Homemade Gift Ideas for the Chef on Your List

Have someone on your Christmas list who loves to cook? You can create great homemade gifts for them. Here are a few ideas:

Make recipe cards for them.

If you aren't too crafty, there are many websites that offer recipe card templates that you can print out on some thick cardstock and cut down to the appropriate size. You could also include a few recipes of your own on some of the cards. Download and print out some festive recipe cards on the next page.

Put together a spice blend kit for them.

Get some small glass bottles with lids (these can often be found at craft stores) and fill them with the spice blends listed below. Be sure to include some recipe cards with the spice combinations so that your chef can recreate them when they run out.

Cajun Spice Blend

Perfect as a dry rub for meats.
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Chili Powder

1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Taco Seasoning

6 teaspoons chili powder
5 teaspoons paprika
4 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
3 teaspoons onion powder
2 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Pumpkin Pie Spice (makes enough for 1 pie)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground mace
¼ teaspoon ground cloves

Flavored sugars are also a great homemade gift for any chef. They are simple to make, last a long time and often add just the right touch to a sweet dish. The most common flavored sugars use citrus fruits. Mix together lemon zest from 3 lemons with 1 cup sugar in a food processor and pulse until the zest is ground well. Add another 2 cups of sugar and spread the mixture onto a baking pan and let it sit at room temperature for about an hour. This allows the lemon zest to dry out. You can then store it in an airtight container. You can substitute lemon zest with orange, lime or even grapefruit.

This article first appeared in the 'Celebrating Christmas PDF Magazine' which is a FREE magazine that you can download and even print out.