If food lovers are on your gift list, the following mail-order firms can supply unusual and fresh products with a minimum of fuss on your part. Most of the firms listed will send you a free catalog; shipping and handling, along with applicable state sales taxes, are usually extra.
Packing heat
– A Heat Chart (1(equals)very mild, 10(equals)pure habanero) acts as your guide through this selection of sassy foodstuffs. Salsa Express, 800-43-SALSA, offers “combustible condiments” like jalapeno mayo (7 ounces), chili peanut butter (9 ounces) and mesquite-smoked pepper ketchup (12 ounces) all $4.95; “Hot ‘n’ Peachy” or “Brandied Apricots Diablo” dessert toppings ($6.95 each); jalapeno toffee and Santa Fe cookies. The indecisive can warm up their holiday spirit with salsa sampler packs (from $39.95) or a blaze of 12 assorted hot sauces ($49.95).
– The Bubba Brand Six Pack is a Southern survival set. It includes Bubba Brand sauces and spices in such novel flavors as peach-bourbon Back Bay Marinade, vinegar-based Bubba-Q-Sauce and a Southern-style salsa called Bubba Y’Alsa. The six pack is $35 from S. Wallace Edwards & Sons; call 800-222-4267.
Learning tools
– A budding junior chef might appreciate a membership in Hearthsong’s Cook It! Club. Each month, members receive kitchen tools that will help them make that month’s child-tested recipes. The “Soup’s On” package, for example, features a hardwood trivet and reusable herb infuser; the “Little Italy” lesson comes with a spaghetti measurer, Parmesan cheese shaker and two “dramatic” drip candles. Participants not only learn basic cooking skills but also how to modify recipes, clean up as they go and present food in an appetizing way. The club is geared to boys as well as girls and recommended for ages 8-14. The Cook-It! Club is $11.95 a month (billed monthly to credit cards); one year prepaid is $129. Call 800-325-2502.
Regional eats
– Colonial Williamsburg has a line of edible gifts, including the Tavern Huzzah, a pack of naturally brewed root beer and lightly salted Virginia peanuts ($29.95 with 16-ounce mug). Other offerings: gingerbread cake with lemon curd ($38 for a 44-ounce cake with 9 ounces of curd), Scuppernong sparkling cider ($42 for twelve 750-milliliter bottles) or Holiday Virginia Ham ($30 for 2 1/2 pounds). You can create your own “Gift of Flavors from the 18th Century” from more than three dozen Virginia specialties-dressings, muffin mixes, preserves, relishes and beverages-which cost $3.50 and up apiece. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 800-446-9240.
– The Community Kitchens catalog offers such a vast sampling of the flavor of New Orleans that a gift certificate may be the only easy choice. They have pralines ($19.95 for a 16-ounce can); a Cajun Links sampler with andouille and green onion sausage ($24.95 for 3 pounds); fresh yams ($19.95 for 5 pounds) and “plump, peeled” crawfish tails, a k a Cajun popcorn ($39.95 for 3 pounds) as well as chicory-blend coffees, spicy flavorings, oils, mustards and vinegars. Call 800-535-9901.
– The Yankee Catalog has provisions such as Uncle Zeke’s butterscotch (made from sugar, molasses, butter and apple cider vinegar, $12 for a 1-pound can). Other treats: maple-sugared nuts (three 4-ounce packages in a wooden box, $21); New England vegetable marmalades (three 9-ounce jars, $19.95); or a Gourmet Weekend Collection-a gift box of Vermont stone-ground muffin mixes, fruits and syrups ($29). Call 800-225-3870.
– The folks at Norm Thompson tout “all the best from the Northwest” and their selections offer something for everyone. Of course you can get smoked salmon ($35 1 pound 2 ounce and up) from this Oregon merchant, but why not tickle some gourmet’s fancy with “Cougar Gold Cheese” (30 ounces costs $25): This is a Cheddar-textured, Gouda/Swiss-flavored speciality from the Department of Food Sciences at Washington State University. The three-pack of beer-bread mixes ($13.50), the seedless marionberry jam three-pack ($15) or Australian candied ginger ($12) would make good stocking stuffers. For mushroom fanciers, buy a log impregnated with spores ready to sprout into shiitake or oyster mushrooms ($24 each). Call 800-547-1160.
– Bland Farms serves up a delicious variety of fresh produce and Southern-style sweets. The Vidalia onion is the star of Bland’s 32-page color catalog, but most sizes of onions aren’t available for shipping until May. You can assuage holiday appetites with onion relishes (three 12 1/2-ounce jars are $13.95), sweet onion bread ($16.95 ), onion quiche ($24.95) or a three-pack of onion spices ($12.95). Bland’s also sells peach brandy pound cakes, Southern pecan pie ($16.95) and assorted month-to-month gifts: The bimonthly Cream of the Crop ($99.63), for example, offers a dozen Georgia peaches, tomatoes, apples and three onion assortments. Call 800-VIDALIA.
Herbs, odds and ends
Sutter Home winery, 800-967-HOME, also sells locally grown herbs in four-bottle collections ($12) of Napa Valley Herb Classics (basil, dill rosemary, thyme) and Napa Valley Herb Blends (grilling herbs along with Italian, poultry and salad blends) and assorted pasta sauces containing their red zinfandel wine (four 25-ounce jars, $12). The catalog also features a nifty chili gift basket ($45), Sutter’s Salsa Grande (two 15-ounce jars, $15) and red wine vinegar (two bottles, $10) along with an attractive assortment of food-related gift items.
– Ashford & Hampton, 800-561-3951, emphasizes spices and herbs such as its custom peppercorn blends (Thai, Mexican, Oriental, Cajun, Italian, $4.45 each); sassy salsas (prickly pear cactus, chili-based “Snakebite” and “Chipotle Cha Cha Cha!”, $6.45 each); herb jellies ($5.75 each); cilantro-flavored oil (12 1/2 ounces for $8.95); and herb bread mixes (two 13-ounce packs, $7.95).
– If you know a gourmet who’s been desperately seeking that “fresh, full flavor usually not associated with dried herbs”, the Wooden Spoon catalog touts its collection that are grown, dried and packaged by the United Shaker Society of Maine. The herbs are packed in cans and make great stocking stuffers in basil or oregano ($6), tarragon ($10) or Italian herb blend ($9). An assortment of flavored oils (roasted chili, black pepper, garlic, macadamia nut, lemon, lime and orange) is $6 to $12. Call 800-431-2207.
– Williams-Sonoma can help you deck the halls in good taste with an appealing assortment of herbal wreaths. These decorative and functional wreaths measure 15 to 18 inches across. Choose from bay leaf ($23.50), mixed dried herbs ($48) or the red chili pepper wreath ($39). While you’re shopping, why not pick up some tasteful stocking stuffers like Montana apple ginger fruit butter (a 12-ounce jar is $6.50), Black Cap fruit syrup made from marionberries (9 ounces for $6), or a jar of Cartwright & Butler traditional mincemeat (28 ounces for $22). Williams-Sonoma Catalog for Cooks, 800-541-2233.
– The Thornberry Collection offers edible gifts packaged in serving bowls. Choose from the Popcorn Lovers Bowl ($55), an earthenware bowl decorated with colorful “popping” bits of corn and filled with gourmet popcorns and salts; the Viva Italia gift set ($49.50), featuring a 14-inch stoneware pasta bowl with herb pastas, sauces and breadsticks; or the Fresh From the Garden Vinegar Crock, a colorful ceramic canister with raspberry, lemon basil and Mexican herb vinegars. Call 800-642-5593.
– You can serve visiting Yuletide dignitaries a tasty sampling of colonial hospitality from the Monticello catalog. Monticello peanuts are $16.95 for 40 ounces of shelled, lightly salted nuts. For coffee drinkers, consider Mocha-Java or Java Pantjur (half a pound, ground or whole bean, is $4.95). Monticello cider is $48 for twelve 25-ounce bottles. Call 800-243-1743.
