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Forum -> Relationships -> Giving Gifts
Idea for a Foodie



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queenert




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jun 18 2015, 2:26 pm
A foodie friend is getting married and I want to give something original (and budget friendly).
I had two ideas so far:
A) Some kind of gourmet food package - any recommendations of good vendors?
B) A personal chef for the night. I heard of one company that had kosher chefs but can't remember the details.

Any other ideas?
TIA!
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PassionFruit




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jun 18 2015, 2:29 pm
love the idea of b--you can make a whole party with her good friends, great idea. my parents did this for their 40th anniversary, both my parents are major foodies. it was amazing!
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blossoming




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jun 18 2015, 4:20 pm
what is a foody friend?
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Raisin




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jun 18 2015, 4:32 pm
you could also give kitchen implements that only a foodie would use. Or a gift voucher to a very good restaurant. Maybe one with a tasting menu.

I like the food basket idea. Maybe give condiments and spices that she would need for her kitchen. You can always buy some type of container and make up the basket yourself. You can include a cookbook, and some small kitchen items if you want.
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gittelchana




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jun 18 2015, 4:35 pm
queenert wrote:
A foodie friend is getting married and I want to give something original (and budget friendly).
I had two ideas so far:
A) Some kind of gourmet food package - any recommendations of good vendors?
B) A personal chef for the night. I heard of one company that had kosher chefs but can't remember the details.

Any other ideas?
TIA!


I think a high quality cooking utensil with a nice note will be appreciated.
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Amarante




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jun 18 2015, 4:41 pm
Does she already have a kitchen so you are augmenting or is she starting from scratch.

Also, is she a "foodie" who likes to cook or one who just likes to eat.

Some really special cookbooks - you may or may not know what her collection contains. They don't have to be kosher cookbooks because to a foodie who likes to cook, cookbooks are fascinating reading and most contain recipes that are adaptable. Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi is one that has the whole foodie world in a tizzy and some people are cooking their way through it like people did with Julia Child.

A collection of interesting spices from a place like penzeys. No foodie who likes to cook ever has enough first rate spices.

Interesting bakeware - I.e. Bundt pans or mini Bundt pans in pretty shapes. If she is a baker, a beautiful cake stand. If she likes to make cookies, there are places that sell fantastic cookie cutters as well as stuff to decorate with.

A REALLY REALLY good pan (depending on budget). Both my friend and I SWEAR by our 14" skillet.
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FranticFrummie




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jun 18 2015, 5:02 pm
I'm BT, and I spend a lot of time trying to track down all of my favorite foods from before I started keeping kosher, so I understand what it's like to be a foodie!

Does your friend like to cook? Depending on where they live, kosher "ethnic foods" can be impossible to find.

I love to cook Indian food, and the Rani brand of spices has a KSA hecksher. Maybe you can go on Amazon and order her an assortment?

There are kosher brands of Chinese cooking sauces, too. (If anyone knows of kosher Thai spices, I'd be eternally grateful. Everything seems to require shrimp paste.)

More and more sushi ingredients are getting hekshers, including nori wraps, wasabi, and pickled ginger.

Bartanura has a Reserve Blend of balsamic vinegar that is way better than their standard bottle (but still not as good as genuine Italian balsamic.)

Will post more as I think about it.
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Raisin




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jun 18 2015, 5:31 pm
I think one or two really great pots is a good idea.
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33055




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jun 18 2015, 6:08 pm
FranticFrummie wrote:
I'm BT, and I spend a lot of time trying to track down all of my favorite foods from before I started keeping kosher, so I understand what it's like to be a foodie!

Does your friend like to cook? Depending on where they live, kosher "ethnic foods" can be impossible to find.

I love to cook Indian food, and the Rani brand of spices has a KSA hecksher. Maybe you can go on Amazon and order her an assortment?

There are kosher brands of Chinese cooking sauces, too. (If anyone knows of kosher Thai spices, I'd be eternally grateful. Everything seems to require shrimp paste.)

More and more sushi ingredients are getting hekshers, including nori wraps, wasabi, and pickled ginger.

Bartanura has a Reserve Blend of balsamic vinegar that is way better than their standard bottle (but still not as good as genuine Italian balsamic.)

Will post more as I think about it.

http://thai.food.com/recipe/th.....55913

If you try this, please tell me if it tastes authentic. I love cooking ethnic, but I don't know if it is authentic. Even if I copy the kosher places that's no guarantee. In Monsey they serve sushi with ketchup.
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queenert




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jun 24 2015, 5:36 am
Thank you all!
Decisions, decisions...
The personal chef idea is over budget Sad.
So now I'm torn between a really good cookbook and the gourmet basket idea.
Maybe I'll do both as Raisin suggested.

I'm just hesitant cuz I'd have said I was a foodie and I still am but who has time once they're married? And then morning sickness and actual children...
So I want a cookbook that can dazzle but can also be practical.

Jerusalem got me thinking of Plenty and Plenty More which I think fulfill the dazzle but practical needs. Am I right? Anyone have them?
I so want to see a TOC! Maybe Steinmetzky has them...

Any other cookbook suggestions? She's paleo so nothing too heavy on the grains but I don't want a just-paleo cookbook.
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queenert




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jun 24 2015, 6:19 am
One more idea: subscription to Cook's Illustrated.
I just hate that it's so ugly. (She's a graphic designer.) Would it really kill them to hire a stylist in addition to their 'real chefs' and print in color?
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Amarante




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jun 24 2015, 8:35 am
Is she a good cook or do you want something with basics. The Cooks Illustrated cookbooks have some great ones for crockpots. The recipes are practical but produce much better results than the standard dump in the pot type of recipe. Theynare also fairly meat centric.

I have Plenty. What did you want to know? The New York JCC just put out a cookbook.

As for using a cookbook, I call it my food [filth] as I enjoy relaxing with a book even if I will never cook from it. Also many of the books like CI books provide technique that I use whatever I cook as they are transferable skills.

Also she will probably gave time to cook and want to entertain for at least the first year so it's a time she can devote to cooking fancy.

If you want to go the Cooks Illustrated route, I would recommend the on-line subscription because it gives you access to all their recipes. You can download the recipes which works better for me because I don't cook from books because I can't find the recipe. Books inspire me but my recipes are digital.

Which makes me think that a digital recipe organizer would be useful. I use MacGourmet but there are applications for PC. Mine works with my ipad and iPhone so I can have a shopping list that it sends to my phone. I also keep a few of my staple recipes on the phone because my lockshenkopf will forget an ingredient at the store.
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imasinger




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jun 24 2015, 9:10 am
DH just bought us a sous-vide and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! It's an immersion circulator. Cooks meat and fish to exactly the right temperature and consistency, and it's a set-it-and-forget-it kind of thing. You can Google it. DH got it on sale for a little over $100. They generally are a bit more expensive than that, but not a fortune.
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Amarante




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jun 24 2015, 1:32 pm
Plenty is veggie based so I'm not sure it's right for a paleo
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mommyla




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jun 24 2015, 1:40 pm
How about a gift card from Williams Sonoma or Sur la Table?
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tichellady




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jun 24 2015, 2:34 pm
A spiralizer if you think she would like that.
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