Prep chef: Holiday food gifts

As my mother always says, food is love. To continue with premature holiday postings, I want to give you a heads up on two really great books about giving food as gifts. The reason I bring this up so early is that some of these gifts need to steep or sit for a month or more, so time to get cracking.

The first is "Homemade: Delicious Foods to Make and Give" by Judith Choate. This beautifully photographed book is separated into types of foods, including breads, relishes and pickles and drinks. This recipe for limoncello is one I'd like to try:
5 pounds organic lemons
8 cups vodka
6 cups sugar
6 cups water

Use a vegetable peeler to remove the lemon peel. Pour vodka into a one-gallon container, add the lemon peel and cover. Place in a cool, dark place for one week.
Combine sugar and water over medium heat and bring to a boil, then remove from heat and allow to cool. Then add to the vodka mixture and stir to blend. Strain the mixture through a sieve into clean containers and refrigerate for one month before serving or giving.


The other book I picked up from my local library is "Gifts of Food: 160 Delectable Recipes and How to Wrap Them" by Susan Costner. This book doesn't have any photos, but has many drawings to explain things such as how to braid challah or wrap cookies. This book is arranged by gift appropriate for various seasons and has a separate section on how to wrap various food products. I liked the section on how to seal bottles with wax; it would be a great accompaniment to the limoncello above. I really like her recipe for individual Irish soda breads, which would be good for both the holidays and St. Patrick's Day.

4 cups unbleached flour

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups dried currants

1 egg

1 3/4 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour and butter, working into consistency of oatmeal. Add sugar, baking powder and soda, salt and currant, stirring with your fingers. Beat egg and buttermilk together, then form a well in the dry ingredients for the wet ingredients. Stir well until blended; form into ball.

Knead on floured surface until smooth, three to four minutes. Divide into 16 buns and place on greased baking sheets. Flatten slightly and dip a sharp knife in flour, then make "x" s on top of the buns. Cook 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown, cool on a rack

Those are just some of the great recipes and ideas in these books. Check out what your local library has to offer as well. Remember, time is a wasting away until the holidays!