What food (or foodie) gift(s) did you receive for Christmas?

[housewolf]

My brother FedExed me an Apple Berry Crumb pie from Julian Pies in California. What a surprise - I hadn't thought about Juliann Pies in years!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

How about you? What did you receive this year?

[elleng]

1. Nada! That pie sounds GREAT! Was it? Is it?

[housewolf]

10. I haven't given Julian Pies a thought since I left Calif in early 2004

so it's probably been 6 years since I've had the pleasure.

Their crust is quite good but the filling is too tart for my taste. I'd have picked Peach or Pecan for myself, but I know he thought about it and picked something he thought I'd love... And that's what matters.

Also, not knowing that this one was coming, I'd picked up a pecan pie at the supermarket yesterday, so the whole thing is kinda funny. Here I am, living by myself with few friends here, with two whole pies!

:rofl:

[elleng]

13. I'm basically alone, too,

(with a couple friends at the moment) and wouldn't MIND having a pie or 2!

[EFerrari]

2. This year was/is a nailbiter so we didn't exchange gifts but

my beautiful mum took my ingredients list out last night and brought home every single thing I needed to make dinner tonight after her long day at work.

I got up and made her coffee and banana bread in bed and we'll be eating soon if I manage not to mess up her ham. :hi:

[hippywife]

4. Aww, Beth.

That's the kind of thing it's all about, I guess. Sounds like you take care of each other real well. :hug:

[EFerrari]

5. I made her some of merh's red beans and rice. I wish I could post a pix

of how they SMELL! We have to work on that. :hug:

[hippywife]

6. Love red beans and rice!

I bet it did smell wonderful. Yes! The men complain about not having their flying cars yet, we need to whine loudly for Smell-o-Vision! :rofl:

[EFerrari]

7. Smell-O-Vision! We need to petition EarlG to GET ON IT!

LOL

The thing about my mom is she was a single working mom in the 50s-60s. I remember spending a lot of time waiting for her to come home or to wake up on weekends, that kind of thing. It's really nice to have a little bit of that time now. Plus, she tucks in great! :rofl:

[hippywife]

18. Very, very sweet, B.

Especially the tucking in part. :rofl:

[housewolf]

11. I'll bet that touched her heart

Special food gifts can be the most touching of all. It's when you know someone really loves you.

[housewolf]

8. That's so sweet!

What a wonderful Chrisitmas gift! Isn't it amazing how sometimes, even the most simple, mundane actions become treasured gifts.

[EFerrari]

12. I've turned into a total "pare it down" junkie.

This morning on the way out to feed the horses, I saw two deer running across the hill. One of them tried to run through the fence and that didn't work out very well. But I sat there in the truck and watched them figure out each gap in the four fences they needed to pass through.

Of course, if the same two decide to dine on my corn this summer, that will be an entirely different story. :rofl:

[hippywife]

3. LOL!

Did it arrive intact? Was that a favorite of yours once upon a time?

http://www.julianpie.com/index.html

[housewolf]

9. It's almost perfect

A tiny bit of the crust broke off, otherwise it's perfect. Completely baked, all I needed to do was cut a slice and heat it up in the oven a bit. Just the thing to go with the Green & Black Organic Vanilla Bean I just happened to buy at Whole Paycheck yesterday afternoon.

I wish I could say their pies were a favorite of mine... I guess that's what makes it so funny that he sent it to me. Their crust is pretty good but I was never wild about their filling - ditto this one. He made an effort to send me something that I would really like though, and that's what's so touching about it.

P.S. What I'll do with the whole pecan pie I picked up at the supermarket (not knowing this one was coming) remains to be seen.


:rofl:

[hippywife]

25. Slice them up

and freeze them individually. You'll have a nice handy dessert to pop into the micro any time you want.

It was a very sweet thought. He probably figured you wouldn't bake something nice like that for just yourself.

:hug:

[Tab]

14. None - it's been a tough year

but if given a choice, I'd replace at least two of my Le Creuset pots that got trashed during the year.

[hippywife]

19. >>>

Very thankful to still have you around and on the mend, Tab. Worth more than any Le Creuset made. As Skittles would say: Yes, Indeed! :hi:

[Warpy]

20. EEK! How did they get trashed?

Those things are nearly indestructible.

On edit: there's a great discussion about cheaper alternatives to Le Creuset. One thing jumped out at me, "If your LC has cracks, you can return the pot to the manufacturer and they'll send you a new one. That's what you're paying for--the unconditional lifetime guarantee!"

Interesting discussion at http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/433781

[eridani]

15. A new Hamilton slow cooker with a lock-on top

Much better than the Rival I got on sale last year, with 4 settings instead of two, Taking th old one to a potluck with fish chowder in it, it tipped over and spilled some on the floor carpeting. (I thought it would be safe if I just put it on the floor.)

Also some assorted home-made dry soup mixes and that sort of thing. I donated money to food banks and Heifer International in everyone's name also.

[Phentex]

17. I gave my niece one of those last year...

because she likes to take things with her and she loves the lock top. I don't travel with mine so my old one's still doing its job at home.

It's something they all should have IMO.

[Phentex]

16. coffee grinder, french press, a Top Chef cookbook AND

2 ove gloves!

I was really surprised at how interesting the Top Chef cookbook is. There's trivia and a glossery and lots of hints throughout. Some of the recipes look like stuff I might try.

The pie sounds yummy!

[housewolf]

23. Now you can get some good coffee beans

bake yourself something yummy from the new cookbood and have a nice afternoon coffee break to initiate all those special gifts. Or better yet, invite someone to share with you. Yummm! Happy holidays!

[pengillian101]

27. 2 ove gloves!

Wow, you will never burn yourself ever again - they work really great!

[Phentex]

29. Yes! My husband ruined the last one I had...

it was an older one without the grippy stuff. I don't know what it is about potholders but I am unable to find one that really works. And my hands are small so the great big mitts seem bulky. I love these gloves!

[AwakeAtLast]

21. Mom & Dad gave me a Griddler

:D

Turkey Paninis anyone?

[housewolf]

22. Be right over!

I have a loaf of homemade bread I could bring :)

Sounds great - wonderful gift. It's something you can get a lot of use and enjoyment from.

[tigereye]

24. pyrex gift set and a griddle for the husband, cutting board for my SIL and

second sale All-Clad pot for my other SIL. Other second-sale All-Clad items for the house.

[Phentex]

30. ahhh, all-clad!...

Replace visions of sugar plums with visions of all-clad...

:)

[japple]

26. My daughter in Portland sent an Oregon care package to me

that included home canned cherries and cherry jam, 2 lbs. shelled walnuts, 1 lb. salted hazelnuts, 3 cans of local tuna from the Luna Sea Fishouse Cannery (jalapeno, alderwood smoked, and plain all canned in their own juice). I ate some of the smoked tuna a couple of nights ago and it tasted oily, fishy and too strong. I usually eat (Sclafani) oil-cured tuna or water-packed white albacore, and this is a much heavier taste/texture.

As I menitoned in a previous posting, the seal on the canned cherries failed in transit, and I've just finished making cherry jam. Since the cherries were canned in light syrup, I only added 2 cups of sugary and used the "pink box" of Sure Jell. I licked off the spoon, and it tasted divine, so now I have 2-1/2 pints of homemade cherry jam!

[hippywife]

28. I was just wondering how your jam had turned out.

Yaaaa! for you. :hug:

BTW, I am now finally past the bonus army part of The Lacuna if you want to send me a PM. I think I may now what you are wanting to ask me. If it is what I'm thinking, the answer is yes. LOL

[kestrel91316]

31. My Chrismas gift to myself was the yummy Holiday Apple Pie you can

read about on a thread below, lol. Other than that, I only got some fancy teabags. NO CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!

My niece and nephew still need to send their gifts for me - late presents are a longstanding birthday tradition in our family, and now it's spilling over into Christmas.

[susanna]

32. Do books count?

If so, I received "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Julia Child and "COCO: 10 World-Leading Masters choose 100 Contemporary Chefs" by...uh...who knows? Publisher is Phaidon. It's a book where they delve a bit into these 100 chefs and their styles.