Holiday Gifts for my Foodie Family and Friends

This holiday season has been the easiest shopping season ever. I made 3 stops: Liquor Mart, Whole Foods, and Savory Spice Shop.


Liquor Mart is the place to go in Boulder to buy ROOT, which I picked up for my dad and experimented with some amateur mixologists (aka family and friends) in my parents’ basement bar. Order some online if you’re not here in Boulder.

Whole Foods is the local place to buy Chocolove bars. Again, order online and treat yourself to some fantastically created chocolate flavor sensations. I gave away a dozen Chocolove bars to smiling faces in New Jersey.

Finally, I went to Savory Spice Shop for some standard herbs like oregano and parsley, but I also picked up some Korean Aged Black Garlic, some Lavender Vanilla Bean Sugar, and some Spiced Vanilla Bean sugar, which I sprinkled over my apple pie for Thanksgiving. Savory Spice Shop makes beautiful holiday gift baskets, so stop in the shop or order online and make all of your foodie friends happy this holiday season.

My Dad’s Bar

Growing up, I always found it so cool that my parents had a bar in the basement. I’m talking about a fully-stocked bar, and as I entered my teen years, I’d hang there with my friends and sneak little sips of things. It was cool. None of my friends had a bar in their basement.
I spent a lot of time behind the bar this year when I visited my parents for Thanksgiving. I brought my dad, Jack, the perfect gift for his eclectic bar: ROOT.

ROOT is, in my opinion, the most interesting new spirit on the market. This pre-prohibition era root-beer-tasting spirit made for some fun experimentation.

My dad introduced me to Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur, which is sure to please ginger-lovers out there. I mixed a little with some ROOT and some all natural ginger ale. It was good. I also mixed some with apple cider. Then I mixed ROOT with apple cider and maple scotch. There were a number of different combinations.

I’ve always admired my dad’s wine collection, and he spoils me every time I visit by opening a dusty bottle or two. This year it might have been three. It was a special visit, I suppose.

My dad likes to infuse vodka, brandy, and scotch with different things. His wild blackberry vodka was smooth and sippable. The same was true for his wild blackberry brandy. All he does is pick blackberries from his blackberry bush and soak them in alcohol. After a while you have a new flavored vodka, brandy, or scotch.

My sister, Alison, has been making Maple Scotch for years now and my dad still had some of her 2008 batch. My good childhood friend and I sipped on that one night for a while. Just like old times… We had a good laugh talking about how sipping scotch at age 30 was just like hanging out in middle school. I don’t remember drinking scotch back then. I do remember vodka and OJ, vodka and cranberry, gin and soda, rum and coke, etc.

My dad came dowstairs to the bar with us for a while and gave us a taste of 33 year-old Dewars that he had bought before my parents even owned their house. It was almost as smooth as the maple scotch. Just let it sit for 30+ years if you have the patience.

My sister also brought my dad a cool gift this year: Vermont Gold Vodka made from 100% maple sap. We didn’t open that bottle. Maybe next year…

Xplorador Carmenere by Concha y Toro

Here’s another wine I would buy again.  I don’t claim to be a connoisseur, but I know what I like.  Xplorador Carmenere by Chile’s famous Concha y Toro tastes great. It is also funny to me that I made up a little song for it that sounded like Dora the Exploradora… and I sang it while I poured.

And just for fun- I added a few photos of the Concha y Toro Winery from our visit a few years ago when we lived in Santiago, Chile.

Wine was plentiful!

The grounds were beautiful.

Olomomo… Oh My Goodness!

I can’t believe I have no self control. Zero self control. One large bag of Olomomo Righteous Cinnamom Cayenne Roasted Almonds was totally devoured by two people (me included) in what I’m remembering to be less than 30 minutes.

They are seriously good nuts!

Alton Brown-Inspired Roasted Tomato Sauce with Turkey Meatballs

I finally started to use my Alton Brown-inspired Roasted Tomato Sauce which I had made during peak tomato season and froze in small jars. Finally… fresh tomato sauce.
I thawed the puree and tried follow Alton Brown’s instructions, so I chopped an onion and some garlic and sauteed them a bit in a little olive oil, then added my previously frozen roasted tomato sauce and a cup or so of white wine and let this cook for approximately 30 minutes before adding my turkey meatballs.

In case you’re wondering whether I prefer my turkey meatballs in Grilled Roma Tomato Sauce or my Alton Brown-inspired Roasted Tomato Sauce… the winner is… Roated Tomaot Sauce! Hands down winner! Thank you, Alton Brown. Thank you.

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A Bolder Table is a place where I bookmark my favorite recipes for later along with some occasional musings. It's my personal digital recipe compilation... Let's say it's my cookbook. Thanks for stopping by! -Megan
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