Christmas is THIS WEEK and if you’re anything like me, you just finished Christmas shopping (or are almost done, you swear.) I wanted to expand on one of the gift ideas I told you about a few posts back – the Olive Oil Club. They’re a monthly subscription that you can gift for $25 a month, and you get a couple of olive oils and a balsamic to go along with your oils.

The Olive Oil Club was kind enough to send me a box to sample and you guys, it’s delicious! I mean, what’s not to love about olive oil? I love the idea of getting a monthly supply of something I already use regularly with different flavors to try, and I know if you have a home cook they’d probably be in to this, too.

I use olive oil regularly (aka almost every day) and try to buy the best kind I can afford, because I know how important it is to get high quality oil. If you’re interested in more about the history and world of olive oil, I also recommend to you “Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil.”

If you want to get a sampler to try you can do that on their site, too, if you’re not quite ready to commit to a subscription.

PSST! The Olive Oil Club sent me a complimentary box to sample, but my thoughts are all my own.

For Yankee Swap this year, I made a cheese spinach dip that was gone in one second. So fast that I couldn’t get a good photo of it. So I had to make it again this weekend so I could show you. It’s once again gone, despite being only Jeff and I around. I mean, you cannot go wrong with cheese dip, am I right??

I used fresh spinach because there is not much I hate more than squeezing liquid out of spinach. And I tend to end up doing a lot of this because Jeff tends to like spinach filled things (as do I). For this one, I don’t squeeze forever. I don’t have that kind of time. I do the best I can, and the rest gets absorbed into the dip, so it’s a win-win.

Now, this dip is easy, but don’t let that spinach fool you – it’s not super healthy. But fear not, be still your heart – it’s the holidays, and so you can eat this with abandon and walk around the block later.

This doesn’t take too long to put together. It’s a crowd pleaser. It’s good hot or room temperature. It reheats fairly well. The full recipe is over here. I am probably going to add it to the regular rotation which means I PROBABLY will make this for New Year’s Eve, and maybe even make it as a snack to have around because I’m a savage like that. So, what I’m really saying is YOU’RE WELCOME.

pHey guys – you, if you’re like me, might have a holiday party this weekend. So I’ve got you covered with our perfect cheese plate from last year. Enjoy!

*****

Another day, another party food for you. If you’re anything like us, you love cheese. It’s the perfect party food to pair with chips, crackers, veggies, pretzels, fruit jams, meats, nuts…you get the idea. We love a good snack setup at a party, and we feel like the cheese plate is the crowning glory of any good spread. But what to put on your tray? What to include along with several kinds of cheeses? Wonder no more.

We here at GMS like a couple of harder cheeses, a couple softer ones, then various accoutrements to round out the salty cheese – some savory items, some sweet. We recommend three or four cheeses to start – we used brie, cheddar, gouda, and Port Salut. Then, we included two sweet fruit pastes – one was an apple cranberry spread (we love a seasonal fruit spread!) and the other an orange marmalade. We also included honey – an easy staple that you might have on hand if you don’t normally stock jellies and jams. To round it out, we included a salami and some green olives, but you could add prosciutto, pepperoni, nuts, or whatever other items you like – whatever you think your guests will be into. Then offer a variety of crackers and bread slices, and you’re all set!

Perfect Party Cheese Platter Ingredients:

Brie wedge
cheddar block
smoked gouda
Port Salut wedge
Green or black olives
2 fruit spreads (we recommend apple and orange)
honey
salami
pepperoni
Crackers of your choosing
Baguette slices

What do you like to include on your cheese plates? Do you have a favorite type of cheese, spread, or meat that you always have at a party?

Hello everyone, happy Wednesday! Today I bring you another dish I created for Joie de Vivre hotels – a seafood inspired breakfast for a truly inspiring hotel.

The Santa Cruz Dream Inn is a beach side hotel that brings the ocean in at every turn. With bay views from every room, this retro-chic hotel is the perfect place to get a breakfast that’s a little out of the ordinary. Stay with me here – normally for breakfast if you think seafood, you think salmon. For this recipe, I wanted to try something different – so I decided Shrimp & Grits with an egg sunny side up was the perfect start to a day of surfing, wandering Santa Cruz, or just daydreaming on a balcony overlooking Monterey Bay. Paired with a healthy fruit salad, this breakfast will fill you up and fuel you to keep you happy and healthy – which is all you’d ask for on a vacation, right?

For the full recipe, head over to Joyride, the Joie de Vivre blog!

Well folks, here’s this year’s gift guide. I tried to round up things I use in the kitchen regularly that I think you should have (or gift) to your fave cook! I picked ten things that I know would be a good addition to your kitchen because I use them all the time (or, with the case of the subscriptions, wish I had!) To get even more ideas, check out last year’s gift guide with some of our most cherished kitchen items.

1. Spice Subscription to Raw Spice Bar – This is actually something I asked for this year – you get spice kits with a regional theme once a month, for $6/month. What a cool way to learn new recipes (and flavors) at a cost that’s not outrageous.

2. Jelly Roll Pans – We have four of these but you literally can never have enough. When I was growing up I feel like we had ten of these. They are useful for just about anything – cookies, roasting veggies, sheet cakes, sprinkle-catchers when sprinkling baked goods….the list goes on. You need these, trust me.

3. Punch Bowl/Cake Stand – I have one of these, too. It’s a punch bowl. It’s a cake stand. It holds chips and dips. It’s pretty enough to keep on the counter at all times. This versatile cake stand will get used every holiday season…the only thing I wish is that I had two, for my cookies AND my punch!

4. Kitchen “Spider” – Now this is a tool I got from my friend Kelly years back that comes in handy time and time again. It’s designed to strain dumplings/wontons, but I mostly use it for small batches of pasta (like ravioli that I don’t want to pour and break) or for lifting things I’m deep frying out of the oil (potato chips, donuts, etc.)

5. Epicurean Cutting Boards – We also have a handful of these, recommend to us way back when we took a knife skills class. These sturdy cutting boards don’t absorb color (or flavor), are easy to clean, and are dishwasher safe. We have a variety of colors and sizes, but the one we use the most has a lip around the edge to catch liquids.

6. Silpats – Silpats, or silcone backing sheets, are a great tool in the kitchen – they’re reusable (bye parchment paper!), they’re oven safe, and they make a great surface for rolling out doughs. They help keep our counters clean, and our jelly roll pans looking new, too. We have these, again, in various sizes, but the ones that fit inside of a jelly roll pan are perfect for baking cookies!

7. Pretty Pie Pans/Platters/Cups – This one doesn’t have a link out – but think anywhere that sells kitchen goods. Or Goodwill. Or any thrift store. Cooks are constantly looking for pretty things to add to their kitchen – think of it like jewelry but for your food. I love a great, sturdy pattern with a texture, bold pattern, or odd shape. Bring over cookies on the gift and you’ll be even MORE beloved.

8. Cookie Jar – SPEAKING of cookies, who doesn’t love a great shaped cookie jar? I have a penguin in my kitchen (in case you didn’t know, I am kind of obsessed with them) and it is one of my favorite pieces in the kitchen – talk about personality! If you’re shopping for a cook, try to find one you think they’d love – whether it be simple or ornate, everyone needs a place to stash their baking.

9. Subscription to the Olive Oil Club – Think the raw spice bar but olive oil. I betcha didn’t know quite how many flavor of olive oil exist – but they do, and I think an olive oil club is a great gift that keeps on giving. You’re going to be using olive oil anyways, why not get some high quality stuff and some cool flavors while you’re at it?

10. Garlic Chopper – I’m not normally a fan of one-hit wonders (well, I am in music, but that’s another story) but I am telling you, as someone who chops garlic A LOT I love this tool. It isn’t a garlic press, it’s a garlic chopper – it minces for you. It helps immensely when I’m preparing garlic for pizza or sauce… you get the idea. If you have a garlic-lover on your list, this is a tool they’ll love.

So there’s your list – 10 great kitchen tools for your people. What else did I miss? Let me know in the comments!