Every year I campaign against the consumptive madness of the holiday season, yet I still have to write a gift guide for our readers. I wracked my brain this year to come up with food presents that manage to be both democratically priced and gloriously indulgent.
SALTEvery pantry needs at least one fancy sea salt. My friend Laura calls them "sexy salts" and has a half dozen of them by her stove to finish dishes with a pinch of "je ne sais quoi".I'm partial to flaky Maldon salt from England. It makes food sparkle and has a wonderful crunch. A 250-gram box costs around $9 and it will last most people a lifetime. Another great gift would be fleur de sel, a moist, grey salt from Brittany, France, and the salt of choice among top chefs.If the receiver of said salt looks perplexed, remind them that fresh baguette, sweet butter and crunchy sea salt is one of life's great pleasures.OILDo not, I repeat do not, buy those pretty bottles of oil stuffed with herbs and chilies. No one uses them and they turn lethally rancid before Uncle Bob decides to crack it open at the Super Bowl Party.A bottle of top-shelf extra virgin olive oil is the perfect gift for anyone who likes to cook Mediterranean or eat a lot of salad. And don't feel like it has to be Italian. There are terrific olive oils from Spain, Greece and the south of France.Truffle oil is another indulgent gift that won't break the bank. And while it's around $20 for a tiny bottle, a little goes a long way. I like the Italian stuff infused with white truffles, which I drizzle on mushroom pizza, macaroni and cheese and creamy scrambled eggs.TEAWhen I would ask my late grandmother what she wanted for Christmas, she never minced words: "I don't need nathing!" Invariably I would buy her a box of fancy tea, which she always loved. (This was a woman who would drop a spoonful of raspberry jam into hot water for some Estonian-style peasant brew.)If grandma were alive, I would buy her a box of Mighty Leaf, an organic tea that's bagged in natural silk pouches and is the tea of choice of just about every upscale restaurant in the city. Mighty Leaf is around $11 for a 15-pouch box and comes in a dizzying array of flavours.CHOCOLATEGiving the gift of chocolate is always a safe bet. This year, enlighten the Hershey's heathens with a chocolate bar that actually tastes like chocolate.Of the premium bars on the market, Michel Cluizel is my favourite. At 10 bucks a pop, this French chocolate is worth every penny. More democratically priced at $3.50, Lindt's Fleur de Sel bar is so damn addictive that you start to wonder if the crystalline substance is in fact salt.