How A Gourmet Gives A Valentine's Day Gift

It's the 'year of the gourmet." How do you know if you are one? If you are a true gourmet, then you are creative, intelligent and you enjoy creations of great quality. It likely means that the object of your Valentine's Day affection is also of superior quality and deserves your full attention, if not your complete adoration. Being a thoughtful person, you give serious consideration of how to best communicate your feelings of appreciation. You want to select a Valentine's Day gift that is appropriate to your loved one's particular personality. You resist stock, off-the-shelf, cliche gifts. You're going to say, "You're special!" in a way that your loved ones BELIEVE it!

So what should you give?
If you are blessed with a chocoholic in the house, give gourmet chocolates. That's easy, and appreciated. High-quality chocolates are never spurned nor ridiculed. The chocoholic is sure that you care when he or she opens a gift tin of Valentine chocolates or fudge.


But for the rest of us who are not slaves to cocoa, chocolate does not do the trick. Other gourmet foods are appreciated more. Here's where your creative intelligence pays off. Match the gourmet food to the exact sentiment you wish to communicate.


For example, if you want to say, "You're FUN to be with! You are a good friend. I'm so happy to have you around," then give colorful, decorated cookies in playful shapes. Especially if you are giving to kids, - kids LOVE playful cookies. Cookies are fun to eat.


If your intended recipient also stirs deep, spiritual feelings of connection, then giving strongly nutritious foods are the Valentine's Day gifts to give. These deep feelings are difficult to express with words. You run the risk of sounding sappy. It's more eloquent to express them with food. Here's how. If you want to say, "You are the bread and butter of my life; the meat and potatoes of my soul. You are the staple of my life," then give nourishing staples. Present your loved one with gourmet meats such as Steaks or Filets. And serve these with wholesome, nourishing, freshly-baked rolls. No words are as golden as a great, home-cooked meal.

But maybe you and the focus of your Valentine's Day affection are still at the dawn of your life together. Gifts of life's staples are too serious for your burgeoning relationship. Then give gourmet food that says it as it is TODAY! Give a breakfast basket of gourmet food that says, "I love waking up with you! Starting the day together, starts my day right. Thank you." Then together cook up delicious pancakes, decadently-meaty bacon, and enjoy it all with gourmet, freshly-brewed coffee. Or go light and delicious with a warm breakfast kringle. You'll be creating the good times that you hope for ahead. And if the relationship fizzles later, well, at least this Valentine's Day you'll have eaten some great food.


For more stories about fun, holiday food enjoyed in Wisconsin, read my other blog, Edible Antics - Having Fun With Food.

Packing Food For A Wisconsin Northwoods Winter Trip!

Hurray!!! It's 20 degrees! A heat wave! Time for us wimps to get outside and have fun! Been too long cramped indoors with cabin fever. Time to hit the trail - on skis, or snow-shoes, boots - or even fuzzy slippers. Let's just get out there. To the the northwoods!!!

Iron County, in northern Wisconsin, bordering Michigan's UP, is one of Wisconsin's last bastions of wilderness - waterfalls - lakes - woods - forests - miles and miles of pristine forests, -wildlife to watch, even eat. Let's go! No more squatting in the ice fishing huts folks, - it's time to explore the northwoods!

What to pack for northwoods travel? The food has to be in the spirit of the trip! No wimpy food like cakes and eclairs. We need MANLY MEAT like Buffalo Steaks! Yes! Bison flesh to tear apart with our teeth and savor. Oh, their exquisite taste when grilled over a campfire.

And for the trail? We'll carry buffalo, elk, and venison summer sausage!!! Spice, flavor, lots of meat, meat, meat!

What else? NUTS! We'll live like squirrels! They are agile, fast, and sporty. Nuts sustain squirrels during the harsh northwoods winters. NUTS will sustain us -the hearty of heart. Here's the Buddy Squirrel Ambassador Nut Collection - a bounty for royal squirrels.

And to drink? SNOW! We'll melt snow on our tongues! Just like the birds!

We're not cold Never! We remembered to stick foot and hand warmers into our clothes. We are toasty warm while those dumb animals fluff up their tails and feathers.

Oh to be human in winter!!!! On Wisconsin!

The Norske Nook - WI Landmark Diner Serves Award-Winning Pies

Half the people I talk with in Wisconsin have been to The Norske Nook in Osseo, WI. And all of these folks have eaten there more than once. Farm woman, Helen Myhre, started the smalltown diner in 1973. Her incredible, homebaked pies, cakes and pastries put her diner on the WI map. Since then, Helen's pies have won 13 blue ribbons at the National Pie Competition.

I first ate at The Norske Nook 15 years ago. I bought a signed copy of her cookbook: Farm Recipes and Food Secrets from the Norske Nook as we paid our check at the counter. And ever since, this cookbook has been my kitchen bakery bible. It's pages are worn and batter-smattered. Perhaps what I like best about Helen's recipes is that they are for good, family-style meals. Most of the recipes are straight-forward, non-fussy, and simple to prepare. They are not the overly-involved, multi-stepped recipes that I've read in gourmet food magazines like Bon Apetite. Of course those recipes are scrumptious. But like Helen, I'm raising a family and working as well as preparing nutritious, family meals. I want GOOD without the fuss. And that's exactly Helen's kind of cooking.

When I first started working at Wisconsinmade.com, a small internet company that sells products made by Wisconsin artists, I urged co-worker, Vicki, to put The Norske Nook Cookbook on our website. I'm so thankful she did. Now everyone can bake blue ribbon pies!

Yesterday I baked Helen's banana cream pie to share at the office. To see the pics and Helen's recipe go to Edible Antics - Having Fun With Food.

Day-Dreaming about Valentine's Day Chocolates

Valentine's Day approaches, and we women at Wisconsinmade.com have chocolate on the brain. We are a self-sufficient group, unwilling to rely solely on male loved ones to supply us with gourmet chocolate. So today we're selecting our own February Valentine's Day treats.

For me, the avid gardener, I choose the beautifully-elegant, long-stemmed chocolate rose. Of course, a full bouquet of chocolate roses will also please.

Nina loves animals. The chocolate polar bears are right for her.

Katie loves caramel with her chocolate, so Katie chooses turtle fudge.

Linda is the romantic gourmet among us. Linda wants the chocolate candy sweetheart box.

Vicki bends the boundary and selects the Chocolate Shoppe's Mackinac Island Fudge ice cream topped with R&R Homestead Kitchen's hot fudge topping.

Then of course, there is our resident chocoholic supreme who manages our database. She wishes to remain anonymous so we won't name her. But we can't leave her out of our Valentine's Day day-dreaming. What is her favorite chocolate? I asked. But she can't decide. So for this special person, we'll give her a membership in our chocolate of the month club. Every month she'll receive a different selection of gourmet Wisconsin chocolate which I'm sure she'll bring into the office to share.

Yes, we are so looking forward to Valentine's Day, that we decided to start practicing eating chocolate today. Our mystery co-worker already has a bag of mystery chocolate chips next to her desk. She begged us to take them away from her, and we were glad to help.

We hope your Valentine's Day is sweet and fun. Remember, you don't have to wait for anyone else before you start celebrating. If you want it girl - GO GET IT! Just remember to be nice and share.