The Twelve - Some of our all time favorites for this time of year, Perfect for gifts without spending all of the piggy bank! and more at chefshop.com/enews EXCLUSIVE SUBSCRIBER 5% OFF CODE twelve  Recipes | Chef's Pantries | Shop for Food & Ingredients | Food Blog 12 Ideas for hostess gifts Twelve is an important number in history, especially this time of year. 12 is a sublime, semi-perfect, superior highly composite, superabundant, super-factorial and the largest value number with a single syllable name in English. The song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is an English Christmas carol written in the Early Modern period. In this period Roman Catholics were not allowed to practice their faith openly, the song was thus a catechism for young Catholics to remember the fruits of their Religion. How many total presents are there after the 12 days? 78! Our number 12 is much simpler, no hidden meanings, just 12 of our favorite holiday gifts of foods and ingredients for 2018. Some are sleepers, off the radar for most, others are just always special, but all of them come from the heart. And that's what makes them special, from your buds to another. What shows you care more than good taste? Shop now for Lots of Good Things Willow’s Fabulous Shortbread! Made from an Old Family Recipe! I forget how great Willow’s Heritage Shortbread is until I take the first bite and it all rushes back to me. A bite like a million tiny layers of cookie that crumbles delicately into a glorious feel. One cookie is so amazingly satisfying! Really, with just a tiny bit of self control you only need one. It is possible, of course, to eat two. Shop now for the most classic of Hostess Gifts! Amabito No Moshio!! As featured in the Netflix series, SALT FAT ACID HEAT You don’t need much. This is one of the saltiest salts we have ever tasted. A pinch goes a long, long way. The water is harvested in a pool, to evaporate into a concentration of salt solution, and then infused with Hon’dawara seaweed. The seaweed adds flavor, color and minerals including all important iodine. Though the process has been modernized, the salt is still produced in small quantities compared to most industrialized salt production. Whether for your stocking or your favorite chef, this little packet is full of umami! Shop now for Ancient Japanese Sea Salt! This Unassuming Little Bag is packed with true Holiday Cheer Antica Torroneria Piemontese Praline Hazelnuts A small handful eaten one at a time is just about right. These hazelnut pralines are wicked good! Let’s face it, take fabulous nuts, boil them in sugar until crisp and brown. How could you go wrong? Pour them out and enjoy! Shop now for the red box filled with Torrone! The Best Jar of Honey and Peter's Favorite Big Island Bees Lehua Honey The honey shipment has arrived from the Big Island of Hawaii. And just in time! My jar is mostly empty, I have scraped the upper rim for a big spoonful and scraped the sides the best I can. Last resort is to add hot water and swirl it around to get the very last morsel. Though you expect you could go without your fave for awhile, a long time can be much shorter than you might expect. Being out for a week might be tolerable in the summer, but in the winter a week or more can seem like a lifetime. (Good news, my son nabbed a jar as we left the warehouse today)! Shop Now for a Touch of Hawaii! We call it the Red Box "...I reveled in the ambrosial food that fructifies the soul, the mind, the heart." Mark Twain The first bite is a hard and soft bite that is not sticky (like you might expect) and if you're lucky, you will cross through a hazelnut on the way adding just the right nut crunch. As a gift it makes the perfect statement as one of respect and caring without going overboard. It’s understated in size and flair (though the red box says a lot), it’s what’s inside that counts! And this is one great red box of holiday sweetness! (Tina, your red box of Torroneria is on it’s way!) Shop now for Cherry and Hazelnut Torrone! Coconut Caramel & Coconut Curd Either Lemon Coconut Curd or Coconut Caramel, both are interchangeable as far as I am concerned because it really never makes it to making it. It only makes it to my spoon! Smooth and silky, as soon as you dip your spoon (or finger) into the glossy "sauce" your visual mind immediately goes to spiraling it over your favorite vanilla ice cream. To the taste, that first taste is truly an anticipatory moment of curiosity and pleasure! It’s this dreamy, creamy, all natural spread! Chilled in the refrigerator and then warmed (in your mouth) it goes from cold to gold! Share or give a pair of Hey Boo for the holidays. Shop Now for Hey Boo the Spoon Sweet Gift! * Katie's Fudge Sauce with Orange Bitters We have been working on a glossy fudge sauce recipe for some time. Requirements outside of tasting good and working well with ice cream are more subtle. Hints of other flavors besides just chocolate without straying from the base. And it has to be dairy and gluten free. We started with our 100% Coconut Milk (which is a cream) and ChefShop cocoa powder. We replaced cane sugar with dehydrated sugar cane syrup and used sea salt. Manjari or Cru Sauvage for the added chocolate, 3 tablespoons of almond milk, 1 teaspoon of 2x vanilla extract and 2 teaspoons of Orange Bitters. And on an individual serving I like adding a dash or a splash of Amaretto. Click here for Fudge Recipe * Chocolate Twigs These wonderful stir sticks (not really) are simple, plain, tasty, crunch filled orange twisted (and other flavors) and go beautifully on top of the cup of tea or coffee! Wonderful to have out for your guests to nibble at this time of year. And of course they are the perfect hostess gift to have in your bag for the unexpected invite. And of course if you need a pick me up in this stressful time of the year! Click here for Twiggy Sticks * Contadino Panettone It has fruit. Mixed Fruit, though this year I don't view it as mixed, more like the perfect match of Pear, Apple, Peach and Apricot in the wonderful cake/bread of Flamigni Panettone. Not too much of anything, just about perfect of everything. I never pass up having a sample when no one is looking. It is my current favorite this year. (Outside of the Sorrento Lemon). Click here for Flamigni Contadino Panettone * Aged One Year From the moment we tried this we knew we had a touch of heaven. Though only aged 1 year (there are many aged longer) it is the perfect balance of flavor, saltiness and price. When Shoyu (Japanese for Soy Sauce) is made in the traditional way time is essential. We have been loving this Shoyu for a long time so it's pretty exciting to see it featured in the Netflix series, SALT FAT ACID HEAT. A Gem! "This is the real soy sauce, rich tasting and aromatic. The saltiness does not overwhelm, the way commercial soy sauce does. When you try this product, it's hard to go back to all the artificial-tasting ones." -- Mary Shop Now for Shoyu Aged One Year! * If I could only have just one... ... for the rest of my life, or it was the only panettone I could have on my dessert island... It would be the Sorrento Lemon Panettone. The candied lemon is just right, not too much, not too little and pairs perfectly with the bread. Now you might like chocolate in your panettone or a mix of one fruit and chocolate or no fruit at all (pandoro), but the one everyone likes (with the 1% exception of course) is the Albertengo Sorrento Lemon Panettone! Soft, light and fluffy, airy bites of wonder with the Sorrento Lemon is a gift like no other. I have given these away as gifts as long as we have had them (thanks Dora for introducing us). And the recipient is always overwhelmed with joy! Shop Now for Italian Made Panettone in Torre San Giorgio! Open Sundays! The Panettones, The Panfortes, The Fruitcakes The best everyday Cocoa Powder to have on hand! When you need cocoa powder this is the one to have stashed away ready for anything. From a fudge sauce (see above) to making a chocolate cake or brownies to just plain adding to your coffee in the morning. Everyday from now until the 24th we will have a pot of Hot Chocolate in the store to keep you all warm and cuddly inside. And we make at least one with ChefShop Cocoa Powder! The rich flavor (fat content 22 to 24%) is great tasting! It keeps well in a cool, dark place for months and even longer. Keep some on hand, you never know when you might need to dust a cupcake. Shop Now for Versatility in Cocoa Powder! Cooking Classes for the New Year Check out the classes and grab your seat now! Give the best Gift of food! Cooking Class Gift Certificates are available. Let them choose the class and the food! ChefShop Cooking Class Store Hours - Now Open Sundays for the Holidays!! Monday thru Saturday 10AM to 6PM. Sunday Noon to 4 ChefShop.com 1425 Elliott Ave W Seattle, Wa 98119 206-286-9988 Our parking lot is north of the shop and next door (south of) Champions Party Supply. Easy open parking lot. Click here to see the map. This Week's Recipes Hungarian Goulash or Paprikash Recipe Our friend, Don, was Chef Louis' Night Chef at The Bakery in Chicago. And he used to make this all the time. Turkey Pot Pie Recipe Equally easy with either turkey or chicken. Our favorite way to use some of those Thanksgiving leftovers. This recipes is adapted from Marian Burros' cookbook, Cooking for Comfort (Simon & Schuster, 2003). Oat Risotto with Butternut Squash & Lemon Recipe This dish has all the wonderful qualities of a classic Italian risotto, in addition to the Moroccan-inspired flavors of preserved lemon and cinnamon. Try making this dish with vegetable broth for a sensational vegetarian meal. See what you missed in previous Newsletters Beaufort D'Alpage, A French Cheese You Should Know Love Story #5, Smoked Ham, Mangalitsa Made in Italy Panettone, Gold Medal Chocolatier and Peppermint ChefShop.com Toll-free: 1-800-596-0885 You've received this email because you have purchased from us or subscribed. We respect your privacy online, and will never share your email address. Help | Contact | About | Terms | Privacy Policy | Search | My Account DESIGN: JODI LUBY & COMPANY, INC. NEW YORK CITY, NY; EMAIL STRATEGY: CRM Group USA, SEATTLE, WA