With Christmas and Hanukkah only a week away, last minute shoppers may result to panic as to what to give that special person. One of the most loved and appreciated gifts any friend or family member is happy to receive if the gift of specialty or gourmet foods that one would normally not indulge in. Here are a few suggestions from some very special gourmet shops and artisans on the Jersey Shore. And, if you hurry, many of these items can be ordered online in time for your holiday celebration.
At Sickles Market, Little Silver, there is a wealth of gourmet and goodie food products from which to select. The award-winning Bequet Gourmet Caramels, hand-crafted by a master caramel chef are guaranteed to please everyone’s sweet tooth. Flavors include CelticSea Salt Vanilla Butter Caramel, classic Vanilla Butter Caramel and Salt-Dark Chocolate Butter Caramel - all natural with no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. Bequet Caramels are $8.99 and available online at shop.sicklesmarket.com.
For cheese lovers, there is Sickles' Cheese of the Month Club, described as "a party in a box." Each month gourmet cheese experts pair three complementary cheeses or charcuterie, accompaniments like jams, honey, and nuts, product descriptions, tasting notes, and suggestions for enjoying them. Available in 3, 6, and 12-month subscriptions, prices start at $125.00 for 3 Months and can be ordered online at shopsicklesmarket.com
Are you preparing to throw a party? Try Sickles Spicy Hot Cocktail Collection. Warm up with friends or make your party hot, hot, hotter than ever with Sickles' Hot Cocktails Gift Set. This essential collection spices up your favorite libations with Mazi Piri Piri authentic Portuguese-style hot sauce, McClure's Bloody Mary Mix, Sable & Rosenfeld Tipsy Cocktail Stirrers, and includes spicy snacks like MV's Best Jalapeno Peanuts and McClure's Spicy Spears Pickles. Some like it hot; this gift is for them. $55.00 (Also available online).
Celebrate Jersey Pride with a Jersey Gift Basket. It’s made to eat local or remind someone of home with a collection of gourmet goodies from the Garden State. These gourmet gift sets and baskets celebrate classics like Jersey Tomatoes and Jersey Diners, as well as introducing new favorites like Mazi Piri Piri authentic Portuguese style hot sauce, made in Asbury Park, and Jersey Girl chocolates as sweet and fabulous as a Jersey Girl, herself. $45.00, $100, or $200. All gift items areavailable online at shop.sicklesmarket.com. Sickles Market, 1 Harrison Avenue, Little Silver, 732.741,9563.
At Carter & Cavero Old World Oil Company (stores are in Summit, Princeton, Long Branch and Red Bank), gifts will transport you to the Mediterranean with exotic flavors of Spain in the specially created olive oils and vinegars, hand-crafted dinner ware in olive oil wood, terra cotta cookware and hand-painted pottery by Spanish artist, Tito. For the gourmet-loving family, there is the Holiday Gift Basket that includes Spanish Hojiblanca Extra-Virgin Olive Oil and Basil Olive Oil, Traditional and Fig Italian Balsamic Vinegars, a tin bread dipping spices, a package of Sugar "Crack" Almonds from Puglia, Italy, a box of Picos de Aceite (traditional Spanish tapas crackers), sun dried tomato spread, jars of hummus, Spanish green olive tapenade and Spanish black olive tapenade and a four-inch cazuela (traditional terra cotta dipping dish from Spain), $99.95.
For the gourmand who loves exotic seasonings, the Truffle Lover’s Basket is the ideal gift. The basket includes Truffle Egg Pasta, Carter & Cavero Truffle Salt and a bottle of Carter & Cavero Truffle Olive Oil, $55.95. And for the perfectionist hostess, the Hostess Gift Basket is sure to please her. To tingle her tastebuds, the basket includes a specially selected pair of olive oil and Italian balsamic vinegar, which can inspire her creativity for making marinades and vinaigrettes and comes in a small cazuela, the traditional terra cotta dipping dish from Spain. Order online at Carter & Cavero Old World Olive Oil Company, or call 877.281.4713.
For chocoholics, the Red Bank Chocolate Shoppe has holiday gift ideas in every chocolate flavors from chocolate covered pretzels to crispy chocolate covered bacon. The Holiday Mini Gift Tower is a tower of elegant, beribboned boxes holding a treasure trove of treats: a special one pound Holiday assortment of “Homemade Chocolate Goodness” in milk and dark chocolates, one pound Holiday pretzel assortment and a 1/2 pound Holiday non-pareils, $57.95. The Holiday Gift Basket will please any age with its two pound assortment of chocolates - Peppermint Bark, Holiday Non-Pareils, Mini White Street Pretzels and Sea Salt Caramels cover in rich Dark Chocolate, $49.95. And for the perfect after-dinner mint, treat your guests to Peppermint Bark a blend of dark chocolate, white chocolate and crisp bites of minty candy canes, $13.95. No time to shop, order online at redbankchocolateshoppe.com. Red Bank Chocolate Shoppe, 17 White Street, Red Bank, 732.219.0822.
Not everyone’s sweet tooth craves candy or chocolate. Sugarush, Red Bank, let’s you create your own gift idea from freshly baked cookies to custom cakes and customizable cupcakes to cake pops, sodas – and candy. Sugarush truly is a sweet experience where the customer becomes the creator whose imagination can run wild in making a confectionary fantasy come to life. Specials on Holiday Cake Pop-ups start on Wednesday, December 21 at Sugarush shop only, $2.50 to $5. And, the Cupcakes Cash is terrific for teachers, your favorite salon stylist or personal trainer. Sugarush, 37 East Front Street, Red Bank, 732.414.9044.
Now is the time to finally finish your holiday gift shopping without the stress and hassle of fighting madness at the malls while supporting your small local businesses at the same time.
For the latest food and restaurant news and seasonal recipes, visit me at Shore Region Food Examiner and Shore Region Restaurant Examiner.