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Goodies for foodies

Local merchants have something for everyone on your list

I’ve looked everywhere – Durango Coffee Co., Urban Market, Bed, Bath & Beyond. I’ve searched online – Sur La Table, Williams-Sonoma, Chef’s. The kitchen gods have determined they will make no more.

It’s come to this – my empire for a 9-by-9-inch glass baking dish.

If ever there was a gift opportunity, this is it. We’re always looking for the new, the hot, the must-have to give our finicky friends and beloved bakers. But sometimes, it’s the tried-and-true that will fill a foodie’s cup.

So once the feasting is over and the belly is flat enough to button your pants, Nov. 29 – marketed as Small Business Saturday to remind consumers to shop locally – is a fine day to start the search for that perfect something for all the cooks, hosts, fellows and connoisseurs on your Santa list. From fine wine to fancy foodstuffs, manly flasks to multitiered cookie stands, Durango’s shops, restaurants and farms are on hand to help. (In case you’re wondering, Hanukkah starts Dec. 16.)

If your mind is already turning to the multitude of parties you’ll attend, to say nothing of those you’ll host, Guido’s Favorite Foods could become your holiday season savior, especially if you take advantage of its 30 percent off sale Friday and Saturday.

What host or hostess could turn down a smidgen of Italian Oscietra caviar, $39 for 10 grams, or a bottle of fragrant truffle salt, the better to gild party canapés, for $45.29? Who wouldn’t lust after a bottle of Tuscany’s finest olive oil (perhaps the herbaceous Tiburtino for $32) or crave the divine balsamic vinegar produced in Modena, such as Saporoso for $35.99?

And did we say those two little words to make any gourmet swoon, foie gras? Guido’s has that, too, for $64.99 a pound, some for you, some for a friend. Along those ducky lines, the shop also carries the fat of the foul for $12.55 a jar and duck liver mousse for $8.19. And for sheer gift wow factor, owner Susan Devereaux has just the thing – a bottle of fruity, floral Botego Prosecco, presented in a shining gold bottle, for $69.

Looking for more down-to-earth foodie presents, like say, a whole bunch of cow? Burk Beef out of Mancos offers two packages this time of year, both for $150. The steak grouping includes top sirloin, rib-eyes, filet mignon and ground beef while the winter package offers chuck roast, arm roast, stew meat, soup bones, short ribs and ground beef. The price is discounted 10 to 15 percent and includes Durango delivery. To order, call Dustin Stein at 769-1222.

To thrill the foodie fellow in your life, Main Avenue’s kitchen and home furnishings store, Urban Market, is stocked to the rafters with things he can’t do without. Who doesn’t want a classic penguin-shaped drink-shaker for $23.50? Shimmering copper Moscow mule mugs from $25-$35 are the latest cocktail trend while the recipe – 2 oz. vodka, 5 oz. ginger beer and .5 oz. lime juice, is helpfully listed on a blackboard nearby. For more varied guy-suitable drinkware, the shop carries stainless steel martini, rocks and stemless wine glasses for $10.25 and beyond.

“It will keep your drink colder than a coozie,” said Danielle Chick, one of the owners.

If he can find his way around a stove as well as a bar, Urban Market carries a line of colorful cast-iron pots and pans that weigh more than your toddler and will undoubtedly last longer than his childhood, too. The manufacturer, Staub, provides everything from baby casserole dishes to fit-for-a-crowd Dutch ovens from $25 and up. In the cool gadget line, Trudeau offers sleek electric salt and pepper mills for $76.99.

But let’s not leave out the lady in the family, who will be entranced by the latest replacement for irritating cling wrap, silicone suction lids that fit everything from prep bowls to saute pans in shapes like daisies and sunflowers. There are also adorable ceramic butter dishes – another chic trend from our grandmothers’ era – in red polka dots or cherries on the lid, from $15.95. For an unusual place card or buffet label, the store offers slate cards and boards to customize table settings, a great hostess gift for as little $10.

Channeling your inner kitsch for marvelous little stocking stuffers? Then Durango Coffee Co. is the place. The store is a veritable wonderland of fun and funky kitchen items, starting with an overwhelming lineup of cookie cutters. Ninja fighters, Christmas trees, crowns, dogs, pumpkins, moose, Stetson hats, hearts and more can be found for 99 cents to $10.99. Salt shakers shaped like carolers or cardinals or gnomes are yours for $8 and up.

Oh, there are useful kitchen tools, too, like measuring spoons and scoops, barbecue basting brushes, cat-shaped pot scrubbers, egg slicers, garlic presses and tiny cheese graters, most starting at $2. The shop also sells its well-loved coffee and imported tea, always an appealing gift in winter.

Looking for the latest in cuisine the world over? Look no further than Maria’s Bookshop, which offers tomes to tell your foodie friends about everything from Israeli vegetarian cuisine (Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi, $35) to traditional American dishes (Heritage by Sean Brock, $40) to winter worthy stews (Ski-town Soups by Jennie Iverson, $29.96). The latter susses out the best recipes for hearty soups from world-class ski resorts like Telluride and Aspen.

A personal favorite of bookseller Jaime Cary is the Paleo Slowcooker by Asy Vartanian for $27 because it sports lavish color photographs and well, you don’t really cook.

“You put everything into the Crock-Pot, and you come home and dinner’s done,” she said.

OK, you’ve bought a cookbook for your best friend, espresso cups for your neighbor and high-gloss mixing bowls for mom. But what about the connoisseur in your life, who has pearl caviar spoons and a miniature blowtorch for caramelizing crème brûlée?

Here’s where tried and true comes in. No one but no one turns their nose up at gourmet chocolate and Carly Snider of Animas Chocolate Co. makes local and seasonal truffles to delight the taste buds. Try peppermint bark snowflakes, $5 a package, or roasted cacao beans for $8 or hot chocolate fixings (simply chocolate scraps) for $10. Her truffles, $10 for 4, such as pumpkin spice, orange and cinnamon swirl, are a great hostess gift, too.

For one last gasp at finding the perfect foodie gift for that needs-nothing friend, try your hand at Reruns Antiques, which has a smashing collection of vintage cookware, like Betty Crocker-era ceramic bowls, crystal decanters, 1960s ice buckets and 1940s hand-painted salt-and-pepper shakers. There’s a table-filling tureen in brown and yellow leaves for $39, the famed Fiestaware from the ’50s and a too-cute-for-words porcelain rooster for the holiday buffet, $14.50.

But wait, did we forget wine? Better maybe even than chocolate, wine is always a welcome thing. Try out the hottest trend in a bottle, grower’s champagne. It’s the French extension of the farm-to-table movement in food and a heckuva value. Jolin Cordalis, wine buyer for Star Liquors, recommends Chartogne Taillet Brut for $44, a well-balanced blend of chardonnay and pinot noir. When only a vintage bottle will do, she suggests the 2008 Aubry Ivoire and Ebene, at $63.

“The beautiful thing about it is it has an amazing richness and depth and it changes every time you take a sip,” she said.

You’ll never go wrong giving a friend or loved one champagne, chocolate or caviar for the holidays. But this year, I’d forgo even those favorites for a simple 9-by-9-inch glass baking dish.

phasterok@durangoherald.com



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