Showing posts with label Macarons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Macarons. Show all posts

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Valentine's Day Gift Ideas for FOOD LOVERS

It's almost Valentine's Day and you haven't got a clue what to get for your Sweetheart right?

Well skip the lingerie because all it does is make them feel like they need to have a perfect body.

Feed them with Love and Yummy things instead.

I'm going to give you a few ideas of things you can get or do for and with the ones you LOVE and they all revolve around food in some way or another.


Here are 10 Valentine's Day Gift Ideas that will get you lots of LOVE for a little bit of money or a little more:

1.     Dinner Reservations to a restaurant that has a Prix Fixe Valentine's Day Menu if you book far enough ahead of time.  It's not very creative but the creative part comes in choosing the perfect restaurant that caters to your loved one's tastes.   Some suggestions for restaurants in Toronto include:

1a.   Susur Lee has special menus at two of his restaurants, both BENT and LEE have Prix Fixe 4 course meals for $95.00 and I can tell you that if you are lucky enough to see Susur during your visit it will be well worth it.  The food and the service at his restaurants is world class.  Susur is the master of Asian Fusion and the restaurants are beautiful.   It's a bit pricey but this is a restaurant to impress someone special.

1b.   THE BEVERLEY HOTEL on Queen Street West also has a $60 per person menu and the Chefs at the Beverley are very creative with their food so if you are looking to try something new then that's a good place to go.

1c.    DESTINGO has a 4 course "Be Mine" menu that includes Aphrodisiacs.  I haven't been there but I have heard good things.

1d.    LUMA at the Bell Tiff Lightbox on King St. West has a 3 course meal and if you are taking the TTC it's a great one stop shop where you can go and have dinner and see a movie in the same building.

1e.    Want to feel like a Celebrity?  How about going all out at ONE Restaurant,  one of Chef Mark McEwan's restaurants in Yorkville.  Their Valentine's Day menu is $100 per person and you can do a bigger splurge and book a fancy room in the Hotel for desert.

Ok I will move on from fancy restaurants now to a few other things.   What if you want to stay in instead, here are a couple of ideas for that.

2.     You can order a Heart Shaped Pizza from BOSTON PIZZA,  it's a charity initiative so it's a good thing and it looks cool.  The pizza's aren't the best in the city but it's the thought that counts here.

3.     If you are a good cook then it's always a good thing to cook your best dish and do the dishes afterward or if you have a little bit of cash to burn you can hire a PRIVATE CHEF and they will do the fancy cooking for you.

4.     You can also set up special monthly delivery specialty item boxes from places like the CARNIVORE CLUB, popular for men,  or FOODIE PAGES has all kinds of curated products, or you can even set up a healthy Organic Food delivery from FRESH CITY FARMS and I have mentioned them before but AMAZING CLUBS CANADA has all kinds of things like Wine of the Month, Cheese of the Month, Chocolate of the Month and a whole lot more.

5.     What if your special someone loves to cook.  I just got a heart shaped candy red LE CREUSET pot that I just love.  It's a pot that you can cook and serve in and it will last forever which is probably more than I can say for some relationships.

6.     There are lot's of sweet things that are outside of the regular chocolate box too.  Although a high quality box of chocolates is always a good thing it's still nice to show that you are original and like to do things a bit different than everyone else.   How about sending a dozen Red Velvet cookies in a bouquet from ZELCOVIA COOKIES,  cookie bouquets start at around $50 plus taxes.

7.     And there are Cake pops you can get for Valentine's Day from the POP SHOP.  I'm going to pick some up next week.

8.    I found a company that will deliver special Valentine's Day Cupcakes to you too. They are called TORONTO CUPCAKES.

9.   What about signing up for a Cupcake Decorating class with your date.  LE DOLCI has special classes all the time and it's a great thing to do if it's a new person in your life or you are getting predictable.

10.   And there are Macaron classes too.
My friend Mardi of EAT LIVE TRAVEL WRITE specializes in teaching Macaron classes but I can see from her site that she is all booked up for a while but you can book a workshop for a future date and give it as a future date.

Ok.. I can probably think of a few more but this should get you started in the right direction.  If you have any other creative ideas that you stumble upon in your research please let me know and I can add them to the list for next year.

I have made it as easy as I can for you by providing the links to these places so that you can save lot's of time scratching your head trying to come up with the perfect gift for your Food Loving mate.

Please feel free to LIKE my Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/starvingfoodie and post any special finds or photos of gifts you purchase from info on this Blog Post.   Or you can just like my Page and you can be notified when I have special events and other special things happening.



I will be spending my Valentine's Day at my friends home.  He has hosted a dinner party for all of his single friends and family for the past few years.  He makes heart shaped bread buns and personalized cookie lips like these.  And he goes all out in the food and the decor and always has little Valentine's Day treats to take home.  I have been requested to make my Smoked Cheddar Mac & Cheese to bring along to the dinner in my Heart Shaped Le Creuset pot.  Although it might be too small if he has invited a lot of single folks.

So get cracking on those gift ideas and let me know how it goes.

I hope you all have a great Valentine's Day whatever you do.   MUAH!




Thursday, February 13, 2014

Perfect Valentine's Day Gifts for Foodies


You have no clue what to get for your significant other or someone you fancy for Valentine's Day?
If they are Food Lovers or Cooks or Bakers then here are some suggestions for things besides the usual standbys of Flowers and Chocolates.   

Don't get me wrong, some people love flowers and chocolates but if you want to look like you have put some thought into a gift for the one you love then try one of these ideas.   If they are on a diet or hate to cook then there are still a few things on the list that they might like.



1. Le Creuset Red Dutch Oven -  with a cooked meal in it.  They get to enjoy the meal and any future meals cooked in this oven for many years.


2. Fancy French Macarons from Nadege or Sweet Escapes or a Class to learn how to make French Macarons with my friend Mardi Michaels from Eat, Live, Write - http://www.eatlivetravelwrite.com/classes/


3. House Cleaning or a Professional Organizer -  http://organizinglives.com/about-us 
I used this company when I had to sell my house and downsize to an apartment.  They also helped me organize my kitchen in my apartment after I moved in to maximize the limited space.

4. Dinner at a high quality intimate restaurant where the service is impeccable like RUBY WATCHCO  (Chef Lynn Crawford) or ICI BISTRO (Chef JP Chalet)  or FABBRICA (Owned by Chef Mark McEwan)




5. Cheese Club Membership http://leslievillecheese.com/cheeseclub/ or a Gift Basket from Cheese Boutique or a Class or Fondue at Cheesewerks.






7. Private Chef to cook an in home meal. - http://www.cdnpca.ca/hire.htm or take a Knife Skills Class at a Community College or a private Academy like Cirillos or Aphrodite Cooks or take the family to Petits Chefs Academy



8. A great cookbook and some basic ingredients from their favourite Chef's cookbook, pick up some rare cookbooks at The Cookbook Store.
   

9. A beautiful tea set with samples of different kinds of GOURMET TEAS like great french tea KUSMI or Canadian Tea Company DAVIDS TEA, TEA EMPORIUM or another Fav is NUMI Teas.


10. Instead of Flowers get a Fresh Herb Planter that will last at least a whole season and will be used to freshen a space and add flavour to lots of meals.

                                      


The Key is to put some thought and effort to whatever you do and make it as special as you can for that special person in your life.   If you don't have a special person you can even share some of these ideas with a group of friends.

Spread the Love and Share the Food -  HAPPY VALENTINE"S DAY