Our Favorite Foodie Gifts

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Happy Cyber Monday! We thought we would share some of our favorite gifts and products for your favorite foodie friends if you are still doing some shopping this holiday season. Most of our friends and family love cooking as much as we do, and for the people in our lives that don’t cook, who doesn’t love being a certified taste tester? Below is a list we have compiled of some of our favorite finds this holiday season. We are trying to shop small this year, and posted in our Instagram stories yesterday about some of our favorite small owned businesses. We have included those links below in case you missed it.

A recipe from Milk Street: Tuesday Nights – one of our favorite cookbooks.

Cookbooks

  • Ina Garten – Modern Comfort Food – A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook – This is Ina Garten’s newest cookbook. There is nothing we don’t love about the Barefoot Contessa
  • Milk Street – Tuesday Nights – We were gifted this cookbook from a friend and have loved every. single. recipe. This is the cookbook to help get you out of a cooking rut and mix up your everyday cooking repertoire. The recipes have a lot of Asian influences and are broken into categories like “fast, faster, and fastest” so that you aren’t in over your head when dinner needs to be on the table in a hurry. We have purchased this book several times for others as gifts and will continue to do so throughout the holiday season.
  • Downtime: Deliciousness at Home: A Cookbook – this is a cookbook by Nadine Redzepi. She is the wife of Rene Redzepi, the head chef of Noma in Copenhagen, which is ranked year after year as one of the best restaurants in the world. What does a person make for dinner when your husband makes some of the best food in the world? Some pretty spectacular recipes, it turns out. This is a great gift for people who are into cooking and are willing to spend some time in the kitchen. She uses simple techniques and deluxe ingredients to give a fresh spin on “home cooking”.
Bagels from Primrose and Poppy, located in the Denver Tech Center

Small Business and Local Favorites for Our Denver Readers

  • Robin’s Bakehouse – Robin makes the best cakes and cookies in Denver, CO. She was the baker for both of our amazing rehearsal dinner and wedding cakes.
  • Primrose & Poppy Bagel – If you are in the Denver Tech Center, check out Primrose & Poppy Bagel. This couple has turned quarantine into a business opportunity making fresh, steamed bagels. They are offering gift baskets over the holidays making the perfect gift for Hanukkah.
  • Quantum Cream – This snack is the perfect stocking stuffer. This is freeze dried, dairy – free ice cream that eats similarly to ice cream. It is mess free for all you busy moms looking to give your kids a treat!
  • Foxbloom Coffee – Coffee that is locally roasted in Seattle. There are a ton of unique options for different flavors and endless information on coffee culture and process.
  • Kream Kimchi Co – Another Covid company, Kream Kimchi is bottling up the owner’s families recipe with both traditional and vegan options.
  • Infinite Monkey Theorem – One of our favorite Denver based wineries. You can get wine in cans which we find to be the most jolly of stocking stuffers for your friends 21 and over.
  • Craft Alley – A unique collection of craft beers that you can have shipped to your house. Not sure where to start? They offer a monthly membership which includes 4 personalized beers selections.
  • Goody GetRight – Fresh baked bread and pastries delivered locally in Denver, CO. Watch this website closely as they take orders weekly and tend to sell out pretty quickly. They also sell a variety of plants which would make great gifts for your green-thumbed friends.
  • Blonde Beards Buffalo – A first of its kind craft buffalo sauce. We discovered this brand at a farmers market and have been obsessed ever since. Great flavor and the perfect amount of punch. This is a great stocking stuffer for those you know who love a little heat.
The lineup from Infinite Monkey Theorem – a perfect stocking stuffer!

Experiences

While the days of traveling for the sake of good food seem like a distant memory, there are some great experiences and products that you can gift your foodie friends to help bring the best of the food world into the comforts of home.

  • Goldbelly – one of our favorite food gifts to give loved ones for special occasions. Goldbelly is a food ordering service that ships delicacies from around the country. Missed out on that trip to Portland, Maine this year? You can have lobster rolls shipped to your doorstep from some of the best restaurants in New England. Craving barbecue from Kansas City? Banana Pudding from Magnolia Bakery in NYC? These are just a few of the gifts we have given during quarantine and they have always been a big hit. You can schedule a delivery for a fun date night in, or give a gift card so that your recipient can indulge on the date of their choosing.
  • Master Class– a great gift for someone who is looking to level up their culinary skills while they are at home. Master Class brings some of the world’s best chefs into our kitchens at home for a detailed, twelve segment cooking course on the the subjects they specialize in. Some of the chefs featured include Gordon Ramsey, Thomas Keller, Dominique Ansel, and Alice Waters. They have reformatted the way that classes are purchased, which means you can gift a full year of access to the program instead of narrowing down to just one featured chef. They have new classes like wine appreciation, cocktail mixology, and even gardening, so there is something for everyone!
Kansas City Joe’s BBQ – a gift to our dad for his birthday from Goldbelly

Gadgets, Cookware, & Home

  • Uncommon Goods– a great shop for unique serving pieces, customizable items, and unique gifts. This is a great place to start shopping if you are in a rut with people on your list. They particularly have great ideas for the men in our lives, which we tend to struggle gifting. We have our eyes on their cheese boards, tea drops, and barbecue accessories for gifts we are giving this year.
  • The Instant Pot – we love our Instant Pots and have used them in a number of recipes for Tuck & Tate in the past year. They go on mega sale this time of year on Amazon and are a good gift for any foodies in your life. We also suggest pairing the Instant Pot with an Instant Pot Cookbook– even an experienced cook will need some guidance getting familiar with a new cooking device, and this really helps ease the transition so that they get good results right away!
  • Food52 – another go-to for some of the prettiest kitchen products on the market like these non-stick pans. Food52 has recently collaborated with Nordstrom, so if you are a cardholder there, you can pick up these products and get extra shopping points.

Some of our favorite cheese boards, available at Uncommon Goods.

9 Produce Items You Can Buy Fresh & Freeze

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We wanted to expand our content among the outbreaks of the coronavirus to help you for future trips to the grocery store. It is shocking and even overwhelming to go to the grocery store and see aisles completely empty. After doing some research at a few grocery stores, we have found that people are buying more freezer items than fresh which makes sense when one is considering foods to have on hand for weeks. Below we have a list of items that you can buy fresh and freeze successfully anytime of year, particularly if the peak of a vegetable’s produce season is coming to an end. The key to freezing any fresh fruit or vegetable is to place the item on a cookie sheet in an even layer in your freezer. Freezing the produce this way helps alleviate giants clumps of veggies being stuck together.

1. Berries Berries are a great item to buy fresh and freeze, in fact we often do this during normal grocery weeks to have make ahead smoothies. Tips for Freezing: wash the berries and pat them down dry with a kitchen towel. Remove any stems with a knife (strawberries in particular) and halve or quarter the berries if necessary. Line a cookie sheet with saran wrap and place the berries in an even layer. After they are frozen solid (about 2 hours) they can be moved to a freezer bag or tupperware container. Frozen berries are great in smoothies, pies and desserts, or can be heated with oatmeal for breakfasts.
2. Fresh BananasFrozen bananas are another great option for smoothies and milkshakes. You can even make healthy ice cream with them! Tips for Freezing: remove the peels from the bananas and slice into large bite sized pieces. Place on a cookie sheet or in an even layer in a freezer bag and freeze for at least 2 hours before transferring to a container.

Vegetables Freezing fresh vegetables involves an extra step, but if you’re strapped for good vegetable options in the next few weeks it will be more than worth a few extra minutes in the kitchen. Vegetables need to be trimmed, blanched in boiling water, shocked in ice water, and patted dry with a kitchen towel before freezing. Here are the steps:

  1. Heat a large pot of water and bring to a boil.
  2. Have a second large bowl of ice water sitting in your kitchen sink for after boiling.
  3. Trim and dice the vegetables according to the directions below.
  4. Put the vegetables in the boiling water. The easiest way to transfer the veggies is to have them in a basket or strainer in the boiling water. Boil the veggies for 3-5 minutes depending on how large you have cut the pieces (tips below). For every minute you have them in the boiling water, keep them in the ice water for the same amount of time. Strain the veggies very well and pat dry on a towel.
  5. Place the vegetables on a cookie sheet in a single layer and into the freezer for 2 hours before putting in a freezer safe bag or container. This helps keep the vegetables separate from one another for portioning so that you don’t have clumps of vegetables stuck to one another.
  6. Store the frozen fruits and vegetables in an airtight container for freezer bag. The veggies can last for many months if prepared correctly.

3 & 4: Broccoli and CauliflowerCut the broccoli or cauliflower into bite sized florets, discarding any leaves. The stems can also be cut into similar sizes and frozen if you wish to keep them. Boil for 3-4 minutes and then move to an ice bath.

5: CarrotsFresh carrots are great frozen. Peel the carrots and remove the stems. Slice into your desired size pieces and repeat the same boil and ice bath steps above. Boil and ice the carrots for 3 minutes if you are cutting them into bite-sized pieces, closer to 7 minutes if you plan to keep the carrots whole. If you want to save even more time with this, buy baby carrots and boil as they are!

6: Corn On the CobYou can buy fresh corn on the cob and freeze it both on the cob or freeze the kernels removed from the cob. Corn kernels can be used for stir fry, folding into cornbread mix, and mixed into casseroles. Regardless of the final product, you will need to blanch the corn in boiling water and put it in an ice bath. Follow the same steps above but with the following modifications:

  • If you plan to boil the corn and remove the kernels, boil corn for 3 minutes and ice bath for 3 minutes. Pat the corn dry and remove the kernels with a knife.Place in an even layer on a cookie sheet and freeze for at least 1 hour before transferring to a freezer bag or container.
  • If you plan to freeze the corn on the cob and keep the corn on the cob, boil the corn for 7 minutes, ice bath for 7 minutes. Dry the corn well and place in a freezer bag in an even layer. Freeze for at least 2 hours before transferring, if you plan to do that.

7: AsparagusRemove the thick, chalky stems from the asparagus with a knife. You can then chop the remaining asparagus into bite-sized pieces or leave the stalks whole, depending on how you prefer to eat them later. Boil and ice the asparagus for 2-4 minutes depending on the thickness of the asparagus.
8: Brussels SproutsRemove the stems from the brussels sprouts and any wilted leaves on the outside of each sprout. If you want to freeze the brussels sprouts whole, boil and ice them for 3-5 minutes depending on how large they are. If you want to cut them in halves or quarters, boil and ice them for 2-4 minutes. If you want to shave them, boil and ice for 1-2 minutes. Make sure they are dried very well before freezing!
9: Sweet PotatoesWash the sweet potatoes and scrub them to remove any dirt. Sweet potatoes will freeze better with the skin on, so you want them to be clean. Slice the potatoes as you would prefer to eat them: fries, wedges, large chopped pieces. Boil and ice the potatoes for 8-12 minutes depending on the size you cut them into. The potatoes are ready for the ice when they are just fork tender. You do not want them to be mushy, so err on under cooking them before over cooking them!