Frugal Gourmet Christmas Gift Ideas
In Angelo’s words
Holiday shopping season this year should prove challenging to the thousands of unemployed this year however, Christmas is a time of joy and giving as we celebrate the birth of our Savior, and having little money to spend on gifts doesn’t have to crimp our style. So with that in mind, this issue is dedicated to easing the stress of the Holiday Shopping season for the many who are pinching pennies and worried about providing a joyous Christmas for their families.
First of all, Christmas, Chanukah, or whatever the Holliday is for you, is a time of giving, a show of love and appreciation for those close to us. Commercially made gifts are nice, but don’t always show the true feeling and compassion we have for those close to us. This is the easy way out, simply buy, wrap, (or have wrapped), sign a card and give it to the recipient. You need to ask yourself, how much love went into that? Any parent will tell you the most precious gifts they have are those their children made for them in school.
My daughter-in-law Kirsten makes her own cards. Each card is cut, stamped or imprinted, hand printed in her own hand calligraphy and totally designed by her from scratch. The words and verses are hers and impossible not to notice the love and affection that goes into each card. She could use a computer to make it easy, but she does not, each card is completely created with her own hands with the words coming from her heart. If you are fortunate enough to get one, you are truly blessed,
In another example, my brother Paul makes all the women, nieces and nephews hand crafted Christmas ornaments and gifts. They aren’t just hand crafted, but are made from the wood of the previous year’s Christmas tree. He works on this project from the time the tree comes down right up to the time he distributes his tiny treasures to those lucky truly loved recipients.
The time and love put into these precious hand crafted gifts automatically become family keepsakes to their recipients to be passed from generation to generation. There isn’t a family member who receives one of these gifts whose eyes don’t water up from the joy of receiving these priceless treasures.
We all have this ability in one form or another. And, since this site is dedicated to family and favorite recipe’s I hope some of the suggestions contained herein will make your Holliday season a bright one for you and your favorite people.
A most favorite of gifts one can get is a tin of assorted homemade cookies. Most all of us have a number of favorite holiday cookie recipes we make each year for the holidays. We can’t wait to bring out a tray to serve to company as soon as they walk in the door and wait for the ooh’s and ayah’s as they savor the tasty tidbits. This year simply make more, then package them in decorative tins or aluminum cake pans and pass them out as gifts. The tins or aluminum cake pans are readily available in most supermarkets.
Recipe 1
Cucidati
Ingredients
(cookier crust)
Filling
Method
Instructions
Directions: (For the filling)
Finishing Up
Recipe 2
Chocolate Balls
Ingredients
Method
Instructions
This Italian cookie is everyone’s favorite. They always seem to be the first to disappear from the cookie tray.
Recipe 3
Pizzelles
Ingredients
Method
Instructions
Store unused batter in a tightly covered container and refrigerated to be used another day. Recipe makes 30 pizzelles
Dusting with powdered sugar! Before serving is optional.
Recipe 4
Recipe in a Jar
Title added by the archive. Angelo gave this recipe no heading.
Originally published as part of Angelo’s text between the recipes in this post. Angelo gave it as a gift idea after his gift baskets, in paragraphs with no heading; the name is his (“Another great gift is a ‘Recipe in A Jar’”). It is a way to package any recipe’s dry ingredients, with his chart of dried equivalents.
For those with a creative side you might want to try creating ‘Gourmet Gift Baskets’. Creating a gourmet gift basket can be as creative and expensive or inexpensive as its creator desires depending on the size and content. The nice thing about gift baskets is that you can determine its cost and content. A gourmet gift basket need not be expensive but should reflect the character of the recipient. That is you should have a good idea of the recipients likes and dislikes. Normally we think of a ‘Gift Basket’ as a basket of fresh fruit. If you want your Gourmet Gift Basket to be impressive, it must be created, not thrown together. To do this you need to deviate from the norm and think in the abstract. If you do, your Gift Basket will undoubtedly be looked upon as a work of art. To start with try abandoning the use of the traditional wicker basket to create your master-piece.
For instance, a quick query on the internet supplied me with numerous excellent substitutes for the traditional wicker basket. Pinata’s for example are easy to make and cheap to buy. They come in a vast variety of shapes and sizes and can be adapted easily for our use. We think of Pinata’s in the traditional sense as something hung from the ceiling and filled with goodies to be beaten open with sticks by children to retrieve the treasures within, but thinking in the abstract, they become perfect replacements for the traditional wicker basket in our creations.
Some sample receptacles and pinata’s are shown and naturally — would depend on the theme:
Chinese – A Wok
French – A Champaign cooler
Hawaiian – A roasted pig (pinata)
Japanese – Puffer fish (pinata)
Mexican – Sombrero (pinata)
Spanish – Treasure Chest (pinata)
For instance with a ‘WESTERN THEME’: You might want to use a Cowboy hat or bonnet turned upside-down and filled with one or two bottles of gourmet barbeque sauce, a moderately priced bottle of red wine, and an assortment of nuts and fresh fruits. Wrap in the traditional colored see through plastic wrap, tie it with a giant bow, attach a card or tag and your basket is ready to give. Or:
To create an ‘ITALIAN THEME’, might use a 10 qt sauce pan. Fill it with a bottle of gourmet spaghetti sauce, one or two pounds of imported pasta, some imported Parmesan and/or Romano cheese, a moderately priced bottle of red wine (imported optional), etc. If you’re the type who cans, a bottle of your homemade canned sauce would be the ultimate finishing touch. You can also add fresh fruits and assorted nuts if you like.
There are a number of sites on line that will either sell you pinata’s or instruct you how to make your own. A simple search with your favorite search using the key word ‘pinata’ will come up with what you are looking for.
Gift baskets especially those created by the giver are a thoughtful gift that over flowing with love and compassion. Those created with an ethnic base portray the essence of the country of origin and emit that odor of walking into the kitchen of a fine restaurant.
Another great gift is a ‘Recipe in A Jar’. If you have a family recipe you would like to share, but keep the ingredients somewhat secret, a recipe in a jar is the perfect way to go. I have recipes that I had to promise my right arm not to divulge. Yet they are so good it is a sin to keep them to myself. What to do?:
Method
This chart is based on a consensus from various web sites and are approximate:
Onion powder equivalent of fresh onion
½ Tbsp = 1 small onion
1 Tbsp = 1 medium onion
1½ Tbsp = 1 large onion
Garlic powder equivalent of one clove
1/8 tsp garlic powder = 1 clove
Dried onion flakes
1/3 C dried onion flakes = 1 small onion
Recipe 5
Marshmallow Fluff Treats
Angelo credited this recipe to the Marshmallow Fluff web site: “I obtained these recipes from the ‘Marshmallow Fluff’ (click here) Web site.”
Yield: Yield: 24 squares, 2 x 2 inches
And we’ll finish with a couple of great homemade sweet tooth gift ideas that are easy to make and make great gifts for young and old. Marshmallow Fluff Treats and Gourmet Chocolate Fudge’, always a treat for all ages. I obtained these recipes from the ‘Marshmallow Fluff’ (click here) Web site. If you have a favorite fudge recipe of your own which you would rather use, by all means use yours. If not these are excellent recipes. Don’t forget you are making them as gifts, so you will have to personalize the quantity by using smaller pans than called for in the recipes. See note following the recipes.
Ingredients
Method
Microwave Marshmallow Fluff Treats
Place Fluff and margarine in 2 1/2 qt. microwave safe bowl. Microwave at HIGH for 3 minute, stirring each minute. (Based on 700-watt microwave oven.) Stir in cereal until coated. Using a buttered spatula or waxpaper, press mixture evenly into buttered 13 X 9 inch pan. Cut into 2 X 2 squares. Yield: 24 squares.
Recipe 6
Never-Fail-Fudge
Angelo credited this recipe to the Marshmallow Fluff web site: “I obtained these recipes from the ‘Marshmallow Fluff’ (click here) Web site.”
Yield: Makes 2 1/2 pounds.
Ingredients
Method
Hint: As with all fudge recipes, cooking time will vary depending on factors such as humidity and altitude. For best results, use the softball test to make sure the fudge has been cooked enough. The softball test can be found in any cookbook and on our website under frequently asked question (FAQ’s).
Note:
Use smaller tinfoil pans to personalize i.e. 2”x 4”, etc.
Optionally sprinkle with green and red sugar sprinkles or M&M’s
Wrap in clear or Holliday colored plastic wrap and seal with a Red or Green Bow, etc.
Attach a card or tag, and your set to go.
Some basic helpful tools you should have when making candy products:
A candy thermometer for temperature control an essential key to making fudge correctly. if you are new to candy making this will ensure your chances for success in making a smooth textured fudge. If your fudge fails to reach the desired temperature the sugar will crystallize and the fudge will be gritty. Thermometers are inexpensive and will make the purchase worth it.
Use a heavy pan to cook the fudge, an iron skillet works great. The heavy iron holds the heat and ensures a nice even heat. Don’t use aluminum or even a stainless steel that does not have a heavy bottom. A stainless steel saucepan with a heavy layered aluminum bottom will work also.
A wooden spoon works best for stirring while it boils. Stir constantly until it is removed from stove.
Be sure to the fudge over a low to medium-low flame, or as the recipe calls for depending on the type of fudge you are making.
For those who would like visual instructions to see fudge making in action just click on the ‘YouTube’ video below:
Family notes
None yet. Notes from the family will appear here, signed and dated, and kept apart from Angelo’s words.
From the archive
Restored · 2012 capture- Originally published
- , 6:18 pm, on angelobiondo.com by Angelo Biondo (post No. 251)
- Filed under
- Cookie Recipes, Pasta Recipes
- Restored from
- Internet Archive capture of — view the original page
- Also captured
- Original notice
- Copyright © AngeloBiondo.com™ (2009)
- Photographs
- The original post showed 7 photographs (“Cucidati”, “Chocolate Balls”, “Pizzelles”), not yet restored.
- Transcription
Angelo’s words are unchanged, spelling included.
- The three cookies were printed side by side in a table: headings in the first row, photographs in the second, then ingredients, second ingredients or instructions, and so on across the columns. Each cookie is rebuilt from its own column in the order printed. The table’s column headings name them; the photographs aren’t restored.
- The Pizzelle instruction was split across two table rows (“…drop by a spoon into the pizzelle” / “iron.”); the two parts are joined.
- The Chocolate Balls instruction “Combine the flour and baking powder-cinnamon, cocoa / orange, lemon and vanilla extract” was broken across two lines; the lines are joined.
- Sub-headings printed in capitals (“FILLING:”) are shown in title case.
- The degree sign was typed as “o” (350o F); shown as “°”.
- The gift basket ideas and the ‘Recipe in A Jar’ paragraphs sat between the cookies and the Marshmallow Fluff recipes. They are kept in that place, as the introduction to the Recipe in a Jar card; its chart is shown one line per cell.
- The two Marshmallow Fluff directions were one paragraph each; they are split into steps at sentence boundaries. The yields were their last sentences and are shown as yields. The microwave version is shown as a variation.
- Three links to marshmallowfluff.com (“‘Marshmallow Fluff’ (click here)”, “use Soft-Ball test”, “frequently asked question (FAQ’s)”) are kept as words; the links are not carried over.
- Open questions
Left exactly as published, for the family to confirm.
- The Marshmallow Fluff Treats and Never-Fail-Fudge are the Marshmallow Fluff company’s recipes; the fudge hint says “on our website”. Angelo credited the source. They are kept as he published them; the family may prefer to hide them.
- Cucidati: the dough is divided in half and chilled, then “each of the dough balls” is rolled into 12 inch squares and cut into “12, 4 inch strips”; a 12 inch square gives three 4 inch strips.
- Cucidati: the finishing step calls for egg wash, which isn’t in the ingredients.
- Chocolate Balls: no yield is given, and there is no glaze or icing.
- Pizzelles: the instructions don’t say how long to cook them in the iron.
- Not carried over
- The markup “</br>”, which showed as visible text at the end of the second paragraph.
- An embedded YouTube fudge-making video, labelled “Fudge making video”; the capture doesn’t include it.
- A stray full stop printed on its own line under the Pizzelle ingredients.
- The site’s standard rights notice under the copyright line.