AA Gifts & Baskets Idea Blog

Archive for the ‘Gifts’ Category

Have you ever had a cheesecake that’s savory instead of sweet? You may have been at a fancy restaurant or a dinner party and wondered how this delectable concoction was made. What goes into a savory cheesecake versus a sweet one? Usually, it’s a mixture of different cheeses like bleu cheese, gorgonzola, ricotta, or other smooth choices. You can easily whip one up, too.

Here’s a recipe for a gorgonzola cheesecake with a cornmeal crust that you can actually serve as a meal or would make for a wonderful dessert gift idea. Better make copies of your recipe as everyone will be asking you for it after they taste it!

Gorgonzola Cheesecake (whatscookingamerica.net)

12 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

Cornmeal Crust (see recipe below)

1 pound gorgonzola cheese, room temperature*

5 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature

5 eggs, room temperature

* Blue Cheese may be substituted.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Roasted Garlic: Peel the outer skin of the garlic only; leave garlic bulb whole. Slice 1/2-inch of the pointed end of the garlic bulbs. Pour 1/2 teaspoon olive oil over the top of each bulb and let it sink in between the cloves. Wait 2 minutes and then repeat with another 1/2 teaspoon olive oil over each garlic bulb. Cover and bake 1 hour or until cloves are browned at the exposed end and soft throughout. Remove from oven. Allow garlic to cool and remove cloves from head. Garlic may be stored in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for several days.

Prepare Cornmeal Crust

Cornmeal Crust:

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup cornmeal

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoons dried basil

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Grease a 10-inch spring form pan.

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring water to a boil; stir in cornmeal, garlic, salt, and basil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Fold in parmesan cheese. Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes.

Press warm cornmeal mixture onto the bottom of the spring form pan. Smooth the surface and set aside.

To make filling

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. and position baking rack in center of oven.

In a large bowl, place gorgonzola cheese and cream cheese; mix together until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, while beating to incorporate.

Pour the cheese filling into prepared Cornmeal Crust. Tap lightly on counter to remove air bubbles. Place roasted garlic cloves around the perimeter of the pan at equal distances.

Place cheesecake in center of middle oven rack. Bake for approximately 1 hour, or until internal temperature is 160 degrees with a cooking thermometer or until the center is almost set, but jiggles slightly when gently shaken. NOTE: Do not open the oven door during the first 30 minutes of baking as drafts can cause a cheesecake to fall or crack. Remove from oven and allow to cool on counter for at least 1 hour, after which you may either serve or store in the refrigerator.

Serve warm or at room temperature with toasted baguette bread or crackers.

To serve later, store in refrigerator up to 1 week. To reheat, simply slice and warm for 5 minutes in a 350 degree F. oven.

This is one cheesecake you would love to give to a friend with a beautiful wine gift.

Many people have never heard of the candy bar card idea, but it’s a cute one you might want to try for your next occasion. Say you have a friend with a special birthday coming up. You can create a giant sized card that includes real wrapped candy bars. People really enjoy receiving these unique candy gifts! The big idea is to write a message that includes the names of the candy bar. It’s a challenge. Are you up for it?

Start off with some poster board. The kind that has the foam on the back will work best as candy tends to get heavy once you glue it on. It will be easier and sturdier to transport this way. Use a festive color that will match with your theme.

Next, pick out a bunch of candies with fun names. You might choose Mounds, Nerds, Mars, etc. Get a whole bunch so you have lots to choose from. The idea is to create a message that will include the candy bar name in it. So, for instance, you might write, “I discovered I loved you Mounds more than the other boys on the playground when we first met.” It’s corny, but the whole idea comes out looking really festive and fun. The wackier the better. Try using Baby Ruth or Almond Joy in a sentence!

Once you have your candies in mind, begin composing a message. It can be a poem, a limerick, or just a paragraph. You can either type it out in large font on a computer or hand-write it onto your poster board. It’s easier to use a computer if you want to enlarge the words. But if you like your handwriting, that works well, too.

Start spacing out the words on the board. Make sure you leave a big space for where you’ll glue on the candy bar. So, for instance, in the example above, you’d write or type out, “I discovered I loved you (and then leave a big space to glue in the Mounds bar) more than the other boys on the playground.” Insert the candy in the space by gluing it. You might try glue dots, which you can find in a craft store. The beauty of these dots is that they don’t rip the paper off the back of the candy and they won’t seep through to ruin the chocolate.

When you’ve got your whole poem written or typed out and stuck on the board, make sure all your candy is secure in place. See if you like the design. It’s always a good idea to do a test placement first to see if it all will fit. You might write the message in pencil on the board or cut out strips of printed paper from your computer.

Decorate or embellish as you like. Use glitter around the edges or photos or just doodle to liven it up. You can present your card at the party and it will be the highlight of the night. People will love coming over and reading the funny message and seeing what the card is all about. Many will marvel that they’ve never seen a candy bar card before. You may start a new trend among family and friends! No one would expect to get one of these cards for their birthday gift!

Have you ever wondered why some parties just seem better than others? Maybe it has something to do with the décor. The decorations can really set the mood for a party. Whether it’s something you have brought in or you make it by hand, the possibilities are endless for what you can use to liven up a party and set the tone.

Consider that your centerpieces are what most people are going to be staring at while they sit at their tables to eat, talk, and relax. If you have fantastic centerpieces, you’ll really get everyone’s attention. If they’re fun, whimsical, and people are allowed to take them home, so much the better.

One way you can create centerpieces that really catch your guests’ eyes is to make candy bouquets. These fun little creations are easy to create, have a low cost, and people love them.

There are several ways to create these darling little candy treasures. One way is to gather them into a bunch and everyone can take home their own little bouquet at the end of the party. Another is to make them into free-standing bouquets that are placed in a mug, vase, votive holder, or other container. Either way, they’re festive and will serve their purpose well as a much admired centerpiece.

To make a candy bouquet that your guests can hold in their hands is easy. You’re going to need lots of candies. Hard candies, mini chocolates, lifesavers, and other small edibles in wrappers are the things that will work best. You need to leave them in the wrapper, so choose a candy that looks good while wrapped and also is recognizable and easy to work with. Nothing too gummy or gooshy, unless you want to use individually wrapped larger gummy bears.

Wrap some wooden skewers or lollipop sticks with floral tape. You can find this green tape in craft stores. You’ll also need some green felt to make leaves with. For each stem that you wrap, you’re going to need two leaves. You’ll want to adhere those leaves to the stem with a hot glue gun. Next, take one piece of candy for each stem and using hot glue, glue just the bottom of the candy to the stem. When you are done, it will look like a flower on a stem. The idea is to bunch up several of these to create a bouquet that guests can take home.

The other step you can do is to create each flower and then stick it into a piece of Styrofoam or floral oasis. The piece of Styrofoam should be anchored in a cup, mug, or votive holder. This is intended to be a takeaway for your guests exactly as they are (as opposed to taking a free standing bouquet).

Candy bouquets are ideal as they are easy to make. You can form a little assembly line and get them all done easily. If you have a friend or two to help you, set up stations. One person can do the leaves and stems, another the adhering of the candy, and the other can do the assembling of the bouquets.

Set them out on tables at your next party and just watch the smiles on your guests’ faces. Then watch those smiles get even bigger when they find out they can take home their own little thank you candy bouquet. It’s worth the effort to create these darling centerpieces.

The holidays are nearing and usually that means one of many things - but ultimately it's time to give gifts. When buying gifts for your family and friends, you usually have a good idea of what you want to give them. It's catered to their tastes and hobbies. So why should giving gifts to your employees be any different? It shouldn't be. Giving gifts to your employees is almost just as important as giving a holiday gift to your family. You see them or work with them every day.

When digging a little deeper on the subject, I took to Twitter. I wanted to know, what are employers giving to their employees to make them feel appreciated? There were a couple bad ideas, but quite a few great ideas. Does the fact that they tweeted about their gifts also stand out to you? It should. Employees were so grateful that their hard work was recognized, so much that they took to tweeting about it. That's pretty impressive, don't you think?

Great ideas that were discovered amongst the tweets:

@cdowell2 - Finally got to use my Starbucks gift card from my boss for the first time. #sleepdeprived #grateful

@Ryanh02 - Boss gave me a @Quiznos gift card for being awesome free lunch today!!!

@robyn_cook - I'm so lucky to have such a fabulous boss @MariaLocacciato! Thank you for my @DavidsTea gift card

@mattperry90 - Gift from my boss at work! Definitely brightened my day She knows how much I love my Starbucks

@RebeccaW2269 - Woo hoo! Got a $25 gift card from my boss today. Love it #workflow

@kRiSSY_kG - My boss is GREAT they bought me a gift set from Bath & Body works and gave me $50 in card for my B-Day Whoo - Hoo !!!!!!

@Facciabella14 - Got such a great bday gift....an ipad! From my boss! Loooooove my job

@garciadiana1 - Got an early birthday card and gift card from my boss and coworkers! How nice and sweet! )

@itcrashed - Surprised by a gift from my boss! (I was helping him out with his computer problems while on vacation). And yes, this is actual Champagne from Champagne

@GaltsGirl - Ribeyes as a belated birthday gift from the boss! Yay!

@Mdb1710 - Just got the book by Deepak Malhotra called I Moved Your Cheese. A gift from the boss and it's even signed.

Here's what not to do:

@Manicornn - My boss gave me a $50 gift card to Milestones. Went to pay and only $2.50 was on it. Thanks *thumbs up*

Moving On

With all this aside, it might also be important to also note that Boss's Day is coming up on October 17th when the tables will turn. Were you a good manager this year? Time will tell!

Do you have any ideas to add? Or maybe an idea that employers should stay away from? Leave your comments below!

Related Articles:

• Tips For Being a Great Boss
• Business Gift-Giving Etiquette
• The Dos and Don'ts of Corporate Gift Giving
• Corporate Gift Basket Ideas

It’s no secret that tea has been called a golden elixir of health. The Asian cultures drink it to the exclusion of other beverages. And they are among the healthiest populations on the globe. What is the magical power of tea? What are some of its benefits to your health?

Besides tasting good, tea has many benefits that can boost your health. First, it’s has no calories. You can drink it all day and you’ll be adding precious and necessary fluids to your body. This can help in weight loss efforts. It helps you fulfill that recommended eight glasses of water a day quota. And it tastes better than pure water. Because some teas contain no caffeine, it does not draw water out of your system like a diuretic. So it counts towards your daily fluids.

Tea contains antioxidants. Antioxidants protect you from harmful free radicals in the atmosphere and from pollutants. They can help in the fight against cancer. Polyphenols are the substances that are contained in tea that up your body’s own cancer-fighting abilities.

As if all that weren’t enough, tea may also help blood clots from forming in your arteries. When a blood clot happens, the result could be a deadly stroke or heart attack. Now drinking one cup of tea isn’t going to prevent you from getting a blood clot. And you should always take your medications as your doctor recommends. But tea that you drink over a lifetime can help keep your arteries running smoothly.

Everyone always thinks of coffee and tea as the two worst culprits for staining teeth. But actually, tea contains tannins that can keep your teeth from being attacked by plaque. It also contains fluoride. So, yes, tea can stain, but it also can protect. Brush and use a whitener and you’ll be protected and stain-free at the same time.

Tea can actually help speed up a sluggish metabolism. Green tea is thought to be the best for getting a boost for your body. You can’t add sugars and creams to your tea, however, and hope to see a weight loss based on tea-drinking alone, but you can see an increase in your body’s ability to burn calories when you start incorporating pure green tea into your diet.

Many people have started to take green tea supplements. But why would you when you can sit and relax and have a nice cup of tea? The benefits of the beverage are now famous. So why not create a little ritual for yourself where you step out of your busy day with your teapot, tea infusers and favorite cup, and enjoy a freshly brewed pot of healthy tea? It’s more fun than downing a pill.

Tea has been studied for its health benefits for thousands of years. Cultures that drink mainly tea are known for their longevity and overall good health. If you want to start adding tea to your diet, it’s one of the best habits you can start. Don't forget to share those health benefits with your loved ones with a tea gift basket!

You may want to swap out one cup of coffee each day for tea. You won’t even miss the reduced caffeine and soon your body will adjust to a life without caffeine. Just do it slowly if you decide to wean yourself off caffeine. Abruptly stopping caffeine intake may cause headaches and that’s the last thing you want.

You may have started to think about switching out your usual grocery store fruit with organic fruit. And you'd be in good company. Many people are trying organic fruits and finding that they are not only sweeter, fresher, and more delicious, but they are also healthier. It is because of the enormous amounts of pesticides used in the growing of fruits and vegetables that consumers are now looking for alternatives that are healthier and more natural.

Here are some facts on organic fruits that may interest you.

• Check your local supermarket for organic fruits. You may be surprised that even smaller stores carry some. Visit a farmers’ market for the freshest selections of organic fruits.

• Organic fruits are now being sold through regular grocery stores, discount stores, and warehouse clubs. Sales from these places outranked all the specialty stores and natural food stores that you'd expect to sell the most. Customers are asking for organic fruits in mainstream retailers and they are getting what they want.

• You can get organic fruit baskets delivered to your house depending on where you live.

• Organic fruit sales topped over $9 billion in 2009. Organic food sales overall (including other categories such as nuts, teas, etc.) accounted for over $24 billion during that same year.

• Two sites promoting organic agriculture for consumers are www.localharvest.org and www.eatwellguide.com.

• There is an organization for people who want to find out more about how to start growing and/or buying their own organic fruits. The Organic Trade Association maintains a site called www.organicitsworthit.org.

• The Organic Trade Association, which is a business devoted to the production and selling of organic foods, has over 1700 member businesses including stores and farmers.

• In order to be certified organic, a fruit must be grown without any pesticides, without any chemical additives, and without any genetically altered components.

• Organic fruits are regulated in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Japan and the United Kingdom. Not every country participates in an organic program. Many European countries do not have an official organic certification process.

• The most popular organic fruits are strawberries, cherries, apples, peaches, pears, melons, clementines, and kiwis.

• Organic fruits are perfect for making baby foods that contain no preservatives. Simply mash or grind the fruit and remove any pits or skin. Store in the refrigerator or freeze in ice cube trays for individual servings.

• In addition to organic fruit, consumers can also shop for organic vegetables, meats, sauces, pasta, and many other foods in the supermarket.

• More and more consumers are limiting their selections to only organically grown produce after many pesticide scares and warnings involving the food industry.

• Washing fruit that has been grown with pesticides will not wash away all traces of the chemicals.

• All fruit and vegetables should be washed with a special fruit and vegetable wash before being consumed.

If you're interested in starting off an organic eating program, there are many resources and more are coming up each day. You can now shop the grocery store aisles and find organic foods in nearly every category. Books and web sites are fantastic sources of information on how to grow your own organic garden as well as where to shop for organic foods and beauty products.