The ubiquitous holiday popcorn tin gets a culinary makeover: 479 Popcorn’s revved-up varieties include ginger-sesame-caramel (pictured), Vietnamese cinnamon-sugar and Madras curry-coconut-cashew. prices vary, 479popcorn.com
Drakes Glen Creations vegan beer chocolates get their subtle flavor variations from different Mad River brews (Barleywine, Jamaican Brand Red and more) in each truffle. From $9 for four, paganchocolates.com
Italian artisans gather wild hops beneath the Dolomite Mountains and carefully grind them with oil to make Primitivizia Luppolo pesto. $16, olio2go.com
Arrange stinky, sharp and creamy wedges on Brooklyn Slate cheese boards (sourced from a family quarry in upstate New York) and write their proper names with the included soapstone chalk. From $24, brooklynslate.com
Finally: a dessert that satisfies a craving for sweet but doesn’t overpower the beer you pair with it. Lady M Mille Crepe cakes are 20 hand-made, tissue-thin crepes layered with delicate, velvety custard that scream for a barleywine. From $40, ladymconfections.com.
BIG TICKET ITEM: Lonely foodies (or really, anyone who likes antipasti) can “adopt a Prosciutto” from The Butcher Shoppe at Chicago’s Old Town Social. A charcuterie team travels four hours to a rural Illinois farm, hand-selects the whole back leg of one hog, then salt-cures it for 12 to 15 months before shipping it off to its parents. The butchers even update the adoptive family on the little guy’s growth with periodic photos. $260, oldtownsocial.com
Posted on Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011
Don’t forget about Drink Deck for the foodies and bar enthusiasts in your life! It’s the perfect stocking stuffer and a gift that keeps on giving – 52 discounts to the best bar scenes in either Portland, OR; Chicago, IL; or New Orleans, LA. Use it as a visitor or a local! http://thedrinkdeck.com