DEL.ICIO.USFor the Journal-Constitution
Published on: 11/20/07
The holidays are filled with moments to savor — family, friends, and seasonal foods. It's the time of the year to indulge in cookies, candy, and abundant meals.
Food gifts are also a popular choice for friends and family who can't share your holiday table, but will savor the gift at their own. Salivate over these holiday treats and gifts:
 Scott Foust / Special | ||
| Special Gourmet Christmas cookies are packed in a lidded basket at Star Provisions. | ||
 Scott Foust / Special | ||
| Special Paula Deen Basket including her cookbook, 'Paula Deen Celebrates,' costs $79.50. | ||
 Scott Foust / Special | ||
| A Church Street Market peanut basket costs $25.00
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VOSGES CHOCOLATE
Spice up the seasons. Many of the exotic truffles and candy bars in the Vosges Chocolate line earn the name "hot chocolate" for their spicy flavors. We're not talking about winter beverages, but confections spiced with ancho and chipotle chillies or guajillo chili peppers.
Even Vosges' Exotic Caramel Collection (shown here) includes bee pollen, blood orange juice and anise myrtle ($37 plus shipping) and its Peanut Butter Bonbons get a kick from pink Himalayan salt and the crunch of Maldon salt ($27 plus shipping). The company prides itself on unusual spices, fruits, flowers, nuts and herbs to flavor its creations, in addition to the finest chocolate. Chocolate bars are $2.50-$7.
www.vosgeschocolate.com. Phone 1-888-301-9866, Mondays-Fridays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Selected products are available in metro Atlanta at: Whole Foods locations; Alon's Bakery & Market, 1394 N Highland Ave. N.E., 404-872-6000; Taste, 416 Church St., Decatur, 404-370-1863; Neiman Marcus 3393 Peachtree Road N.E., 404-266-8200; Star Provisions, 1198 Howell Mill Road N.W., 404-365-0410.
O&H DANISH BAKERY
Go for the traditional with pastries from O&H Bakery for holiday breakfasts and brunches. This little slice of heaven was started in 1949 by Danish-born Christian Olesen and is known worldwide for its baked goods.
Best known, perhaps, is kringle: a tender flaky pastry wrapped around a wide variety of fillings, then slathered with a creamy vanilla-flavored icing. The bakery makes thousands every week until the holiday season. Then, every day, its bakers prepare thousands of the 11-by-14 inch ovals.
The bakery sells a variety of Danish specialties and other baked goods at its two branches in Racine, Wis., but it ships them as far as Australia and the Middle East, as well as all over the United States. Kringle flavors range from blueberry and pecan to the truly decadent turtle, as well as seasonal specialties such as cranberry and pumpkin caramel. Each of the 1 1/2-pound kringles can be sliced into 20 servings.
Shipping is guaranteed within two days by the family-run operation, which emphasizes its baking heritage as well as the freshness of its baked goods. The most popular combination of kringles for mailing? One raspberry and one pecan — favorite fruit and nut fillings – sell for $23, plus shipping. On the Web: www.ohbakery.com. Holiday phone hours: 1-800-709-4009, Mondays-Fridays, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
CHRISTMAS COOKIES
The ultimate holiday pleasure is enjoying exquisite Christmas cookies without ever turning on the oven. Stop in at Star Provisions, the retail store of national award-winning chefs Anne Quatrano and Clifford Harrison, who established Bacchanalia, Quinones at Bacchanalia and Floataway Café in Atlanta. The store provides sumptuous cookies by the piece or by the basket.
Cookies range in price from 50 cents to $3.50 for large decorated cookies. The basket featured is Check out the holiday cupcakes, breads and other baked treats while picking up those cookies. And stop for old-time penny candy that sells for 5 cents and up. 1198 Howell Mill Rd. N.W., 404-365-0410.
TOOTIE'S PIE CO.
Pies are enjoying a resurgence. A two-year-old Texas business, which offers desserts tested over the decades by 80-year-old Texan Ruby Lorraine "Tootie" Feagan, expects to sell 50,000 or more this year.
The owners of the company were so inspired by the pies Tootie had been selling over the years that they named the company for her, Tootie Pie Co. The business now supplies pies to customers at its retail store near San Antonio, Texas, by mail and through 400 restaurants in 10 states. This year, Tootie's Pies are featured in the Neiman Marcus catalog.
A customer favorite is Tootie's 6-pound Original Apple Pie, which sells for $34.95, plus shipping. But 12 different fillings are offered – from Chocolate Pecan Pie to Buttermilk Pie. www.tootiepieco.com. Phone 210-737-6600, Mondays-Fridays, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
GEORGIA PRODUCTS
Looking for a little something Georgia – or lots of Georgia? Church Street Marketplace in Marietta features hundreds of sauces, relishes, baking mixes, salsas, hot sauces, and peanuts of all kinds. Nearly everything is from Georgia.
Most of the products in the shop carry its private label, but other goodies are available, including Paula Deen cookbooks, prepared foods and mixes. Owners Johnny and Susie Fulmer specialize in creating customized baskets ($6 for the basket; arranging is complementary) and offer a variety of kitchen accessories. Prices for these Southern treats start at $2.50.
The basket chock full of peanut products is $25; the Paula Deen basket, including "Paula Deen Celebrates" cookbook published by Simon & Schuster is $79.50. White speckled grits from Nora Mill Granary in North Georgia are $5.95. Holiday hours: Mondays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Fridays, until 8; Sundays, 1-4. 65 Church St., Marietta. Phone: 770-499-9393.
Usinger's Famous Sausage
The holidays bring fond memories of food traditions over generations. The family of Usinger's Famous Sausage founder Fred Usinger, a German immigrant, has been making and selling a wide variety of the savory meats on North Old World Third Street in Milwaukee since 1880.
Their mail-order business was already sending family-recipe sausage as far away as New York by the turn-of-the century. Now products range from the traditional bratwurst to chicken cordon bleu sausage, summer sausage, liver sausage, frankfurters, and andouille, as well as a number of Wisconsin cheeses.
Gifts for Christmas can be ordered most economically if placed by Dec. 11, but orders can be placed through Dec. 19. The company does not ship over weekends. Recipes are also available on the web site.
Gift package prices begin at $14.95, plus shipping. A favorite gift package is The Feast, a variety of sausages, cheeses and treats for $33.75. www.usinger.com. Phone: 1-800-558-9998, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Mondays-Saturdays. Central Time.
Omaha Steaks
Great American steak has always been a comfort and luxury food. Omaha Steaks promises its Private Reserve Steaks are the epitome of the great steak experience. Better than that, those steaks have been rated among the best prime steaks in the country by Consumer Reports magazine. They are blast-frozen, individually packaged and packed in dry ice for shipping. The reserve steaks sell for $109.99 for 42 ounces. The company's bestseller for 90 years is its filet mignon package, containing four 6-ounce filets for $49.99. Other meats and prepared foods are also available.
Retail stores in Atlanta include one in Marietta, Woodlawn Shopping Center, 1205 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 118. Phone: 678-560-1665. Hours: Mondays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sundays, noon-5 p.m. Another is in Norcross at the Forum on Peachtree Parkway, 4880 Peachtree Corners Circle, Suite 1125. Phone: 770-409-1088. Open Mondays-Saturdays 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sundays, noon-5 p.m. www.omahasteaks.com. Phone 1-800-228-9872.
Insulated tote
Don't forget to work some fruits and veggies into those holiday menus. Making it is easier to tote them home safely is Trader Joe's black woven textile Insulated Zipper Tote.
It holds eight gallons of everything from fresh produce to meats and keeps frozen and perishable food cold for five hours. The flat bottom and shoulder straps make the tote perfect for buying groceries, taking on a picnic and travel. Add the fixings for a meal or a gift card and healthy, tasty eating is on the way.
Available at all five metro Atlanta Trader Joe's stores through January for $4.99. Stores are open 9 a.m.-9 p.m., every day. For locations: www.traderjoes.com.
Buckhead Life Dining
A holiday bonus is available for Atlantans who want to enjoy a gourmet evening out – or offer one to friends and family.
The Buckhead Life Restaurant Group is offering The Ultimate Gift card through Jan. 31, with a bonus 20 percent added to the value. For instance, buy a card for $100 and have $120 to spend at one of the group's restaurants: Pano's and Paul's; Atlanta Fish Market; Buckhead Diner; Pricci, Veni Vidi Vici; Nava; Buckhead Bread Co. & Corner Café; Bluepointe; Kyma, or Chops Lobster bar. The card can be redeemed at the retail bakery at Buckhead bread and retail market at the fish market as well. A summer promotional period is offered June 1-Aug. 31. The cards never lose value and no fees are charged.
This year, Buckhead Life is offering complementary gift boxes for pick-up orders at any of its restaurants. Patrons can also recharge a card and get 10 percent in added value. Cards must be purchased in $25 increments. Phone: 404-237-2060. buckheadrestaurants.com/card.html. Cards can be sent overnight for an additional $15.
Moe's gift card
A gift card at Moe's Southwest Grill gives the whole family a chance for a casual food experience. And spending at least $20 on a gift card during the holidays means receiving a $5 gift certificate to spend on the spot — or to save for lunch. Moe's has dozens of Atlanta locations. www.moes.com.
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