Author: Carma Spence

Carma Spence has been experimenting in the kitchen since she was four years old and loves trying out new recipe ideas. She is the author of Bonkers for Bundt Cakes and Your Perfect Pie, as well as author and contributor to several more non-food-related books. With Carma's Cookery, she is taking her passion for empowering people and blending it with her passion for cooking, gift-giving and entertaining.

Special Occasions

Holiday Gift Ideas for Food Lovers

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date December 7, 2020

Do you have a foodie on your list? Strangely enough, it can either be very easy or very hard to come up with gift ideas for food lovers. I hope to make it easy with this article.

First, you need to realize that not all food lovers are the same, so before you buy that “Fruit of the Month” club subscription or box of pre-packaged cookies, take a moment to identify what kind of foodie you’re buying a gift for.

How does this person express their love of food? Do they seek out new food experiences, trying out new restaurants, and buying the newest items at the grocery store? Or do they spend their time creating new recipes in the kitchen? Do you clip recipes and collect cookbooks? Or do they delve into the chemistry of cooking?

Knowing in what way the foodie on your list most enjoys experiencing food can help you choose the right type of food-related gift.

Now that you’ve given some thought about the type of person you’re buying for; you can start to shop! Here are some gift ideas for food lovers that will be sure to please the food lover on your list.

Cooking Classes

A gift certificate for an in-person or online cooking class makes a great gift for the food lover is wants to expand their cooking skills. It is perfect for the beginner, however, depending on the courses available, it can also be good for someone with some level of skill. For example, I wouldn’t be interested in a general cooking class, but I would be interested in a class on how to use a wok or how to frost a cake like a pro. I can do these things – but not very well.

Cooking Magazines

If your food lover is a recipe clipper, then a subscription to Milk Street, Fine Cooking, Cook’s Illustrated, or any of the many cooking and food magazines would make a great gift. Match the magazine to the person’s personality and interests. If they are more of a home cook interested in simple, easy to cook recipes, Taste of Home is a good match. If she is a health-conscious cook, Eating Well might be better. And for those who want to explore the finer side of life, perhaps Food & Wine or Bon Appétit are good choices.

Baking Equipment

Does your food lover enjoy baking cookies, cakes, bread, and other baked goods? Then baking equipment is a good choice. You could pull together your own baking gift basket quite easily and inexpensively. Here are some suggestions.

Bundt Cake Kit – A high-quality Bundt pan, with some wooden spoons, a whisk, and perhaps a box of pound cake mix and a Bundt cake cookbook. (*wink*)

Pie Baking Kit – a good quality (or fancy) pie dish, pie weights, pastry mat, and a pie cookbook. (*double wink*)

Cupcake Baking Kit – A cupcake pan, cupcake carrier or display stand, cupcake liners, and perhaps some wooden spoons. (Wooden spoons make great gift basket fillers for these types of gifts. They should be replaced every so often, so it’s always good to get more.)

Grilling Essentials

I know it’s the dead of winter, but if your food lover longs for summer so he can smell the wonderous aroma wafting from his barbecue grill, you can’t go wrong with a BBQ grilling tools set with a stainless steel spatula, grilling fork, a basting brush, and long-handled tongs. You can even through in a fun grilling apron or oven gloves.

Gourmet Food Basket

Do you have a Cost Plus Imports, Big Lots, or even a Target in your neighborhood? Then you can create a fun and interesting gourmet food basket for the adventurous food lover on your list. All of these stores have sections where you can find gourmet, imported or organic foods. You can even create a themed gourmet basket. For your Anglophile, gather together some British foods such as crumpets, black currant preserve, lemon curd, digestive biscuits, Bird’s Original Custard Powder, and maybe a fancy Christmas pudding.

Calendars for Food Lovers

There are lots of things you can give a food love that won’t contribute to their waistline. I love hanging a food-themed calendar in my kitchen. And, if you go to your local mall, you are bound to find a pop-up calendar shop with plenty of food-related options.

Movies Featuring Food

Food-enriched movies are another idea. Perhaps they’d enjoy Chocolat starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp? Sideways is an interesting film starring Paul Giamatti and features California’s wine country. If they are open to foreign films, Babette’s Feast is a really good French film.

Cookbooks

This one is obvious. For some cookbook gift ideas for food lovers, check out the many cookbooks I’ve reviewed on this blog. If your foodie is diabetic, I’ve created a special page listing all the diabetic-friendly cookbooks I’ve reviewed.

Other Food Books

All food-related books are not cookbooks. Some are about the history of food, others are about the chemistry of food, and some are just about the joy of eating food. There are also food memoirs by both chefs and non-chefs. You can even find anthologies of food writing.

Wrap Up Your List with Food Gift Wrap!

Once you’ve purchased your gift or gift items, you’ll need to package them before giving. You can use a nice basket you can get at Michael’s or find some food-themed wrapping paper and top it with a bow.

Tags gift giving

Cookbook Reviews

Book Review: “Back to the Future: The Official Hill Valley Cookbook” by Allison Robicelli

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date December 4, 2020

Would you believe that it has been 35 years since Back to the Future first lit up the cinema screens? Food & travel writer Allison Robicelli and Insight Editions have teamed up to help you celebrate this milestone in a fun and tasty way. Introducing Back to the Future: The Official Hill Valley Cookbook.

Summary of Back to the Future: The Official Hill Valley Cookbook

The book’s tagline says it all: “Over 65 classic Hill Valley recipes from the past, present, and future!” Matt Robicelli developed the collection of recipes from the different time periods represented in the Back to the Future films and Allison Robicelli wrote the accompanying text that pulls the book together.

The book is filled with fun facts, promotional images from the films, and beautiful photography of the foods you can make. The recipes are organized by the years featured in the films:

1985
1955
2015
Alternate 1985
1885

There are even a few pages that give you suggestions for hosting a Back to the Future movie marathon.

What Worked for Me

The design and layout fit the year that the recipes are fun. This is a nice detail that I didn’t expect. Like the Wonder Woman cookbook, I reviewed before I enjoyed geeking out with the images from the three films. I also enjoyed the creativity evident in the recipe names:

From 1985: Battle of the Bands Cola Cake (Cola Cake)
From 1955: George McFly’s Blob from Outer Space (Live Gelatin with Pineapple)
From 2015: Self-Lacing Chocolate Bread (Chocolate Bread)
From Alternate 1985: Chicken Cordon Biff (Chicken Cordon Bleu)
From 1885: Seamus’s One-Shot Pot Rabbit Stew (Rabbit Stew)

I think I’m going to have a lot of fun whipping up recipes from this book!

What Didn’t Work for Me

I got nothing here. I really like the book — as both a book and a cookbook. My standard complaint about books that are hard to keep open doesn’t work here because this is more of a coffee-table book than a book you would regularly use in the kitchen.

My Recommendation for Back to the Future: The Official Hill Valley Cookbook

If you are a fan of the Back to the Future films and you love reading recipes (and, perhaps cooking them too), you can’t go wrong with Back to the Future: The Official Hill Valley Cookbook.

Rating for Back to the Future: The Official Hill Valley Cookbook

[one_fifth] [/one_fifth]

[one_fifth_last] [/one_fifth_last]

[one_half]

Specs

Full Title: Back to the Future: The Official Hill Valley Cookbook
Author: Allison Robicelli
Format: Hardcover, 144 pages
Publisher: Insight Editions
ISBN-10: 168383965X
ISBN-13: 978-1-68383-965-1 [/one_half]
[one_half_last] [/one_half_last]

Pick up your copy on Amazon.com here.

NOTE: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. If you’ve read past book reviews, you’ll know that I don’t pull my punches when I believe they are warranted. I also try to provide balanced information so you can make your own decision to read or not read the book, even if you disagree with my opinion.

Recipes

Herb Mustard Sirloin Steak

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date December 1, 2020

Here is a delicious sirloin steak recipe that doesn’t require a lot of fuss. Just a few simple ingredients and less than 30 minutes are all it takes to whip up a flavor-packed main course your entire family will love!

Herb Mustard Sirloin Steak

Note: The actual cooking time for this recipe will vary depending on the thickness of the meat, the starting internal temperature, and the desired level of doneness.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword beef

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 20

Servings 4

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1½ lbs sirloin steak
sea salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Instructions

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.
In a small bowl, combine the mustard with the Italian seasoning and garlic powder.
Generously coat the steak with the herbed mustard on all sides. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste.
Swirl hot skillet to evenly distribute olive oil. Add steak and sear on all sides, including edges, approximately 1-2 minutes per side.
Reduce heat to medium and cook on one side for approximately 5-7 minutes.
Turn steak and cook for another 3-5 minutes, or until steak reaches desired level of doneness.
Remove from heat and let rest for 5 minutes.
To serve, slice the steak against the grain and serve with your choice of side dishes.

Temperature Tips for Beef

You can find a temperature chart for beef here.

If you want to be precise, use an Instant Read Meat Thermometer to determine when the internal temperature is 5°F below the desired result. (The temperature will continue to rise while the meat rests.)

FAQs

Do you have questions about sirloin steak? You’re not alone. Here are some common questions and their answers.

What is sirloin steak?

The sirloin steak is cut from the sirloin. This is the subprimal posterior to the short loin, where the T-bone, porterhouse, and club steaks are cut. The sirloin is divided into several types of steak, including top sirloin, which is the most prized cut.

Is there a difference between sirloin steak and top sirloin?

Yes. The difference is that the top sirloin cut comes from the top of the sirloin section of the carcass. Sirloin steaks come from any other part.

Is a sirloin steak considered a good cut?

Sirloin steak is a moderate cut. The top sirloin is the best cut from this area of the carcass. These thick cuts of beef are perfect for grilling, broiling, sautéeing, or pan-frying.

Is sirloin steak a tender or tough cut of beef?

It depends. The sirloin area is large, so some cuts can be tender and juicy, while other cuts can be tough. That said, sirloin often provides the home cook with a relatively tender texture at an affordable price.

Because this recipe is so simple, you can easily add and substitute ingredients to customize it to your taste. Here are some ideas.

Switch up the herbs. This doesn’t have to be an Italian herbed steak. You can give an Indian flare by instead using a mixture of onion powder, garlic powder, ginger and cumin. Or perhaps you like something a little more spicy? Try a mixture of ground mustard, smoked paprika and a touch of caiyenne. You can find a variety of seasoning ideas here.
Don’t like Dijon? Try one of the many other types of mustard on the market. Or skip it all together, and simply use the herbs as a dry rub.
Change the cooking method. Instead of cooking the steak after you’ve browned all the sides, pop it in your slow cooker to finish cooking. Be sure to add a little bit of liquid, perhaps some red wine or beef broth, to ensure it stays moist and tender. Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours, until the internal temperature reaches your desired doneness.

Tags Beef

Recipes

Pumpkin Mousse with Maple Whipped Cream

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date November 24, 2020

You don’t have to have pumpkin pie for the holidays. There are numerous ways to enjoy pumpkin! Here is a pumpkin mousse that is both gluten-free and refined-sugar-free… but I like to eat it with gingersnaps!

Creamy Pumpkin Mousse with Maple Whipped Cream

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword mousse, pumpkin

Prep Time 10

Servings 6

Equipment

Hand Mixer

Ingredients

1 pint heavy whipping cream
6 Tbsp real maple syrup, divided
2 cups pumpkin puree
8 oz cream cheese, softened, cubed
2 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp real vanilla extract
⅓ cup half and half

Optional Ingredients

12 pecan halves
Cinnamon, for dusting
12 Gingersnap cookies

Instructions

In a large bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream with a hand mixer until it doubles in size.
Add 2 Tablespoons of the maple syrup and continue beating until light and fluffy. Cover and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
In another large bowl, beat the pumpkin purée, cream cheese, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract, half&half, and remaining maple syrup with a hand mixer until thoroughly blended.
Taste and adjust seasonings, as desired, and transfer to individual dessert bowls. Cover and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour.
To serve, remove from refrigerator and top with maple whipped cream, pecans, gingersnaps, and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon, as desired.

There are several ways you can customize this pumpkin mousse to be your own. But first, some notes about the ingredients.

Maple Syrup: Don’t use imitation maple syrup. It doesn’t have the complexity of flavor to do this dessert justice.
Pumpkin purée: You can either use canned (I recommend Libby’s), but you can also make your own (recipe below).
Pumpkin pie spice: You can purchase pre-mixed pumpkin pie spice or make your own (recipe below). The beauty of making your own is that you can play with the flavor profile by changing the ratios of the various ingredients.
Ginger Snap cookies: Store-purchased or home-made work equally well.

And now for customization ideas:

Don’t like maple syrup? Try making cinnamon whipped cream or just plain whipped cream.
Turn this into another type of mousse. Substitute yam or butternut squash purée for the pumpkin purée. If you want to get really creative, you could experiment with kidney bean purée, carrot purée, or even beet purée for a shocking color change.
Change out the cheese. You can use any type of soft, firm cheese for this recipe. Perhaps goat cheese would work? Or even a vegan cream cheese.
Try a different spice mix. You can play around with the flavor profile of your pumpkin pie spice using the recipe below as your starting point, or even experiment with other spices such as cardamom, anise, or culinary lavender.
You can also experiment with the extract. You don’t have to use vanilla all the time. There are plenty of other extracts that might go well, such as lemon, maple, or cinnamon.

How to make pumpkin purée

Making your own pumpkin purée gives your recipes, such as this Pumpkin Mousse, a fresher flavor.

Ingredients:

1 4-pound pumpkin
1/3 cup water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a roasting pan.
Using a large knife, remove the stem and cut the pumpkin into quarters.
Scoop out the stringy fibers and seeds.
Cut quarters into 2- to 3-inch pieces.
Place the pumpkin pieces into the prepared roasting pan skin side down.
Add water and cover lightly with aluminum foil.
Bake until tender, about 1 1/4 hours.
Uncover and cool.
Remove pumpkin skin and purée the pumpkin in a food processor. Make sure it doesn’t have any chunks. You want it to be silky smooth for a recipe like Pumpkin Mousse.
Place the pumpkin purée in a cheesecloth-lined wire sieve set over a bowl. Fold up the edges of the cheesecloth to cover the purée. Place a saucer on the purée and weigh it down with a 1 pound can to force out the excess liquid.
Let stand until the purée is the consistency of canned pumpkin, about 1 hour.
The pumpkin purée can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

How to make pumpkin pie spice

Ingredients:

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice or cloves

Directions:

In a ramekin or very small bowl, combine the ingredients.
This mixture makes one teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice.
If you want to have pumpkin pie spice on hand, you can scale the recipe up by multiplying each ingredient’s amount by 4. Store in an airtight container.

Special Occasions

COVID Is Changing Gift-Giving this Holiday Season

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date November 19, 2020

The COVID Pandemic is affecting so many areas of our lives: The way we work, the way we celebrate the holidays, and the way we shop. I recently learned of a survey commissioned by Cratejoy, the largest marketplace for subscription boxes, that sought to understand consumer 2020 holiday gift-giving expectations and plans. The findings were interesting, although not necessarily surprising.

In this post, I’m going to highlight some of the results of the survey, along with some creative tips inspired by the trends.

People will be shopping earlier this year

More than 50 percent of the respondents planned to or had already started their holiday shopping as early. The survey was taken in September and 29% planned to start in October and 33% planned to start in November. Interestingly to note, 15% of respondents had already started their holiday shopping when they took the survey.

One practice I’ve done for years is if I see a gift that would be perfect for someone, I either buy it on the spot or put it in a special gift-giving list I keep on Amazon. This has saved me so much time in shopping around when a gift-giving opportunity comes around.

In addition, shopping earlier will reduce the odds that you’ll have to give your gift in January because it didn’t arrive on time. The holidays are always a mad scramble for shipping because more people purchase things online and through catalogs around the holidays. This year the stress on the shipping system will be greater because people have been ordering online more in general due to the lockdowns and safety concerns.

[one_fourth] [/one_fourth]
[three_fourth_last] Why not shop all year round for those you give gifts to the most?
When your husband mentions something he likes, write a note, or save it in an online wish list. That way you’ll never be stuck for ideas! And, start shopping NOW! Don’t wait for Thanksgiving to arrive. [/three_fourth_last]

Retailers are re-thinking holiday sales

Have you noticed that there have been more themed sales events lately? Amazon held their Prime Day in October (they usually have it in July). Several major retailers teamed up to make October 10 a shopping holiday. And many businesses are making the entire month of November “Black Friday.” It will be interesting to see what happens over the Cyber Weekend!

[one_fourth] [/one_fourth]
[three_fourth_last] Now is the time to be keeping your eyes out for sales with a gift-giving mindset.
You never know what great gift you’ll be able to get your loved ones because it was on sale! Also, check out the clearance sections. Many retailers are giving an extra discount on top of the already discounted price. [/three_fourth_last]

Shoppers are being more mindful of the gifts they are giving

My philosophy of gift-giving has always been to find a gift that expresses the relationship in some way. I like to give gifts that the person will like that also is something they might say, “Oh! That is totally something Carma would give!” It seems that the pandemic is encouraging folks to take a similar mindset.

46% of respondents are looking for “unique and thoughtful” gifts
32% are looking for gifts that “shows that I care”

Conversely, only 8% are seeking something that is convenient to buy, 7% are looking for great deals and 5% are waiting for last-minute availability.

[one_fourth] [/one_fourth]
[three_fourth_last] When coming up with your gift ideas,
think about what you know about that person.
Is there something they are passionate about that you could tap into? For example, do they love traveling to Italy? Give them a “Virtual Tuscan Vacation” in a box. You can include things that evoke the feelings of Tuscany such as a book about Renaissance art, a bottle of Chianti, and a jar of Tuscan olives. Put them in a picnic basket complete with red-and-white checkered table cloth, a coupon to a local grocery store, and a note telling them to enjoy their “virtual picnic in Tuscany”! [/three_fourth_last]

Gift-givers are looking for experiential gifts

Because we’re all stuck at home, gifts are reflecting the need to have fun while there. Common experiential gifts that respondents to the survey say they are looking for include:

Gifts related to hobbies (46%)
Books (40%)
Crafty gifts (38%)
Cooking related gifts (34%)
Games (33%)

This probably explains the up-tick in subscription box sales. Because Cratejoy is a website where you can find all sorts of subscription boxes – it is kind of an aggregator of these types of services – they’ve noticed increases in these categories, as well. Craft subscriptions are up 222%, cooking boxes up 199%, books are up 177%, games are up 163% and hobby subscriptions are up 108%.

[one_fourth] [/one_fourth]
[three_fourth_last] There are creative ways to give experiential gifts.
Giving a subscription gift can be pricy – many of the boxes you can find on Cratejoy are $12 and up per month. That means your gift will cost you $144 and up for a full year’s subscription. That might not fit into your budget. But don’t despair, when you think creatively, you can still give an experiential gift.

I provided one example above, but you can do it in a wide variety of ways! I outlined how to create a virtual Thanksgiving-related basket a few days ago. The thought process for any type of gift basket is the same: [/three_fourth_last]

Choose your theme: What kind of experience do you want the gift basket to evoke?
Select an appropriate container: Gift baskets don’t always come in baskets? You can choose a container that is related to the experience. For example, a popcorn bucket for a movie-themed gift, or a box made from record album sleeves you found at a thrift store for a music-themed gift.
Decide what will go into the container: Choose items that are related to your theme, even better, that work together. For example, you can include a cookie-dough scooper along with a cookie cookbook.
Purchase all the items: There are lots of places where you can find cool items to include in your gift basket. I’m a big fan of dollar stores and Big Lots. Remember to buy some pretty filler, as well.
Arrange the gift: Start with putting the tallest items in the back and move forward from there so that all the items in the gift can be seen.
Add some filler to make sure everything stays in place: You can find inexpensive, yet pretty, colored shred filler at most dollar stores.
Wrap it up and ship it out!

Kitchen creativity can serve you well this holiday gift-giving season

Sure, the way we do things has changed. But “necessity is the mother of invention,” so I know what when you unleash your Kitchen Creativity, you can make the best of this situation and create some amazing new memories this holiday season.

Tags gift giving

Flavor Blending

Turkey Sausage and Sweet Potato Skillet

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date November 17, 2020

Want something different than your traditional turkey dish? Here’s a fun one: Turkey Sausage and Sweet Potato Skillet. It takes only 15 minutes of prep time, then less than a half-hour to cook. And you only need 5 ingredients!

Turkey Sausage and Sweet Potato Skillet

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword sweet potato, turkey, yams

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Servings 4

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 lb. bulk turkey sausage
2 large sweet potatoes (yams), peeled and diced into small cubes
1 12 oz. bag frozen broccoli florets
¾ cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Sea salt and black pepper , to taste (optional)

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add the turkey sausage and season with salt and black pepper, if desired.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the turkey is slightly browned and no longer pink, around 6-8 minutes. While cooking, break up the sausage into small chunks with a wooden spoon.
Add the sweet potatoes to the skillet and continue cooking until they become soft and slightly crisp around the edges, approximately 10-12 minutes.
Add the broccoli and season with additional salt and black pepper, if desired. Stir to combine.
Cover and allow the broccoli to steam for 2-3 minutes.
Remove the lid and sprinkle the shredded Mozzarella on top.
Cover for another 1-2 minutes or until the cheese is nicely melted.
Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Because of this Turkey Sausage and Sweet Potato Skillet recipe’s simplicity, it is fairly easy to get creative and customize this dish to suit your tastes. Here are some ideas.

Use a different meat
Instead of turkey sausage, use another kind of sausage. You can also substitute in any kind of ground meat, including beef, pork, or lamb. And you don’t need to limit yourself to ground meats. Shredded meats will work, too. Have leftover chicken or turkey. Use that!

Play with the starch
This dish is pictured with yams, but you don’t need to stick with that starch. You can experiment with sweet potatoes or even regular potatoes. Red potatoes or even purple potatoes might work really well, depending on your meat.

Get creative with the veggies
Don’t like broccoli? Try another vegetable. Cauliflower, green beans, mixed veggies all could work well.

Change up the cheese
Try out other hard cheeses such as Monterey Jack, pepper Jack, cheddar, gouda, or Havarti. Any cheese you can shred can work.

Sprinkle in some seasonning
Depending on your other substitutions, you could create a very flavorful dish by adding herbs and spices.

Using cauliflower? Try some spicy Indian curry or Mexican spices.
You can give it an Italian flair with some oregano, basil, and marjoram.
Add in some chopped garlic and onions!

Being creative in the kitchen is simply playing around with ingredients to see what works. The more you experiment, the more you’ll learn what works and what doesn’t, as well as what you like and what you don’t. Simple dishes like this one are perfect for experimentation.

Flavor Blending

How to Make a Virtual Thanksgiving Gift Basket

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date November 16, 2020

In my post about how to create your best virtual Thanksgiving, I suggested you bring your video celebration into the real world by creating a gift you either sent before or after. In this post, I’m going to give you specific ideas for creating your Virtual Thanksgiving gift basket!

Gift baskets in general make excellent gifts. But this one will be extra-special because it will be used to bring your family together over the annual Thanksgiving feast. It is not hard to do, but it will mean so much. So let’s get started unleashing our Kitchen Creativity!

Step 1: Choose Your Virtual Thanksgiving Gift Basket Theme

Yes, the overarching theme is Thanksgiving, but you need to drill down a little further. Ask yourself these questions:

What is the intent of the gift basket?
Do you want it to be used to help the receiver prepare for the virtual Thanksgiving?
Or will it be something to help preserve the memories?

What you’ll include in a prepare-for-the-event gift will be quite different than one that helps them remember the event for years to come.

Step 2: Select a Container

How will you package this gift? You have several options:

A basket. To make it easier to ship, I recommend a rectangular or square one that can fit into a box.
A box. You can get cool-looking boxes at places like Micheal’s or hobby stores. The box could be decorated with an autumnal theme, or simply be brown or orange.
A cooking container. If there is a particular type of pan your receiver will need, why not send it along? Are you sending a turkey recipe? Use a roasting pan (it can be an inexpensive one-use pan). What about a pie tin for that pumpkin pie recipe.

Sometimes, a better container than a traditional basket is one that doubles as a bonus gift for your virtual Thanksgiving gift basket. You can use anything from a basket to a bucket to a bag and even more types of items.

Generally, when choosing the container, you want to think about the types of items included in the gift basket, what the theme is, and what other gifts the recipient might like.

Step 3: Decide what will go int your Virtual Thanksgiving Gift Basket

This where you can really unleash your Kitchen Creativity. To get you started, here are some ideas:

Treasured Recipe Gift Basket

In this gift, you’ll include all the non-perishable items they’ll need to make a treasured Thanksgiving recipe. For example, let’s say you’re sending the recipe for Johnny Appleseed Pie. You could include any or all of these items:

A small jar with the sugar and cinnamon already mixed together
A bag of semisweet chocolate morsels
Another jar with the Bisquick and sugar mixed together
A recipe card with the regular recipe on one side, and instruction on how to make it with the pre-mixed items on the other
An apple-peeler/corer
A pie tin

I would package all of these things with cute labels and perhaps some ribbon.

Thanksgiving Table Decor Gift Basket

This gift helps your recipients all set their Thanksgiving table in a similar way. This can help everyone feel more like they are together around the table as in previous years. You could include any or all of these items:

Napkins
Placemats
Cups
Centerpiece
Plastic cuttlery
Paper dinner plates
Paper dessert plates
Fake autumn leaves

All of these would have the same decoration or color theme. You can find all this stuff at a dollar store, party store, or perhaps a hobby shop. The key is that you and your recipients all have the same items. So if you get plates decorated with a turkey, then make sure everyone has the same decorated plates.

Family Recipes Gift Box

Gather all the family recipes used for Thanksgiving and create a cook booklet. It can be several pages of 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper stapled in the corner or something with a little more design. You can even use colored paper to give it pizzazz. Then add some or all of these items to make it extra special:

Wooden spoons
A pie tin
Measuring spoons
A printed out collage of pictures from Thanksgivings past
A thumbdrive or link to an unlisted YouTube video of you introducing them to the box or sharing special memories

Thanksgiving for the Memories Gift Box

This virtual Thanksgiving gift basket is sent after the event has taken place and can make a great Christmas present.

Buy enough thumbdrives for each household participating in the virtual Thanksgiving
Then, record the event and, periodically, take screen shots during your virtual Thanksgiving.
Pull the pictures together into a folder and download the video
Save the folder and the video onto the thumbdrives
Package the thumbdrives up nicely with a note and mail them out to the participants

You can make this gift extra special by throwing in a few add-ons like:

Things related to the conversation. Was a recipe mentioned? Include it. Did you stroll down movie memory lane? Include the DVD.
Frames, either empty or with pictures from the virtual Thanksgiving already in them
Earbud for everyone in the household
An engraved ornament or paperweight saying, “Our First Virtual Thanksgiving 2020”

Step 4: Purchase Everything You’ll Need

Now that you have your ideas. Create your shopping list and start collecting what you need to pull this all together. In addition to the items you listed in Step 3, you’ll also need some filling material and perhaps some ribbon. Places you can find your items at a reasonable cost include:

Dollar stores
Wal-Mart or Target
Your grocery store
Party stores
Hobby and crafts stores
Amazon.com

Step 5: Arrange the Virtual Thanksgiving Gift Baskets

This can be one of the intimidating parts of the gift basket making process, but remember there is no right or wrong way to do it. If you are using a bag or anything that closes, then you really don’t need to do anything but put the items inside. Try to put the larger items on the bottom so that when opening it, the recipient sees all of the products easily.

When you are using a basket or an open container like a cooking pot or plastic bucket, these tips will help:

Start with the tallest items first.
With a basket, you want to be able to see everything that is included, which means you don’t want to simply throw everything in and then wrap it up. Put the taller and bigger items in the back, so that when you add the rest of the items, those taller items can still be seen.
Do your best to make sure every item can be seen.
Arranging a gift basket or box sometimes means trying a few times until you get it right. You can move things around as needed until everything can be seen when someone receives the gift.
Line the bottom of the basket with towels and other similar items.
When you are giving something like a towel or small blanket as part of the gift, use that to line the bottom of the basket. This keeps it out of the way, but it can still be seen.

Step 6: Add Filler to the Basket

This is the easy part because all you are doing is choosing some type of material to act as filler in your basket. The filler is sometimes added to the bottom of the basket, but this is optional. What you are doing with the filler material is filing in any empty spaces so the basket looks full and the items remain in their intended position. Most people will use some type of shred, whether you get packaged shredded tissue paper or shred it yourself. You can even cut up shred with wrapping paper that matches the gift basket. Just fill the little holes around items with the filler.

Step 7: Decorate and Wrap the Virtual Thanksgiving Gift Basket

If you are going to wrap the basket, box, or whatever container you used in gift cellophane or wrapping paper, so so now. Then place your carefully crafted gift into a box big enough to hold it for shipping. Add packing material to protect it during shipping, tape it up, put the address on, and ship it out!

There, you’ve created something that will help bring your family together this Thanksgiving season.