Every year I try to think of something new and creative to make and give my friends for the holidays. In years past I’ve made a wide assortment of gifts, including limoncello, brownie mixes in festive mason jars, and homemade steak rubs. This year, I borrowed an idea from a fellow food blogger and whipped up a batch of homemade vanilla extract and bottled it in these adorable little glass bottles from the Specialty Bottle Company. I’ll wrap a ribbon around each with a gift tag and I’m set for the season, ready with a hostess gift for every party I’ll attend in the next few weeks.
If you don’t have the time or inclination to make your own food gifts this holiday, there’s no reason to fret. Colorado offers up a wonderful selection of artisan food items that make wonderful gifts. Some local Colorado options to consider are:
A cheese gift basket from locations such as Fromage to Yours, St. Killian’s Cheese Shop, or the Truffle Cheese Shop.
A selection of handcrafted micro-brew beers from one or more of the many breweries along the Front Range.
A wine gift basket featuring Colorado wines – some of my favorites from the 2009 Colorado Winefest are Garfield, Two Rivers, and Canyon Wind, but there are many Colorado wineries receiving prestigious awards for their vino. Check out the Colorado Wine website for ideas.
Nothing says the holidays quite like chocolate – how about some special dark chocolate bars from Colorado producers like Chocolove, DeVries Chocolate, or Belvedere Belgian Chocolate Shop?
With wonderful bread shops scattered across the front range, one or more are certain to be offering my favorite holiday bread, panettone. It’s a very slightly sweet yeast bread packed with some bits of dried fruits and pine nuts, and it just happens to make great bread pudding or French toast.
Finally, if you don’t have the time to do the legwork yourself, companies like 5280 Gourmet offer a wide selection of food gift baskets, some very reasonably priced, and some offering same day delivery.
Indulge a little bit this holiday season and share some fabulous food gifts with your friends!
Tickets are now on sale for Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation Denver, a huge culinary benefit with proceeds supporting the effort to end childhood hunger in Colorado. The event will feature more than 30 of Colorado’s great restaurants, food trucks and carts, cocktail artists, local wineries, and microbreweries. Taste of the Nation Denver was voted Best Food Event In Denver in 2010, so don’t wait to get your tickets!
