Just wondering if some of you send or gift homemade or purchased food gifts for whatever holidays you may celebrate?
I’ll start with what we do. We send out quite a few boxes of Baklava and assorted Greek pastries, along with some of my homemade jams, jellies or syrups. Maybe a kitchen towel or new gadget. Also, since we live in the state of Washington, a few other “goodies” may be tucked in. Most people LOVE getting these boxes! We also have quite a few local friends and H’s coworkers that are on the Greek Pastry list. We usually start getting questioned if we’re going to do it again this time of year, and they make it clear they want to remain on the list.
What is a Greek pastry list? How do I get on it?
I’m selective about sweets I eat and Greek and Indian sweets are typically my holdout favs.
At the holiday, my family does a cookie swap that has gone from basic cookies to now including nuts, candies and homemade jarred items. Food gifts are typical in my family. Work, sourcing online food gifts like live lobsters, steaks, cheese, spices, booze and small brands a hoot of fun giving.
Haha, I will send you some @Rooster! We typically make 3 or 4 kinds of pastries: baklava, kourambiedes (powdered sugar cookies), koulidakia (sesame twists) and sometimes melomakadines, (kind of a spiced cookie, dipped in honey and sprinkled with finely ground nuts. Think I will add paxamadia this year, (Greek version of biscotti). We send/give out a lot, so baking begins in early December. People start thinking of them this time of year and want to make sure we still plan on making them - it’s pretty funny actually. We ran a little short last year, so my bestie didn’t get one and was offended that she wasn’t on the baklava list! Will make it up to her this year.
Well I’m sure your family loves getting your delicious chocolates! It is funny how Christmas totally changes as you get older and older. Not to sound like a total Scrooge, but I’d like to have a totally non Christmas some time. (Soon)
I’ve thought about sending food at Diwali and Christmas both, but haven’t actually done it yet - the logistics of packaging to prevent crushing have stalled me (plus laziness).
One year I gave local friends boxes with assorted goodies, but it’s not really a thing among my friends yet.
My aunt does jars of lemon curd to give away (she makes a couple of cases worth) - I swipe the balance jars when I visit in January
@rooster I should have sent you a box of assorted Diwali goodies - a lot of the stuff we’ve discussed before I (or someone in my family) makes at home, and to excess
My best friend is wealthy, and it’s hard to shop for folks who can easily buy whatever strikes their fancy (like, for example, a house. She has many.) She likes my yarn creations and last year was easy because she asked me to make something. She has moved to an area with no Trader Joe’s, so it’s easy now. Throughout the year, I have amassed jars and boxes of their nonperishable seasonal items to send to her next month.
My go-to food gift is slip-pit dried Blenheim apricots from www.apricotking.com, in Hollister, CA. These are to supermarket dried apricots what puff pastry is to Wonder Bread. They are large, with a complex sweet, yet astringent flavor, and a texture that is almost jammy enough to spread on toast. Their dried Bartlett pears are also topnotch.
In the past, we have offered alcohol, tea, wine, foie gras and chocolate to family and friends. Other food related gifts included cast iron teapot, stainless steel pasta pot, chef knife, dessert cookbook and a Lékue microwave steamer for someone who doesn’t cook. I was glad that the steamer was actually useful, it kind of changed the life of a single that used to only eat out, he even bought a second steamer to make starter or dessert.
I’m seriously thinking of making chocolate this year, easy to transport and appreciated by everybody. I have made truffles, but looking forward for chocolates with fruity ganaches, caramels, pralines…
That’s too funny @Karen_W! Wisconsin produces amazing cheeses. We were gifted a cooler full of artisanal cheeses from there as a thank you gift. We enjoyed them all so much! They last a long time too, if you don’t open the package, in my experience.
Poteca is a walnut filled rolled pastry that the women in my husband’s family made at Easter and Christmas. I seem to be the “last mam standing”, so i try to send several to several of his relatives. And, of course, make a couple for local friends and family.
I’m going to be checking those apricots out @greygarious. I’m thinking they must have sulfur? Otherwise they turn an ugly, almost black color fairly fast in my experience.
Though they do have some unsulphured choices, I believe the slip-pits are sulphured. BTW, because the pits aren’t removed until after drying, they add a slight amaretto flavor to the fruit.
I usually send “house made” pepper jelly, sometimes preserved lemons, sometimes preserved figs, depending on what went well. Sometimes “candied/sugared/spiced pecans” but I’m sort of selfish with those.
I’m hoping for Turkish stuff from my new in-laws this year!
Turkish stuff, yes!! You are so lucky to have your son marry into that culture! Fabulous foods and other good stuffs. Your own goodies sound excellent as well.
Most people LOVE getting these boxes! We also have quite a few local friends and H’s coworkers that are on the Greek Pastry list. We usually start getting questioned if we’re going to do it again this time of year, and they make it clear they want to remain on the list.
