The GayWeddingGear.com Blog

August 27, 2010

Top Food Gifts – Best Food Wedding Gifts

So I was thinking the other day when I started prepping for Labor Day in Rehoboth Beach that not enough people are giving out food wedding gifts anymore.  With more and more Foodies getting hooked on cooking and more and more people loving wine and cheese gift baskets, why are people not giving out as many food wedding gift baskets and food gifts for couples getting married.

You have tons of things to choose from from picnic baskets and wine carriers to designer olive oils and balsamic glazes and vinegars and even small independent and unique food gifts like fresh blue crabs fished from the Chesapeak Bay in Maryland.  I love giving and getting food gifts and there is always a perfect food gift for just about everyone.

You can do fruit baskets for people on diets or people who are healthy.  My personal favorites are oils or chocolate gift baskets and some people love designer cookie gifts and gift baskets.  You can order expensive ones from over priced designer stores or you can order from independent companies and smaller farms that produce their own jellies and jams gift baskets.  There are tons of foodie gifts and foodie wedding gift baskets that you can find online so I wanted to share a few of my personal favorite shops and a random foodie wedding gift basket that they carry which everyone will love, whether they are a foodie or not.  Please feel free to visit the site if you want to see a larger selection of foodie wedding gifts and food wedding gift baskets and don’t forget to come back here to leave a comment and tell us how you liked your favorite foodie wedding gift basket.

God, I think I am completely going to have to go on a chocolate binge right now and make a seriously fabulous dinner after making this post.  Maybe I’ll wait until Monday when it is my turn to host dinner here.  I feel like Ina from the Food Network lol.  She is absolutely fabulous and her dinners are pretty good to.  =0).

Ghirardelli Gift Baskets

Ok, if you cannot tell that I am obsessed with chocolate than you have not been reading this blog long enough.  Although Ghirardelli was never on my top ten list of chocolates that I thought of first, I recently got invited to a party at a Blogging and Marketing conference where Ghirardelli sponsored an invite only event and featured everything from their line.  They had chocolate covered strawberries, martinis, these little discs, the famous Ghirardelli squares and even the brand new dark chocolate ones.  After stuffing my face and myself full of chocolate everything for about 3 hours, I became hooked and fell in love with Ghirardelli chocolates so I highly recommend that you all buy a Ghirardelli Chocolate Gift Basket for a wedding present and also buy some for yourself,,,,since you are already on the site.  What’s even better is that since the bride will probably be on a diet, and the grooms to for a gay wedding (except for the bears) since you have to keep your size to fit into your tuxes or dresses, you can easily stop by and say, wow look how nice that is then jump in and have some of theirs.  Ohh ya, I am that tacky that I would try to eat a chocolate gift basket that I bought for someone else.  Chocolate is my favorite addiction which is why when I buy chocolate gifts I always order one for myself too so I leave their chocolate gift basket alone. Click the image to the left to go to the Ghirardelli website where you can find all of their fabulous Ghirardelli Chocolate wedding gifts and gift baskets.

http://www.CookieSurprises.com

Cookie Surprises Cookie Gifts

So what I love about the site Cookie Surprises is that instead of having a traditional cookie bouquet or cookie gift basket, they hand wrap each cookie individually and you can choose separates.  Because you can choose cookie separates, you can easily do a hand wrapped gift box with two grooms cookies or a hand wrapped gift box with two brides cookies.  You can then choose rainbows, stars, frogs or any other type of cookie to go in the box or if you want to keep it simple just the two cookies.  Cookie Surprises offers a ton of varieties since you get to choose which cookies go in which gift baskets and can customize them for any occasion.

Deluxe Appetizer Plate Gift Basket Deluxe Appetizer Plate Gift Basket – $ 76.95
Here is a great assortment to serve in an appetizer platter or as part of a tapas menu.

We begin with Italian Hot Cherry Peppers stuffed with tuna, anchovies, capers and parsley in wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. We include a bottle of Spanish olive mix. Next, we add heirloom Cannellini beans from the province of Lucca (Cannellini di Lucca) which are cooked until tender and then flavored with extra virgin olive oil, salt, and sage. Tuscan White Bean Appetizer is delicious as an instant antipasto or side dish. We can’t think of many things that pair as beautifully with the bean appetizer as a fine grade tuna such as the Tonnino Ventresca brand which we also include. An out of the ordinary gourmet treat can be found in the whole Cipolline Onions is Balsamic. Last, but not least, we include a bag of Castellana Italian Traditional Crostini. Castellana is a family run bakery in Apullia, Italy.

We place everything in a reusable, wooden shaker style hatbox to present as a memorable gift only for the very special.

Microbrewery Kit – $ 99.99
The Coopers Brewery Microbrewery Kit is the world’s best selling beer making kit for good reason. It is designed to give you everything you need to brew 6 gallons of your own high quality, completely natural, great tasting beer every time.
Organic Celebration Fruit Basket – $ 99.95
From springtime blossoms to autumn’s harvest, The Fruit Company’s delectable organic fruit celebrates nature’s abundance.
Gourmet Pasta Sampler Gift Basket – $ 67.95
We believe pasta is one of the most versatile food products available. With all of its shape variations and the myriad of sauce combinations, the possiblilities are practically endless.

Our Gourmet Pasta Sampler offers some familiar and some quite unique pasta cuts to enjoy. We begin with Croxetti, pasta discs in the shape of coins each stamped with a stalk of wheat. They are wonderful with substantial sauces such as pesto or walnut sauce.

Next we offer Troffiette. This thin, tight twist shaped pasta has the appearance of being hand rolled and then “pinched” at each end. It is commonly served with basil pesto or walnut pesto since its twisted shape holds these sauces nicely.

Trofiette is also delicious when served with fresh seasonal vegetables like green beans or spinach served with pancetta or potatoes in a rich meat based broth. Try trofiette with butter and fresh herbs served with a meaty fish or with shellfish.

Gnocchi are similar to potato dumplings. They are elegant served with a butter-sage sauce, and rustic and homey with a tomato based sauce.

Farro is an excellent grain which is a precursor of wheat and much easier to digest. It has a bit of a nutty flavor but works well with most sauce preparations. We offer two cuts of Farro pasta—Rigatini and Pizzichi.

We complete our selection with two small cuts of pasta which work well with soups as well as salads—Orzo, which is very similar to rice, and Fregola Sarda which is a bit like a large grain couscous.

The entire pasta collection is presented in a beribboned gift box and suits any gift- giving occasion.


August 8, 2010

Eat N Park Smiley Cookies – Highly Addictive!

Filed under: Kids, food, wedding favor — Tags: , , — rollerbladerdc @ 8:53 pm

eat n park smiley cookiesSo I have to say that last week when I discovered that you could order Eat N Park Smiley Cookies online I went crazy. Not only did I live on these in college but I crave them almost everyday.  Eat N Park Smiley Cookies are plain sugar cookies dipped in a white icing that cakes over the top of the cookie.  They are then decorated with colored frosting to make a smiley face on them.  Then after the amazing and addictive Eat N Park smiley cookies are dried they are put in plastic packages of 12 or packed individually in little wax paper bags for single sales and kids who want them after they finish eating.

Not only did I live on the Eat N Park Smiley Cookies when I was in college, but instead of just ordering them online when I saw they became available for sale, I found an excuse to go from DC to Pittsburgh and actually went all that way just for these cookies.  To prove it I actually took a picture of an Eat N Park Smiley Cookie with this blog in the background.  Holy crap was it worth the trip and if you are not able to get to Pittsburgh or a local Eat N Park restaurant you can now order eat n park smiley cookies online through their site by clicking here.  Even though Eat N Park Smiley cookies and a very recognized and recognizable brand, Eat N Park doesn’t let the corporate bull crap get in the way of having fun with their famous smiley cookies.

For Valentine’s day they decorate their cookies in a heart shape with red icing as the base color and then a smiley face or sometimes messages.  For Easter you can find smiley cookies in the shape of Easter Bunnies with smiles on their faces and during the December holidays you find trees and other seasonal shapes and colored cookies.   They also offer smaller smiley cookies and blue or pink smiley cookies for baby showers and bridal showers and during the superbowl or football season they make black and gold steelers colored smiley cookies to support the Pittsburgh Steelers.  They like to have fun with their brand and it is nice to see a company that is not scared to do this.  Because they also offer smiley cookie gift baskets and gift arrangements they make perfect gifts for bridesmaids, groomsmen and for the wedding party or for people at the tables.

Everyone loves smiley cookies and because they are loaded with sugar smiley cookies make the perfect wedding favor or pre dinner snack for your wedding guests to find as they get seated at your reception for dinner.  Just enough to keep their blood sugar high so they don’t pass out and not too much food for them to be filled before dinner, Eat N Park Smiley Cookies are perfect for weddings to keep people happy and awake.

I personally love the idea of having Eat N Park Smiley cookies available for weddings and you can easily have them custom make smiley cookiesyour smiley cookies so that they match your wedding colors or have your names on them.  Eat N Park Smiley cookies are the perfect and affordable wedding favor and pre dinner snack for weddings.  You can order your own Eat N Park smiley cookies by clicking here in any quantity or size and you don’t need an Eat N Park or SmileyCookie.com Coupon Code because they already give you free shipping on all orders over $40.  Yup, no SmileyCookie.com coupons or SmileyCookie.com coupon needed.

July 14, 2010

Personalized Hot Sauce Wedding Favors

Hot Sauce Party Favors (12 Bottles) – $ 36.00
“Turn up the heat with our 5oz personalized hot sauce bottles party favors. Hot sauce makes the most fun and one of the most unique wedding favors or table decorations for any party! The delicious hot sauce recipe in these customized bottles and party favors was created by award-winning head chef, Michael Orr of the Palo Alto Club so you know that everyone will love this hot sauce party favor.

If there’s one food item I can never get enough of it is hot sauce.  I love spicy food and I love working with hot sauce when I cook.  I use it in egg dishes, pasta dishes, salsas and just about everything else.  When I found personalized hot sauce favors for weddings and parties I had to recommend them to you.  Not only do personalized hot sauce bottles make an excellent wedding or party favor but personalized bottles of hot sauce become talking points and you may even find your guests using it during your reception.

Hot sauce isn’t for everyone but for those of us who can eat it or love it know that you cannot go wrong with personalized bottles of hot sauce because even if the person who doesn’t like hot sauce ends up with one, there will be at least five more people who will be happy to take their personalized bottle of hot sauce and they will all go to good use.

Personalized bottles of hot sauce are an amazing wedding favor and a perfect party favor for bbq’s cookouts.  Everyone at the bbq will love their hot sauce party favors and because they have your name or date or whatever you want on them everyone will remember your party and how much fun they had when they use their hot sauce favors.   Buy personalized bottles of hot sauce and hot sauce favors by clicking the image above or this link and give your wedding guests and friends a fabulous part favor for your wedding or party.  Order personalized bottles of hot sauce here.

If you enjoyed this post, leave a comment below or click the retweet or tweet button above to send this post to all of your friends on twitter.

June 3, 2010

Custom Favor Cakes Mini Personalized Cheescakes

Custom Favor Cake – $ 150.00
“This favor display takes the cake – literally! Gorgeous custom favor cakes turn even simple favors into gorgeously packaged delights. Perfect for birthday parties, weddings and bridal showers.”
Present Cheese Cakes – $ 25.00
Our individual present cake favors are unique wedding favors and bridal shower favors. Impress your guests with this mouth watering dessert. For a special touch personalize it with a custom gift tag.
Personal Cheese Cakes – $ 24.00
“Our personalized miniature cakes make unique and very sophisticated wedding favors, bridal shower favors or baby shower treats. They will dress up any table setting and impress you guests.”

Ok, I saw these and went crazy.  Dieting is driving me up the wall and actually sticking to it is worse.  Today I completely passed on cookies and treats but tonight I ended up ordering a ton of really good but really bad italian food and carbs.  I figured since I passed on desserts and am trying to behave I could at least drool and dream about desserts, especially these wedding favor cakes.

Not only do these wedding favor cakes and personalized mini cheesecakes look absolutely amazing, but they will leave your guests wishing they would have found them for their weddings.  Think about it, everyone serves wedding cake and desserts, but who actually goes out and finds monogrammed or even personalized mini cheesecakes with the guests names on them for their weddings?  Not many people actually think of that or even think of doing it, they especially don’t think to do it with desinger wedding cake favors and mini personalized cheesecakes.

Anyways, I’m just rambling at this point because I am seriously tired and want to go to sleep but I am also craving chocolate and wish I would have stuck to my diet for the last couple years because if I had stuck to my diet I could be enjoying these mini personalized cheesecakes and mini wedding cake favors and not sitting here rambling on this wedding blog about how amazing they look.  If you want to find out more about these amazing looking mini wedding cake favors and mini personalized cheesecake favors, click on the image or links above and you’ll be taken to one of my favorite wedding favor vendors and not only find these mini wedding favor cakes but thousands of other wedding favors and things for your wedding.  I love these cakes and if you have tried them or ordered them, please feel free to leave a comment below and let us know what you think about them.  You can also click the green tweet button to share this post and these wedding cake and cheesecake wedding favors with your friends and family on twitter.  Thank you again for reading my blog and I hope you enjoy these wedding favors and if you buy they come back and let us know how they were.

May 15, 2010

Ghiradelli Wedding Chocolate Squares, Free Shipping Ghiradelli

Free shipping on ghirardelli Chocolates

Diet or no diet, this girl needs her chocolate. Ohh ya it has completely been one of those weeks. It was one of those weeks where you ended up having to deal with those extremely frustrating people and you run into those people at work that love to set everyone else up to fail and create trouble for everyone even though there really was no reason why. We all know those people and most of us hate them. Personally I think they should all be fired since they really actually add little to no value in a company and actually make it less productive for other people. Anyways., enough venting and onto the point of this post which is why I am craving chocolate and why I think that the Ghiradelli Wedding Chocolate Squares and Ghirardeli Chocolate Wedding Favors are completely a great solution, diets and beach season aside.

ghiradelli chocolate squares

Ghirardelli Wedding Chocolate Squares

So one thing I love about walking into a wedding reception is finding my seat and finding a candy or a piece of chocolate or something sitting there waiting for me. It isn’t only that I completely love junk food, candy and my very favorite anything covered in chocolate, but it also helps to recharge and refresh you after a long day of sitting through a ceremony, wishing the happy couple the best of luck and also because you are usually starving and know that dinner is still just a little to far away.

The thing is that leaving a chocolate, especially a nice chocolate like the Ghirardelli wedding chocolate squares, you know the ones they give out free when you walk in the Ghirardelli stores that are flavored or solid chocolate and come individually wrapped.  Not only do these help energize people and tide them over until dinner, but they also just make people smile.

Almost everyone loves chocolate and the flavor of the Ghirardelli Chocolate Squares and Ghirardelli Wedding Chocolates also just leave you and your mouth feeling happy and refreshed and sort of also clean and clear your pallet for dinner.  I love the taste and absolutely love when brides and grooms leave out Ghirardelli wedding chocolates at every seat at the wedding reception.  It is not only classy but also functional.  God, right now I sort of wish I was living in Chicago again and I could go to the Ghirardelli store off of Michigan Avenue for a chocolate mocha and a free Ghirardelli chocolate square sample lol.

Anyways, leaving chocolates and candies to help bring people’s sugar levels and energy levels back up is a serious must at weddings and although some people go for a popular “high end” mall store chocolate which we won’t name, that is just a brand name.  If you want to really impress your guests and really give them something to enjoy, you have to give them a real chocolate and although there are a million ones to choose from, my favorite wedding chocolates are by far the Ghirardelli Wedding Chocolates.  Sure Lindt and Sees are also amazing chocolates and if I had a Sees candy by my house I would probably never leave the store, but when you need a refreshing wedding chocolate and have to buy chocolates for your wedding favors, Ghirardelli is the only chocolate company that should come to mind.  I love when people give out Ghirardelli chocolate squares at weddings and know that as long as your guests aren’t allergic to chocolate then they will love the Ghirardelli Wedding Chocolates just as much as I do, then again who doesn’t love chocolate.

Now you may think that Ghirardelli chocolates may be to expensive to give out to everyone but if you price around the quality chocolates, Ghirardelli is actually extremely affordable and if you click any of the links or images in this post to go to the Ghirardelli website, you’ll also be able to automatically get free shipping on your orders over $60.  You don’t even need a coupon or to do anything else.  I know this offer is currently live but I do have to warn you that the free shipping offer from Ghirardelli may not last forever so if for some reason the Ghirardelli Free Shipping offer ends, please feel free to come back here and post so we all know.

Anyways, I love Ghirardelli Chocolate Wedding Favors and know that your guests will to.  Whether you want to give out Ghirardelli Chocolate Wedding Favors or just want to order Ghirardelli chocolates for yourself, click this link to visit their site and don’t forget to save a few pieces for me.  Click here to visit the Ghirardelli Chocolates site.

May 8, 2010

BBQ Wedding Gifts BBQ Gifts

Filed under: Wedding Gift, food — Tags: , , , , , — rollerbladerdc @ 1:53 am

Cooked Perfect Complete Color Changing Meat Thermometer

Price: 9.95Say goodbye to overcooked steak, undercooked chicken, and dry fish!

The Cooked Perfect Complete Color Changing Thermometer takes the guesswork out of grilling, frying, roasting, broiling, microwaving and more! This revolutionary new thermometer gives you an instant “doneness” readout with a highly visible color change. The Cooked Perfect Meat Thermometer indicates “rare”, “medium” and “well” for beef; and “ready” for fish and poultry.

Simply insert the Cooked Perfect Complete Thermometer into beef, fish, or poultry; wait 3 seconds and remove. You’ll know for sure when meat is fully cooked and safe for serving.

Cooked Perfect is made of sturdy metal with an easy grip handle that needs no batteries so it lasts forever. Simply hand wash your thermometer after use and store for next use.

Each Cooked Perfect Complete Color Changing Thermometer indicates “doneness” for beef, fish and poultry.


Ruby’s Garlic Spice BBQ Rub by Way Out West

Price: 4.90Seal in the succulent flavor of meats and poultry with this versatile garlic spice dry BBQ rub and seasoning salt.

Rub Ruby’s Garlic Spice BBQ Rub on roasts and tri-tips, sprinkle on chicken or chops, or garnish veggies. Garlic Spice Rub can also be used to add cowgirl flavor to soups, stews, and salads.

Each canister contains 3.5 ounces net weight of Garlic Spice BBQ Rub by Way Out West.


Elizabeth Karmel Grill Friends Angled Silicone BBQ Basting Brush

Price: 9.95The first ever angled silicone basting brush by Elizabeth Karmel’s Grill Friends Collection will help you to baste, sauce and mop with ease – indoors and out!

This silicone BBQ brush will become your secret weapon to perfectly sauced food whether you cook indoors or outside on a grill. The long-handled angled design makes it safe and easy to use, keeping your hands clear of open fire and heat. This super basting brush makes wrist contortions a thing of the past as you expertly brush sauce on your grilling food.

The silicone brush bristles are heat resistant up to 500 F and will not melt and fall off into the sauce. It’s easy to clean up with a removable brush head that can be run through the dishwasher.

Each Heat Resistant Angled Silicone BBQ Basting Brush is 15” long and is dishwasher safe.


Instant Marinater For Meat, Fish & Poultry By VacuVin

Price: 49.95The Instant Marinater is a unique dish that marinates and tenderizes all types of meat, fish, poultry and vegetables in just minutes. Simply add your marinade to the food in the dish and then pump out the air to create a vacuum. The vacuum opens up the pores and fibres of the food allowing the marinade to penetrate in minutes rather than hours “locking in” flavor. It also tenderizes the food and keeps it juicy. The vacuum dish can also be used to store your food under vacuum to preserve flavor and freshness.

Our Instant Marinator was designed by the company that invented the original Vacuum Wine Saver which has rescued millions of partial bottles of wine for avid wine drinkers.

The Instant Marinater is a life saver for impressing unexpected guests or for quick after work dinner preparations.

It is dishwasher safe and suitable for freezer and refrigerator storage.


Burn Cream MD™

Price: 29.95Burn Cream MD was created by a dermatologist specializing in wound healing and scar minimalization. It acts fast to provide burn relief with the active ingredient Lidocaine and speeds up healing with all natural ingredients such as Arnica Montana, Chamomile flower extract and Aloe.

Recommended by chefs such a Mario Batali, Burn Cream MD by Healing Skin is the perfect tool to keep on hand for minor burns. It delivers immediate relief from pain and speeds healing with less scarring. This is an essential product for any active kitchen.

Each pump bottle of Burn Cream MD contains 2.5oz.


“Glow in the Dark” Instant-Read Thermometer by Grill Friends

Price: 5.95″Glow in the Dark” Instant-Read Thermometer by Grill Friends was created by Elizabeth Karmel to solve many of the challenges that home cooks have. The 2-inch face and the glow-in-the-dark background make it easy to read once the sun has gone down.

But, most importantly, Ms. Karmel has simplified what you need to know about testing for doneness in 5 easy end- temperatures–giving you a reference point for the most commonly cooked meat and poultry.

We even include a free end-temperature magnet for your fridge or grill for easy reference.

The Instant-Read Termometer has a large 2-inch face and a premium grade stainless steel stem.


Martini Tote

Price: 64.75Portable cocktail case with adjustable shoulder strap and cocktail service for two. The Martini Tote is an elegant piece to store or transport your favorite spirits. With the fully insulated bottle holder, your spirits will maintain the perfect temperature. Whether you feature this item in your home or on an outing, this item will become a focal point. The Martini Tote resounds with quality and sophistication. The ideal gift for yourself or others!

Each Martini Tote contains:

  • 1 Cocktail Shaker
  • 1 Strainer
  • 1 Stirrer
  • 1 Tongs
  • 2 Acrylic Martini Glasses
  • 1 Jigger
  • 1 Corkscrew
  • Our Martini Tote is offered in Mahogany.

    So one thing that I love about Summer is that it is definitely peak BBQ season.  Not only do I love BBQing with my friends and family, but I am always making something BBQ each week for myself at home.  All winter long I crave BB but there is something special about a Summer BBQ, its like the flavors of BBQ just wait until the sun is shining and the weather seems to really bring out all of the flavors in the sauces, the meats, the sides and salads and the overall flavor of whatever you are BBQing.  With my love for BBQ and all things wedding, except the drama, that’s just fun and entertaining, if your friends are getting married and it is spring or summer, the perfect gift for them, even if they don’t like in Texas, is a BBQ set.

    Not everyone can afford to give an expensive $500 steak of the month club membership for a BBQ wedding gift, but one thing that almost everyone can afford and that the bride and groom, bride and bride or groom and groom is almost guaranteed to love is a gourmet BBQ wedding gift set or spice or sauce gift.  Not only are they flavorful and unique, but they also last beyond the wedding and depending on if you live near the happy couple you may get to enjoy the gift as well if they use it during a cookout or have you over for dinner.

    A few years ago I met someone that worked with a company called Cyber Cucina.  He turned me onto their oils and vinegars (I love a good gourmet basalmic vinegar, they do not taste or look like the ones you see in the store or at a restaurant) and ever since I tasted some of their amazing products I have been hooked.  When I saw that Cyber Cucina also has a series of gourmet and fabulous bbq wedding gifts and foods I had to recommend them to you.

    Not only do they choose some of the best tasting and most flavorful products, but their price points are pretty much perfect as well.  I absolutely love the products from Cyber Cucina and if I didn’t live right by a specialty grocery store that carries these styled foodie gifts, oils and BBQ wedding gifts, then I would probably be spending all my money shopping for their food products.  I highly recommend Cyber Cucina as they really know how to find some amazing products and gourmet wedding food gifts.

    April 24, 2010

    Fruit Gift Baskets, what you can do with them

    Filed under: Wedding Gift, food — Tags: , , , , , , — rollerbladerdc @ 12:22 am
    Northwest Gourmet Fruit Basket Northwest Gourmet Fruit Basket – $ 159.95
    A deluxe smorgasbord of premium fruit and gourmet delights, our NorthwestGourmet is a succulent, swanky gift indeed.

    - Royal Comice Pears
    - Italian Golden Bosc Pears
    - Columbia D’Anjou Pears
    - Seckel Pears
    - Ruby Red Apples
    - Royal Fuji Apples
    - Navel Oranges
    - Pacific Northwest
    Smoked Salmon
    - Garlic Cheddar Cheese
    - Honey Wheat Crackers
    - Dried Fruit Assortment
    - Marionberry Preserves
    - Chocolate Covered
    Bing Cherries
    - Chocolate Toffee Almonds
    - Seattle Chocolate Truffle Mints
    Fruit selections may vary by season.

    net wt: 21 lbs 13 oz

    So I’m on my diet and going crazy about not being able to eat things that I like, but then again no one said getting ready for beach season was an easy thing.  I’m also going to a couple parties where my ex’s will be there and I am certainly not going to let them up show me with being in shape while I am most certainly not.

    Anyways, I went to the store and bought a ton of fruit to snack on and what I also learned is that even though you have fruit it doesn’t mean you are actually going to eat it.  Yup, the minute you start drinking the fruit goes out the door and the pizza and real food starts to come back in.  The problem though is that you don’t actually end up using the fruit so it ends up going bad and in honor of earth day the other day and not wasting food or fruit, I wanted to share a couple ideas of what you can do with your fruit, with fruit gift baskets and fruit gifts, especially from Harry and David or my new favorite fruit gift company, The Fruit Company.

    So the first thing you can do with a fruit gift is the obvious, throw it out and change it in for chocolate…j/k.  But what you can do is go to the store and buy chocolate chips, or milk and dark chocolate chips as well as white chocolate chips and then get a double boiler to melt them down in.

    One you have the chocolate melting in your double boiler or even two pots, you can look for how to make a double boiler on other sites and then what you do is slice the fruit into circles, slices, wedges or however you can eat it best and start dipping it in the chocolate.  Lay the chocolate dipped fruit on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper and then drizzle the lighter colors or darker colors of chocolate over the fruit slices and now you have chocolate dipped fruit to eat which in my opinion is a lot more fabulous than plain fruit after this diet.

    Fruit Martinis.

    Ok, so the issue with cocktails and then binge eating when you get drunk is a big one for many of us.  What I do instead of having to binge eat not, and to use up the fruit gift basket is to incorporate the fruit into my drinks.

    I don’t do the ghetto pour vodka in a watermelon or over fruit salad thing but what I do do is make large circular slices of pears and mix it with absolute pear vodka and soda water for a lower calorie cocktail with a delicious fruit slice.  Not only does it help to keep me feeling full, but it also tastes amazing.  I also include pear slices in my lemon drop martinis and love apples in my chocolate martinis.  Bananas go great with Irish cream martinis and drinks and especially well with Kahlua based drinks.  Fruit and cocktails go hand in hand and for me help to keep me full so I don’t end up over eating when I am done drinking.

    Fruit gift baskets are amazing gifts, but the fruit can also become a pain in the ass, especially if you don’t want to eat it all or waste it.  You can use these ideas to make your fruit more fun to eat, but also incorporate it into fun things like martinis so that you not only use it so you don’t have to waste it and feel guilty, but also help to keep yourself from over eating at night helping you to save calories as well.  If you have more fruit ideas for fruit gift baskets, feel free to leave them in the comments section below.

    If you want to order or send someone a fruit gift basket, then click this link and visit the fruit company for amazing deals on fabulous fruit gift baskets.

    April 22, 2010

    Hannahs Caramen Apples – Holy Crap Yum

    Filed under: food, wedding vendors — Tags: , , — rollerbladerdc @ 2:15 am
    Caramel Apple, with Chocolate and Butterfingers – $ 7.50
    Caramel Apple with Chocolate and Butterfingers..
    Caramel Apple, Smore – $ 7.50
    Caramel Apple with Chocolate, Graham Crackers and Marshmallows.
    Caramel Apple with Toffee – $ 7.50
    Caramel Apple with Toffee

    Although I love the Summer and absolutely love Summer wear, the one thing I hate is that Summer time and beach season also means we all have to start watching what we eat and stop enjoying most of the junk food we love all winter long.

    Not only do we all start to justify chocolate by putting it on fruit or by pretending like we are actually going to work it off with an extra hour at the gym, but as we get older, well I always stay the same age or decrease every couple years, it becomes even harder to have that will power and much harder to get the winter weight off.  What also doesn’t help is when I find new gift Merchants like Hannah’s Caramel Apples.

    Now I do have to be honest with you all, I have not ever actually had or ordered a Hannah’s Caramel Apple but I have seen the owner of the company posting in a forum that I visit and it was a paid ad so I feel mostly confident that they are fully legit.  I also really like the story behind Hannah’s Caramel Apples and I think when I first learned about them I had emailed back and forth with them a few times.  Regardless though, I do believe they are legit and although sometimes things look like they are to good to be true or taste as good as they look, it is seriously hard to mess up a candy or caramel apple and when I saw the candy mixed and amazing flavor combinations of candy apples at Hannah’s Caramel Apples I could not resist sharing three of many of their designs.

    Not only does Hannahs Caramel Apples feature a ton of amazing flavors and designs, they also have caramel and candy apple gifts and a ton of chocolate apple gifts for all occasions.

    Unfortunately, in my opinions, these caramel and candy apples are definitely not beach season friendly, they do look amazing and as long as they select a high quality apple for the apple inside, they should taste amazing as well.  I guess it also depends on the chocolate, caramel, etc… as well but then again, it is seriously hard to mess up a caramel apple and these look absolutely perfect and amazing.  You can order your own caramel apples or candy apples and candy apple gifts from Hannahs Caramel Apples here.  If you do decide to order and buy one or one hundred, come back and share with us how they were.

    March 25, 2010

    Gourmet Mushrooms, Truffles and Food Wedding Gifts

    Filed under: Wedding Gift, food, wedding vendors — Tags: , , , , — rollerbladerdc @ 3:17 am

    Mixed Mushroom Appetizer

    Price: 17.95

    This is an absolutely fabulous and amazing mix of mushrooms.

    The mixed mushroom appetizer is made of Porcini, Muschio, Champignon and Chiodini mushrooms which all come blended in an extra virgin olive oil with salt and a bit of wine vinegar.  This sounds absolutely fabulous and amazing.  The problem is that if for some reason I bought this for myself I would end up eating it out of the jar instead of actually preparing it for a meal or appetizer.

    Each jar of our Mixed Mushroom Appetizer contains 280g (9.88oz)


    Tartufata-Mushroom, Olive, Truffle Condiment and Sauce

    Price: 28.95Tartufata-Mushroom, Olive, Truffle Condiment and Sauce by Tentazioni is produced in Italy’s unspoiled Marche region renowned for truffles. Tentazioni Tartufata is a versatile condiment and sauce ready to use as is or diluted in chicken stock, olive oil or cream.

    As a condiment, add to pasta, rice, egg dishes, cutlets, chicken breasts, scaloppine, or on warm crostini as an excellent appetizer. Use also as a stuffing for meat, or as a filling for ravioli and tortellini.

    Each jar of Tartufata contains 5.71oz. or 160grams.


    White Truffle Sauce

    Price: 34.50In addition to the White Truffle and the Bianchetto Truffle, this sauce also contains truffle stock, butter, and Reggiano Parmigianno Cheese. Suggested uses are with pasta, fish, cheese fondue, risotto, or crostini.

    Like I said, I’m completely obsessed with white and black truffles and white truffle sauces.  Although I haven’t ever tried this one yet I haven’t found one that I didn’t like yet.  Also, because it is from Cyber Cucina I feel good about recommending them to you all.  I had a friend that worked with them and completely trust his opinions so I am sure this white truffle sauce will be just as fabulous and amazing as their balsamic vinaigrette.

    Each jar of Tentazioni White Truffle Sauce contains 5.71oz. or 160 grams.


    Organic White Truffle Savory Seasoning By da Rosario

    Price: 23.95da Rosario products are the first and only 100% USDA certified organic truffle products on the U.S. market, and have already gained a cult following from chefs and gourmet retailers nationwide for their affordability and pure truffle flavor.

    Do I even need to say anything else about this white truffle savory seasonings?  It looks amazing, sounds delicious and can probably be mixed into a million different dishes.

    Made with White Truffles from Umbria  (If you saw Alice in Wonderland you could completely make the joke Um from Umbria lol), this seasoning adds a new dimension to backed potatoes, egg dishes, even popcorn!

    Each jar of da Rosario Organic White Truffle Savory Seasoning contains 3 oz.


    Organic White Truffle Flavored Olive Oil By da Rosario (1.76 Fluid Ounces)

    Price: 15.95With the price of truffles reaching as high as $4000.00 per pound in 2008, they are certainly out of reach for the majority of chefs and home cook alike. But good quality truffle products such as oils can offer an excellent alternative at a very reasonable price.

    Mix this into a fettucini and cream sauce.  try it with a scallop and fettucini noodle or even infuse it into a mushroom ravioli and hunny you will be loving your pasta even more than you ever knew you could.  I would definitely use this for my pastas but you can use this truffle oil for however you would like and with whatever dishes you would like.  Truffle oils are amazing since they can be used for a million different purposes and meals and if you buy this you have to share with us how you used it and how it was.

    da Rosario products are the first and only 100% USDA certified organic truffle products on the U.S. market, and have already gained a cult following from chefs and gourmet retailers nationwide for their affordability and pure truffle flavor.

    Organic White Truffle Flavored Olive Oil elevates everyday dishes to gourmet status. Just a drizzle, can change the entire character of risotto, potato dishes, eggs, or any number of “ordinary” offferings.

    One bottle of da Rosario Organic White Truffle Flavored Olive Oil contains 1.76 fl.oz.or 50ml.


    Organic White Truffle Flavored Olive Oil By da Rosario (8 Fluid Ounces)

    Price: 29.95With the price of truffles reaching as high as $4000.00 per pound in 2008, they are certainly out of reach for the majority of chefs and home cook alike. But good quality truffle products such as oils can offer an excellent alternative at a very reasonable price.

    da Rosario products are the first and only 100% USDA certified organic truffle products on the U.S. market, and have already gained a cult following from chefs and gourmet retailers nationwide for their affordability and pure truffle flavor.

    Organic White Truffle Flavored Olive Oil elevates everyday dishes to gourmet status. Just a drizzle, can change the entire character of risotto, potato dishes, eggs, or any number of “ordinary” offferings.

    One bottle of da Rosario Organic White Truffle Flavored Olive Oil contains 8 fl.oz. or 237ml.


    Organic Black Truffle Flavored Olive Oil By da Rosario (1.76 Fluid Ounces)

    Price: 12.95With the price of truffles reaching as high as $4000.00 per pound in 2008, they are certainly out of reach for the majority of chefs and home cook alike. But good quality truffle products such as oils can offer an excellent alternative at a very reasonable price. While the White Truffles generally command the higher prices, the Black Truffles are not exactly second rate– just a bit more available. There is a difference in taste and aroma, but that is a matter of personal taste.

    da Rosario products are the first and only 100% USDA certified organic truffle products on the U.S. market, and have already gained a cult following from chefs and gourmet retailers nationwide for their affordability and pure truffle flavor.

    Black truffles are amazing.  I cannot say how much I love these and that I crave them with everything.  If you really want something absolutely amazing then you have to buy a bottle of black truffle infused oil for your meals.  They taste great with everything but use it sparingly since they are very strong.

    Organic Black Truffle Flavored Olive Oil elevates everyday dishes to gourmet status. Just a drizzle, can change the entire character of risotto, potato dishes, eggs, or any number of “ordinary” offferings.

    One bottle of da Rosario Organic Black Truffle Flavored Olive Oil contains 1.76 fl.oz or 50 ml.


    Organic Black Truffle Flavored Olive Oil By da Rosario (8 Fluid Ounces)

    Price: 24.95With the price of truffles reaching as high as $4000.00 per pound in 2008, they are certainly out of reach for the majority of chefs and home cook alike. But good quality truffle products such as oils can offer an excellent alternative at a very reasonable price. While the White Truffles generally command the higher prices, the Black Truffles are not exactly second rate– just a bit more available. There is a difference in taste and aroma, but that is a matter of personal taste.

    da Rosario products are the first and only 100% USDA certified organic truffle products on the U.S. market, and have already gained a cult following from chefs and gourmet retailers nationwide for their affordability and pure truffle flavor.

    da Rosario’s creator, Rosario Safina, has been the driving force behind the popularization of truffles over the past 20 years. In 2002, Safina published the first book in the U.S. dedicated to this luxury item, “Truffles: Ultimate Luxury, Everyday Pleasure,” establishing him as the noted authority on the subject. Safina has appeared and been featured in numerous outlets including Martha Stewart Living, CNN, Fine Living, Emeril Live, Good Morning America, and The New Yorker.

    Organic Black Truffle Flavored Olive Oil elevates everyday dishes to gourmet status. Just a drizzle, can change the entire character of risotto, potato dishes, eggs, or any number of “ordinary” offferings.

    One bottle of da Rosario Organic Black Truffle Flavored Olive Oil contains 8 fl.oz or 237ml.


    Organic Porcini Mushroom Flavored Extra Virgin Olive Oil By da Rosario (1.76 Fluid Ounces)

    Price: 11.95Porcini (little piglets) Mushrooms or Boletus edulis, are highly prized as an ingredient in various foods. They are superior to most other boletes in flavor and in texture—which is the reason they generally command a higher retail price. The flavor is described as nutty and slightly meaty, with a smooth, creamy texture. This mushroom has a distinctive aroma reminiscent of sourdough.

    da Rosario products are 100% USDA certified organic products. While da Rosario’s creator Rosario Safina is most noted for his expertise on truffles, he applies the same care and precision to his entire line.

    Like truffles, porcini are a luxious addition to pasta, risotto, soups, and in many other dishes. They are a feature of many cuisines worldwide.

    Each bottle of da Rosario’s Organic Porcini Flavored Extra Virgin Olive Oil contains 1.76 fl.oz. or 50ml.

    I have been cooking a lot lately and one thing I have been using more and more are mushrooms.  I think it started because I’ve fallen in love with truffles and Italian cooking.

    Most mushrooms are completely tasteless, but when you get into some of the more expensive ones like the shitake mushrooms and portebellas, you can really start to work with their textures and infuse them with some incredible flavors and prepare them in a million different ways.

    One thing I have started doing is marinating portabellas for 48 hours and then grilling them using an italian marinade with some taragon and other flavors and then I spray them with (well more like I pour a lite coating) olive oil and then pepper them and slice them and serve them on a salad and with my shitake mushrooms I cook them right in the sauce I am preparing.

    Not only does it seem like the shitake mushrooms suck up all of the flavors of the sauce, but they give this amazing texture that really brings out the meat and other vegetables in the meal I am preparing.

    Anyways, I haven’t mentioned this one gourmet foods gift shop that I used to love and my friend used to be partnered with and so when I went looking for food tonight and because my mushrooms have only been marinating for 24 hours, I decided to look around for prepared mushrooms, gourmet mushrooms and mushroom infused oils like a truffle mushroom oil for you to use to really flavor your meals.  I love white and black truffle mushroom oils and if you have tasted a pasta prepared correctly with one you will completely never go back to having pasta without a truffle oil on it again.   They are expensive but they are completely worth it and if you buy a mushroom truffle oil for someone for their wedding they will definitely thank you when they finally use it.

    March 5, 2010

    Cookie of the Month Club. Cookie Bouquets Cookie Gifts

    Filed under: food — Tags: , , , , , — rollerbladerdc @ 11:43 pm

    Ok, this is completely one of those posts that is all about getting revenge or a passive agreesive gift that you give to that person that you really don’t like that much but also have to be civil with.  You know, one of those people that you see and you give back handed compliment too like “Ohh honey, how are you?  You look fabulous and I love those new pants, they really cover up some of the weight you gained” or “Wow, hunny what makeup are you wearing, I can barely see your acne scars anymore”.

    Anyways, a little less viscous and much more mature way to accomplish the back handed compliment is to completely screw over someone’s diet, especially if they lack willpower.  Can you tell a theme with all this dieting and dieting posts and my need for some serious junk food and soon.  LOL, I have become seriously catty lately lol and need some junk food or drinks.  Maybe that is why these posts have been even more rambling than normal.  Anyways, onto the post, if you need a gift to give someone and you want to do it with a back handed compliment, why not go after the person’s figure?

    When you’re a kid, food and candy or cookie gifts are a great thing.  You can burn off the calories fast and at that point you still have a metabolism so there is no worry about gaining weight, for the most part at least.  When you’re an adult, you still want to eat the same things, but unfortunately your body cannot handle it or process it as well as when you were a kid so if the goal is to get the person fat and still not look like a jerk when giving the gift, the perfect thing to do is a cookie bouquet or cookie gift basket.

    Now if you really want to have an impact and make sure the gift lasts and lasts, then you need to go one step further with the gift.  Why tempt the person once when you can get them and their waistline every single month.  Go for the whole waistline and replace buttons with elastic.  Give them a cookie bouquet cookie of the month club membership from CookieSurprises.com.

    Not only are the Cookie of the Month Club Cookie Bouquet Gifts completely irresistible, but they are seriously cute and instead of everyone thinking how rude it was of you to destroy the person’s waistline, they’ll be thinking of how thoughtful and cool the unique Cookie Bouquet Gifts and Cookie of the Month Club Gift you gave is.  Not only is it the perfect passive agressive gift that keeps the person eating bad food month after month, but you can rest assured that no one will be any wiser to the true intentions behind the gift.  And just so you’re not wondering where this came from, I got a gift like this recently and am livid…see I don’t normally think about being passive aggressive with gift giving.  The intent from the person who gave it to me wasn’t like this post, but that is the way I see it as I’m trying to diet right now so even though they didn’t mean to do something wrong, hey I need to learn some self control lol.

    Cookie of the Month Club Gifts are an awesome gift idea and I completely love the idea of giving them for a birthday present, an anniversary or to help keep that special someone off his or her diet.  CookieSurprises.com offers Cookie of the Month Cookie Bouquet gifts in 3, 6, 9 month and 1 year increments, so pick how much you want to screw with your “friend” and go for it.

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