a pasta fork which is very useful during cooking and for serving. Even the "decorations" in this pasta cooking gift basket are useful since they are actually decorative picks which would work wonderfully on an antipasto tray. Mangia!
$45.00 Add To Cart
The "BAKERY IN A BASKET"
This is the biggest basket in our cooking gift basket line. If someone on your gift list dreams of becoming a great pastry chef or just loves to whip up a batch of scrumptious brownies for the school bake sale, you can't go wrong with this gift! The basket contains a long tapered pastry rolling pin (the kind you see in all the cooking programs on television) and a silicone mat for stick-free baking (and easy clean-up!) of delicate pastries and cookies. Other contents include two beautiful nested cookie cutter sets, an icing set and extra icing bag, a zester, a hand grater, a wire whisk, a silicone spatula, and a mini edition of the Silver Palate Desserts cookbook. In addition to all of this you will find a whole vanilla bean and either a generous bar of gourmet dark chocolate or a container of unsweetened cocoa. )We don't ship chocolate during the hot weather unless you want to make special arrangements for ice packs and express shipping. Since this particular cooking gift basket is so large, we're afraid that the express shipping charge would be astronomical!)
You can click on the images above to see a larger pictures of our Bakery Basket both unwrapped and all dressed up with printed cellophane, ribbons, and sprigs of wheat (after all, what would our bakers do without flour?)
If you'd rather have this cooking gift basket decorated in a holiday or personal theme, just let us know. We can also create a smaller basket with some of the above items if you'd prefer. Please contact us and we'll be glad to work with you!
$85.00 Add To Cart
HAIL TO THE CHEF
Have you been to a really good restaurant lately? Did the wait staff leave you to season your food with a shaker of old tasteless ground pepper, or did they come to the table with a pepper grinder? Any good cook knows that there's a world of difference between that dry dead stuff that you get in the supermarket and aromatic freshly ground pepper. I recently threw out a can of that pre-ground stuff that's been hanging around in my kitchen as I don't even use it when a recipe calls for a measured amount of pepper. I just grab my trusty peppermill and grind what I need. That's why there's a Mr. Dudley peppermill filled with peppercorns, front and center in our Hail to the Chef cooking gift basket. (Just click on the images to get an elarged picture.)
Besides this "Chef's Secret", this cooking gift basket is stuffed with useful kitchen gadgets such as a citrus reamer, a mushroom brush, melon baller, an easy opening corkscrew, a whisk, a terra cotta garlic keeper, and an instant read meat thermometer. I find the thermometer especially useful as it can even be easily re-calibrated if it ever stops showing the correct temperature.
The wooden box provides a handy place to store favorite recipes. In the back of the basket are two new additions to the modern kitchen. They are called "potholder plus" by the manufacturer because they are kitchen multi-taskers. Made of silicone, they can withstand up to 600 degrees, thus they are perfectly suited for use as potholders. They may also be used as trivets, sink stoppers, jar openers and to quickly peel garlic!
To add a little spice to the kitchen, we've also included a bottle of herb-infused oil and a packet of real vanilla beans. We felt that the silver bay leaves were the perfect enhancement for a cooking gift basket and they add that needed bit of sparkle.
$65.00 Add To Cart
GOOD MORNING!
Is there a "Morning Person" on your gift list? If so, this is probably the perfect choice in a cooking gift basket.
In keeping with our "More bang for your buck" philosophy, we have built this gift "basket" around a crepe pan instead of putting the foods into a woven basket. You will not only be supplying the pancake mix, but the pan to cook the pancakes in as well. In addition to the blueberry pancake mix, this gift contains dried wild blueberries, real maple syrup, maple candy, gourmet cocoa, and Wolfgang Puck coffee.
$38.00 Add To Cart
PIZZA PARTY!
Please don't think that because this cooking gift "basket" is so far down the page that it isn't a great find! We're betting that in time it will become a "best seller". After all, this one will even appeal to teen-agers (and they are notoriously hard to find gifts for --- well, at least gifts that don't require a second mortgage.) As you can see, there's no actual basket involved in our pizza gift. Instead, the pizza "kit" which contains the dough mix, sauce spice mix, and a can of tomato paste, pizza wheel, mozzarella cheese, oregano, and olives are assembled on top of a pizza "peel". If you've never seen one of these before, we can tell you from experience that it is a fantastic tool. The board is sprinkled with cornmeal and the pizza dough is formed into the crust on top of it. After making sure that the dough is not sticking anywhere, the sauce and toppings are added and the entire pizza can then be slid from the peel straight onto the preheated pizza stone.
We did not include a pizza stone in this gift because they are heavy and also prone to crack during shipping. They are readily available in most areas of the US, so if your intended recipient doesn't already have one, he or she can easily find one. As a matter of fact, thoroughly rinsed unglazed quarry tiles, available at "do-it-yourself" shops such as Home Depot, will work just as well.
We believe in testing what we put in our gift baskets, so I took one of these home and gave it a try. We all thoroughly enjoyed this test! I've made home-made pizza before (and actually already owned a pizza stone), but before this I had always had to put the dough on a pan or cookie sheet. The crust is so much better and more authentic when baked directly on the stone.
Who do you know that would really appreciate this cooking gift basket? (Those who wouldn't would likely be on the very short list!) Make them happy for only $48.00.
$48.00 Add To Cart
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