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Wine and Cheese Gift Baskets – Three Steps to Worry Free Gift Giving

October 29th, 2009 Janell Oakes No comments
Wine and cheese gift baskets make elegant holiday gifts, and you don’t have to be a wine expert to give them.  Use the tips I offer below to create perfect wine and cheese gift baskets for any occasion, made more personal by tailoring the type of wine to the individual or group receiving it.  Whether giving wine and cheese gift baskets to clients, neighbors, or that special someone, they are personal and versatile gifts that can accommodate just about any budget.
The Basics of Wine and Cheese Gift Baskets – Step One: Style Alert
The first thing you want to do when putting together personalized wine and cheese baskets is think about who you’re giving to and choose wines that fit their style and are appropriate to the occasion.  Then consider which cheese pairs best with your wine choice (don’t panic – this is easier than it sounds!).  The gold standard for pairing wine with cheese is simple: Serve red wine with hard cheese (such as an Aged Cheddar, Vintage Gouda, or Parmesan) and white wine with soft (think Brie, Muenster, or Goat Cheese). You can follow this guideline and never go wrong but for some stand-out combinations, consider these suggestions:
When invited by friends or family to a traditional holiday meal, I like to thank my hosts with wine and cheese baskets that compliment the classic turkey dinner.  Two wines that never fail to please are Gewurztraminer and Bordeaux.  These pair well with Havarti, which is a relatively mild cheese with broad appeal.  Most people think of corporate gifts as stale and generic so, to create memorable wine and cheese baskets for clients, I like to go beyond the typical (without going too far out on a limb).  Rather than the typical Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay with Cheddar, try regional combinations such as Spanish Tempranillo and Albarino with Manchego.  For friends with a sweet tooth, send them wine and cheese gift baskets with a nice Muscato, which stands up beautifully to the salty flavor of Gorgonzola.  There are also those occasions that call for all out decadence.  Celebrate those moments with Champagne and something rich and creamy like Triple Creme Brie or Chevre.
Personalized Wine and Cheese Gift Baskets – Step Two: Location, Location, Location
Personalizing a wine and cheese gift basket by highlighting a location is another easy way to make your gift special.  Evoke memories of a romantic get away by giving your significant other a bottle from the same region as a favorite vacation, or welcome newcomers to the neighborhood with wine and cheese baskets featuring local wares.  Even if your area isn’t known for wine, you may be surprised by what’s available.  In inhospitable climates, people have been making fruit wines for years. More recently, winemakers across the country have begun sourcing their grapes from better growing regions and producing amazing local products.
Creative Wine and Cheese Gift Baskets – Step Three: The Label Link
Perhaps the easiest way to take wine and cheese gift baskets out of the generic gift category is to look for a label that has meaning to you or the people on your list.  Winemakers have gotten increasingly creative with their labels in recent years.  Look for bottles with a splashy image or catchy name. For instance, my brother works for a company who’s logo includes an image of a griffin.  In the wine and cheese gift baskets he put together for his clients, he included a bottle of Grifone Sangiovese to reinforce that image.  For the wine and cheese gift baskets I gave to my favorite group of girlfriends, I chose a sassy label picturing a 1950’s era femme fatale and included an invitation to a much needed girls-night-out.
Take these ideas and run with them.  No matter what the occasion, wine and cheese gift baskets make fantastic gifts as long as you get a little creative and keep it personal.
Categories: Gift Baskets, Gourmet Food Gifts Tags: , , ,

Secret Restaurant Recipes for the Holidays

October 27th, 2009 Janell Oakes No comments

My favorite restaurant recipes have become my secret weapon for family holiday meals. It started innocently enough. I was throwing a Halloween party for the neighborhood and was looking for some adult-friendly treats. As usual, I started with an internet search and ran across a website full of free restaurant recipes. In no time, I found a recipe for Appleby’s Caramel Appletini. Perfect! Needless to say, the cocktails were a big hit. Not only were they seasonal and fun, but they were so easy to throw together. In fact, the hardest part was the moment when the compliments started rolling in. I had to decide: should I give Appleby’s the credit for the recipe or just smile, nod and offer an oh-so humble, “Thanks. I’m so glad you like them!” As you can probably guess, I did what any self-respecting Martha Stewart wanna-be would do. I kept the credit for myself (after all, I was clever enough to find the free restaurant recipes website. That should count for something, right?).

I thought it would be a one time thing, but the very next week my family was invited to have Thanksgiving dinner at my perfect sister-in-law’s house. Don’t get me wrong, my sister-in-law is a lovely person. She’s kind, has an infectious laugh, and a wicked sense of humor. But with hardly any effort at all, she can throw together a five-course meal that would make Julia Child swoon. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, she split up the cooking duties by assigning a different dish to each family invited. My assignment: sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes?! Intimidated by the thought of coming up with a dish that would be traditional, yet creative enough to stand up to the rest of the meal, I found myself heading to the computer. Once again, the secret restaurant recipes site delivered, this time in the form of Ruth’s Chris Sweet Potato Casserole. And, once again, I humbly accepted rave reviews.

By December, I was hooked. I downloaded secret restaurant recipes for Joe’s Crab Shack’s Crab Dip and knocked the socks off of everyone at the office holiday party. My parents came to our house for Christmas and I hit the free restaurant recipes site again, this time for The Cheesecake Factory’s Pumpkin Cheesecake. On and on, into 2009 I found secret restaurant recipes for every family holiday and event. Bake sale at the kids’ school? No problem! How about delectable, homemade peanut butter cookies, thanks to the free restaurant recipes from Mrs. Field’s? A Mardi Gras Party? What fun! I’d be happy to bring jambalaya rice (a la free restaurant recipes form Houlihan’s). For July fourth, I found Ruby Tuesday’s secret restaurant recipes and helped myself to their mouthwatering apple pie recipe. I think that’s when my husband started to suspect something was up. As he cut into the perfectly flaky crust, I saw him glance my way with suspicion in his eyes. The next day, with a heavy heart, I deleted the free restaurant recipes folder from my favorites list and promised myself that the apple pie would have to be my grand finale. By August, I thought I’d kicked the habit for good. But now, holiday time is drawing near again and the neighbors are starting to clamor for “My” Famous Caramel Appletinis. One more time couldn’t hurt…. let’s just keep this our little secret.

–Janell Leigh Oakes

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Categories: Healthy Restaurants Reviews, Restaurant Recipes Reviews, Secret Restaurant Recipes Tags: , , , , , ,