5 Interesting Gifts For a Host

Gifts that any host will enjoy..

...other than wine!

Have you ever gone to a holiday party with a carefully selected premium bottle of wine and soon after giving it to the host discover that your gift was plopped dismissively in a back corner (behind a heaping pile of coats) with 25 other festively wrapped (but, cheaper) bottles? This happened to me a few years ago, and from that point on, I vowed that I would always try to bring personable, long-lasting gifts that the host will appreciate and remember long after the party has ended.

If you are stumped with what to bring to your next holiday party, consider the following:

Gift ideas that are suitable for any host:

Holiday Ornaments

Holiday Ornaments can be enjoyed immediately, throughout the holiday season and hopefully, for years to come.  And if you are still bent on bringing a bottle of wine, a holiday bulb pairs nicely, and can even charmingly hang from the bottle!

Holiday Bulbs -- so easy, so memorable. 

Air plants

Arriving at a party with a large bouquet of flowers always leaves a lasting impression.  

Recently, however, I changed it up a bit, and brought two delicate small glass jars of air plants (below) to a host of a party that I did not know that well at that time.  Air plants are incredibly whimsical plants that do not need soil, just some water every now and then.  It was a huge hit, sparked all kinds of conversation, was placed at the center of the table, and are still thriving at the home of the host.  Home Run!

Tea

Without repeating myself from previous posts, teas are all the rage!  They combine natural, earthy goodness with exceptional varities of flavor to form a perfect healthy gift. 

 Earlier this week, I was invited to the opening of a new tea shop, T2. This shop, popular in Australia, 

 just opened here in the United States, with one of its first shops here in Brooklyn. I found upbeat, colorful teapots and teaware, infusers and delectable tea leaves in every flavor combination imaginable at this Moroccan inspired shop. Anything from T2 would be suitable to bring to a party --  and will be appreciated for some time.  You can find them online at:

http://www.t2tea.com/tea

Herb Jar

If your host is a cook, consider bringing something for the kitchen. A few months ago, friends brought me a tasteful  box of Herbs of Provence that they had purchased on a recent trip to France. I think of them each time I use the herbs.  

But if you haven't been to France lately, consider an ingenious Herb Jar.  These self-watering kits in adorable jars are a stylish, yet easy, way to grow herbs. The jars utilize "wicking," a passive hydroponics technique, to bring water up to plant roots. The vintage mason jars are outfitted with a net pot, a soilless grow medium, plant nutrients, polypro wick, and organic seeds. To start growing, simply add water and set in a sunny window.

Herb gift set includes 4 herb planters: basil, parsley, oregano, and cilantro. You can find them here:

Herb Jars

Personalized Baked Good

We have all done it -- made a promise to whip something up but inadvertently run out of time and end up  buying treats at the local bakery. But, this does not mean that the treat can't be personalized.  I enjoy baking pies (and make a killer pie crust), but rarely have time for it.  The three berry pie (below) is from Briermere's Farms in Riverhead NY and is absolutely delectable.  Whenever I bring this to a party, I personlize it.  I take it out of the cheap, flimsy tin and put it into a more suitably elegant french ceramic pan that can be used by the host for years.  
Looks like I spent hours making it!

Also, if you are able to bring homemade treats, it helps to put them onto a newly purchased dish that can be left with the host.  At the end of the party, no one has to fret over washing  the dish and returning it to you. 

For more gift ideas, check out Sur La Table. 

Enjoying the incredible tea selections at
T2 in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn.
Happy Holidays!

Italian Cheesecake

Easy and Delicious Ricotta Cheesecake --

and it's Gluten Free!

Ok, so this is not a cheesecake -- it is a mouthwatering rainbow cake that I bought from Betty Bakery in Brooklyn for our Labor Day weekend party.  I wanted everyone to see it! It's a sensible choice if you have lots of kids around; or better yet, a perfect gift for contemptuous, county clerks in Kentucky...sorry, had to throw that in.

Here is the cheesecake that we are going to make. I am eating this slice at my desk presently, as I write up the recipe! YUM!!!

So, if you are in the mood for extra rich, thick cream cheese cheesecake, the one with the graham cracker crust and perhaps some heavy whipped or sour cream on top, this recipe is not for you.  The recipe that follows is a traditional, Italian-style cake that is light, has just the right amount of sweetness and has the consistency that is more like flan than cream cheese. It is delicious, and better yet, simple to prepare. It is also perfect for dinner parties, is an impressive gift, and can be prepared a day in advance. You won't regret it!

Here is what you will need:

Spring form baking pan

3 lbs of whole milk ricotta cheese. Note: Be sure to look closely at the container's label, measurements can be obscure (above, a 15 oz container? Honestly!)

2 cups granulated sugar

6 eggs

1 teaspoon orange zest

1 tablespoon vanilla paste: 

In my opinion, unless you are cutting fresh vanilla beans and removing the seeds,  Nielsen-Massey vanilla bean paste should be used wherever vanilla extract is required.  It is simply the best! I use a generous amount for this cake.

You can find it at:

Sur La Table

Here is how to prepare the cake

Start by preheating oven to 350 degrees. 

Lightly whisk the eggs and then add in the ricotta cheese and sugar.  

Add in the vanilla paste...

...and the lemon zest. 

Mix the ingredients together lightly. Be sure not to over mix, it should remain a bit lumpy. 

If you are looking for a new spring form baking pan, check out the German brand, Kaiser.  It is available at Sur La Table. 

This ingenious one (above) has a glass bottom, perfect to help gauge whether baking is complete!

Pour batter into the spring form pan and bake in the oven for one and a half hours, or until the top turns brown. After taking it out of the oven, it will fall a little bit. Release the spring 30 minutes after it starts cooling. The longer the cake cools, the better it will taste. It can be enjoyed at room temperature or cooled overnight. 

Top the cake with some powdered sugar and serve plain or with some fresh fruit.

Wasn't that easy??

Sur La Table is having a big sale! Check it out:

http://www.surlatable.com/