Small Bites

Here are some of our favorite gift items for the gourmand on your holiday shopping list. Everything from whiskey to honey pots, and all available locally.

The Voracious Reader in Larchmont will make (and wrap!) custom gift platters of four books stacked on reusable melamine platters. Some of our favorite food literature released in 2013 include “The Art of Simple Food II: Recipes, Flavor and Inspiration from the New Kitchen Garden” by Alice Waters; “Salt, Sugar, Fat” by Michael Moss; “The Drunken Botanist” by Amy Stewart and “Provence, 1970” by Luke Barr.

Buy: $20, plus the cost of the books. The Voracious Reader, 1997 Palmer Ave., Larchmont, 914-630-4581, thevoraciousreader.com.

Home brewing supplies

Got a beer nerd on your list? A new home brew supply shop in Somers, The Simple Brewer, has hundreds of items in stock — everything you need to make your own beer at home, from liquid malt extract to grain mills to cool beer bottles. Or if your giftees are just starting out, consider an all-inclusive home brew kit to get them going.

Buy: $49, Holiday Ale ingredient kit by Brewer’s Best. The Simple Brewer, 346 Rt. 202, Somers, 914-617-8617, www.simplebrewer.com.

The new vodka from chef Peter X. Kelly, Bill Murray and Mikhail Baryshnikov is billed as a “chef’s vodka” for its smooth combination of buckwheat and crystal clear water sourced from the Julian Alps in Slovenia. Kelly swears by it for drinking neat or adding delicacy to a sauce. He even posted some of his recipes on the website.

Buy: $37.99 for a 750-ounce bottle. Visit sloveniavodka.com for a complete list of retailers in Westchester, Rockland and Putnum counties.

This line of glass tree ornaments available at Sur la Table strike the right balance between kitschy and sweet. The pig is from the grilling ornament series, which also includes a lamb, cuts of beef and a bottle of hot sauce.

Buy: Sectioned-Pig Ornament, $25. Sur la Table, locations in The Westchester, Ridge Hill and The Shops at Nanuet. Buy online, www.surlatable.com.

Two Westchester businesses, Cathy’s Biscotti of White Plains and Port Chester’s Path Coffee Roasters, are partnering up to offer a gourmet gift pack for the coffee lover on your list. The pack comes with a 6-count bag of Cathy’s baked-from-scratch biscotti and a 12-ounce bag of Path Coffee. Customers can order online and choose their favorite biscotti flavor and coffee varietal for a perfect match.

Buy: $22.58, buy online only at pathcoffees.com or call 914-305-3595.

Serve your locally sourced supper on this cleverly designed Shaker-style trivet made from smooth Beechwood dowels strung along a loop of sturdy rope, which can be adjusted to accommodate everything from a teapot to a large casserole dish.

Buy: Little Big Trivet by Areaware, $24.95. Online or at the Farm Store at Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture, 630 Bedford Road, Pocantico Hills, 914-366-6200, www.stonebarnscenter.org.

Baking is a science, and no serious baker should be without a reliable kitchen scale. But it’s one of those gadgets people resist buying for themselves. We like this stainless steel one from OXO with a pull-out screen. Its pull-out screen makes measurements easy to read and its thin design makes it a cinch to strore.

Buy: OXO Stainless Steel Kitchen Scale, $50. Sur la Table, locations in The Westchester, Ridge Hill and The Shops at Nanuet. Buy online, www.surlatable.com.

Marcello’s Ristorante in Suffern offers lunch and dinner cooking classes that include a three course Italian meal and hands-on instruction by chef Marcello Russodivito. Every class is different: no repeat recipes. A recent class menu included sea scallops with mushroom and leek ragu, chicken saltimbocca and an open-face Napoleon for dessert.

Buy: $50 per person plus tip, tax and beverage. Buy online www.marcellosgroup.com or call 845-357-9108.

You might have a hard time choosing just one thing to buy from the one year-old Union Hall General Shop in North Salem, but we like the slate cheese boards by Brooklyn Slate Co. Each board comes with a soapstone pencil for writing the names of cheeses and hors d’œuvres on the board, anti-slip cork feet to protect table tops and a burlap bag for storage. Bonus: the slate is sourced from upstate New York.

Buy: Booklyn Slate Co. cheese board, $31.49. Union Hall General Store, 2 Keeler Lane at Route 121, North Salem, 914-485-1550, www.unionhallgeneralstore.com.

Food of the month clubs blew up a few years ago when big online companies started offering them, but we like this little local one from Dobbs and Bishop in Bronxville for its strong customer service and a personal touch to each month’s basket. For for 3, 6 or 12 months, Dobbs and Bishop will deliver a basket that includes tasting notes, suggested wine pairings and a condiment. Cheesemonger and shop owner Kevin McNeill encourages “club members” to call with questions or comments about his selection.

Buy: $90 (3 months), $180 (6 months), $360 (12 months). Dobbs and Bishop, 107 Pondfield Road, Bronxville, 914-361-1771, www.dobbsandbishop.com.

StillTheOne Distillery and Captain Lawrence Brewery partnered to create “287 Whiskey,” named for the road that connects them. Distilled from the brewery’s Freshchester Pale Ales, 287 Whiskey has a floral aroma, and malted barley blends with caramel and vanilla flavors to create a unique Westchester born drink. Captain Lawrence recommends drinking it neat, on the rocks, with a splash of water or alongside a Freshchester Pale Ale.

Buy: 287 Whiskey, $50. Vino 100, 171 E. Post Rd., White Plains or Zachy’s Wine & Liquor, 16 East Pkwy., Scarsdale.

This adorable honey pot is perfect for the tea lover in your life. We like its sunny hue that will add a pop of color to the kitchen throughout the winter. Give with an assortment of local honey or a batch of fresh baked croissants.

Buy: Le Creuset stoneware honey pot, $27.95. Charles Department Store, 113 Katonah Ave., Katonah, 914-232-5200, www.charlesdepartmentstore.com.

 

Happy Holidays!