Aged at least two and a half years, this silky smooth tequila is made from 100% agave. It’s one of the few tequilas that’s made for sipping instead of shooting. And no, “body sips” don’t count
Heineken Beertender
The Beertender, designed by Krups, finally gives you a chance to be your own bartender and serve up ice cold Heineken that tastes just like it does at your favorite local watering hole. Tip jar sold separately.
Lou Malnati’s Pizza of the Month Club
Unless you live in or around Chicago, you’re being deprived of the buttery awesomeness that is true deep dish pizza. But, Lou Mahati will ship you two of his monstrous, authentic pies every month for a year. Try the “crustless,” which replaces dough with sausage
Johnnie Walker Blue Personalized Bottle Engraving
Get your own bottle of Blue-one of the world’s rarest scotches-engraved with your own special personal 45 character message. Ours says “We’re not the father!”
Tabasco Tub of Flavor
Most gift baskets are packed full of leathery sausage and mystery cheese, but this galvanized tub is literally packed with just about everything that bears the Tabasco logo. From crackers to sauces, you’re going to need a lot of milk to get through it.
Wyndham Estate Black Cluster Shiraz
Big and bold, this South Australian Shiraz has powerful notes of oak spice and dark berry. Pair it with anything from BBQ to lamb to cheese for an easy party beverage upgrade
Skillet Bacon Jam
You’ll want to stick with grape when making PB&J, but this smoky spread is perfect for burgers. Skillet takes a pile of bacon and renders it down with a mixture of spices until all that’s left is a brown glob of salty heaven.
Lagavulin Distiller’s Edition
Peaty, smoky and flat-out awesome, this Islay scotch is the epitome of a real man’s whiskey. The Distillers Edition is double matured in sherry casks to give it a hint of raisin and vanilla on a very smooth finish.
Corsair Gin
This gold medal award-winning new gin is produced in small batches in a hand-hammered gin-head pot still. We don’t know what that means, but this has a clean finish of coriander, juniper and citrus.
Port Ellen 30 Year-Old Scotch
The ultimate whiskey-lover’s gift, this is from the Port Ellen distillery which closed down in 1983. There’s only 5,916 bottles left from this “ghost distillery”, so get it while you can
FRS Energy Drinks
This Lance Armstrong-endorsed energy supplement takes a break from the typical high-caffeine, high-sugar formula and is instead spiked with a non-jittery antioxidant called Quercetin. And the best part: so far it hasn’t caused us to run shirtless on the beach with Matthew McConaughey.
Fidencio Mezcal
One of the few artisanal Mezcal’s on the market, Fidencio is made with a rare smoke-free (“sin humo”) technique that gives this a smooth and crisp finish. It’s shippable or mixable. Your choice!
Vita-Mix 5200 Deluxe Package
Vita-Mix blenders allow you to blend thick, dense ingredients that would bring other blenders to a halt. With a 64 oz. container and speeds ranging from 11 mph to 240 mpg, this blender provides consistent power regardless of load.
Weber 721001 Smokey Mountain Cooker
This 18.5 inch charcoal smoker creates an authentic smokehouse flavor at home. Smoke a whole turkey and an entire ham at the same time with this porcelain-enamled steel smoker
Shun Ken Onion Santoku Knife
The process involved with making this unique looking blade is a lot like the one used to make Samurai swords. 16 layers of SUS410 High Carbon Stainless Steel are pounded to 3/1000th of an inch and bonded to a VG10 core. Translation: Don’t use it drunk.
Vinturi Essential Wine Aerator
Allow your wine to breathe, and it will open up and release intended aromas and flavors. The Vinturi Essential Win Aerator performs perfect aeration in the time it takes to pour a glass
Fruitcakes are holiday and wedding cakes which have a very heavy fruit content. They require special handling and baking to obtain successful results. The name “fruitcake” can be traced back only as far as the Middle Ages. It is formed from a combination of the Latin fructus, and French frui or frug. The oldest reference that can be found regarding a fruitcake dates back to Roman times. The recipe included pomegranate seeds. Pine nuts, and raisins that were mixed into barley mash. Honey, spices, and preserved fruits were added during the Middle Ages. Crusaders and hunters were reported to have carried this type of cake to sustain themselves over long periods of time away from home.
1400s – The British began their love affair with fruitcake when dried fruits from the Mediterranean first arrived.
1700s – In Europe, a ceremonial type of fruitcake was baked at the end of the nut harvest and saved and eaten the next year to celebrate the beginning of the next harvest, hoping it will bring them another successful harvest. After the harvest, nuts were mixed and made into a fruitcake that was saved until the following year. At that time, previous year’s fruitcakes were consumed in the hope that its symbolism would bring the blessing of another successful harvest
In the early 18th century, fruitcake (called plum cakes) was outlawed entirely throughout Continental Europe. These cakes were considered as “sinfully rich.” By the end of the 18th century there were laws restricting the use of plum cake. Between 1837 and 1901, fruitcake was extremely popular. A Victorian “Tea” would not have been complete without the addition of the fruitcake to the sweet and savory spread. Queen Victoria is said to have waited a year to eat a fruitcake she received for her birthday because she felt it showed restraint, moderation and good taste.
It was the custom in England for unmarried wedding guests to put a slice of the cake, traditionally a dark fruitcake, under their pillow at night so they will dream of the person they will marry. Fruitcake’s durability – the butt of most of the jokes about the holiday treat – is actually the reason the baked good was invented in the first place.
Roman soldiers carried fruitcake with them during their long treks. Crusaders also brought the hearty treat along on their search for the Holy Grail. Egyptians packed the fruit-and-nut bread in the coffins of friends and relatives. They apparently felt it was the only food that could survive the journey into the afterlife.
Fruitcake was also tied to the abundance of ingredients in the Middle East region during ancient times. Fruits and nuts were plentiful in the Holy Land, so mixing together a fruitcake wasn’t difficult. It also provided a special treat for people in northern Europe, where those items weren’t as readily available. In addition, fruit was a luxury in winter months, so a fruitcake made in summer or fall would still be edible during December and January.
the Romans mixed raisins, pine nuts and pomegranate seeds with barley mash to make their sturdy, compact cake. During the Middle Ages, Dorfman says, preserved fruits, honey and spices were added. These days, candied fruit, fruit rind, citron peel and some sort of liquor are also part of the ingredients. Dorfman says the ratio of fruit and nuts to batter is high, which gives fruitcake it’s dense, heavy make-up.
Light and dark fruitcake
There are two basic types of fruitcake. The lighter version uses lighter ingredients such as granulated sugar, almonds, golden raisins, pineapple and apricots. The darker version uses darker ingredients such as molasses, brown sugar, raisins, prunes, dates, cherries, pecans and walnuts.
The jokes about fruitcake’s staying power are true. Peggy Trowbridge Filippone on the website about.com says fruitcakes can easily last three years if stored and cared for properly. They need to be tightly wrapped and you need to pour a small quantity of liquor over them every few months.
Fruitcake is still popular
Despite the jokes, fruitcake does retain some popularity. The Collin Street Bakery in Texas sells 1.6 million fruitcakes every year. They go to all 50 states and 200 countries.
The 14 monks at the Assumption Abbey in Missouri make 23,000 fruitcakes every holiday season. It costs $28 for a 2-pound cake. And their website says they’re sold out for Christmas 2007. If you want one of their fruitcakes, you have to wait until Feb. 1.
Place sweet potatoes on sheet tray and bake for 1 hour or until soft. Remove from oven and let stand until cool enough to handle.
Split potatoes and remove the flesh to a medium sized bowl, reserving skins. In another bowl, add brown sugar, butter and cream cheese and the all of the spices and mash with a fork or rubber spatula.
Add the butter and cream cheese mixture to the sweet potato flesh and fold in completely. Add the filling back to the potato skins and place on a half sheet tray. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
If you’re tired of the same old lunch routine, break out of your noon-time grind with new Oscar Meyer Deli Creations Focaccia Sandwiches. These restaurant-inspired sandwiches from the Madison Wis.-based Oscar Mayer division of Kraft Foods Inc. will turn your desk into a four-star desk-taurant.
Available in the refrigerated meat case, varieties include: Tuscan-Style Chicken, Parmesan Basil Turkey, Steakhouse Beef and Pepper Jack and Bistro Ham and Provolone. Each comes complete with everything you need to make a hot and melty sandwich in less than a microwave minute, including deli meats, specialty sauces, natural cheeses and oven-baked herb bread.
As part of a Kraft Foods goal to eliminate 150 million lbs. of packaging materials by 2011, packaging for each Deli Creations sandwich was reduced by 30 percent while keeping the same amount of product inside. This effort will reduce landfill contribution by 1 million lbs. and CO2 emissions by 282 tons in 2009. Also the shipping container that retail stores receive with Deli Creations Focaccia Sandwiches is recyclable, as is the outer carton that consumers purchase.
Fred comes from Alpine Springs, which is a mountain spring located in Livingston Manor, New York.
Super low in TDS and a superior rating for nitrates gives Fred his smooth, epicurean characteristic. Also unique to Fred is his charismatic personality and refusal to be defined simply by his chemistry or the geological strata.
Fred is different. He’s dimensional. He’s engaging and clever. Fred loves meeting people and hanging out and has an ergonomic shape that makes him easy to hold and convenient to carry. Some call Fred “the total package”. Fred, however, prefers “friend”.
It’s hard not to spot Fred spring water at the store because its well designed flask shaped bottle stands out from the endless homogenous shapes that surround it. We like its style and like the fact that it’s local, coming from nearby Sullivan county in upstate New York. Fred publishes a weekly online “modern trendzine” called FredSpot which features art and music content that vibe with the hip brand they are trying to create.
