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By Jackie Burrell and Jessica Yadegaran BayAreaNewsGroup Hangthemistletoe.Deck the halls. Shop till you ... drop? No, no, there will be no dropping this holiday sea- son — or at least not when you're armed with this list of merry gift ideas for your favorite gourmet, spirits lover or globe-trotter. We've got you covered with every- thing from artisanal choco- lates and whiskey to a wine denim shirt. 1EAT:DIYJambon Cru Got prosciutto? Your fa- vorite foodie will never go back to store-bought after making his own with this kit from Yolo County cook- book author Georgeanne Brennan's La Vie Rustic. From the wooden salt-cur- ing box and Tellicherry pepper-tinged finishing rub down to the red and white butchers' string, this kit contains everything you need (besides the fresh pork leg and coarse salt) for mak- ing your own French-style prosciutto. Cure it in the cold weather, and it will be ready to slice and serve (with fresh figs, perhaps?) in early summer. Fine-mesh cheesecloth and complete instructions included. Details: $35 at https://la- vierustic.com. 2 DRINK: Wine denim shirt Who knew the Monda- vis were as keen on fash- ion as they were on cab- ernet? For the wine en- thusiast who doubles as a laid-back fashionista, you might consider the Robert Mondavi Private Selection X Crawford Denim Vintner Shirt. The limited-produc- tion, cozy California-made denim shirt (dyed using the label's latest Heritage Red Blend, natch) with barrel- wood buttons was made by boutique denim pro- ducer Crawford Denim. It's a refreshing gifting de- parture from classic wine accessories — how many decanters and bottle stop- pers does one really need? — and is perfect for all who wear their love of wine on their sleeves. Details: $135 at www. robertmondaviprivatese- lection.com. 3 PLAY: Blue Bottle Travel Coffee Kit We all know java fiends who can't bear to be sepa- rated from their Blue Bot- tle, even while camping. This one's for them. San Francisco-based Timbuk2 is already known for its messenger bags, TSA-compliant laptop bags (highly recommended) and soft, sturdy luggage (ditto). Now they've teamed up with Blue Bottle coffee on a travel coffee kit. The leather-trimmed, waxed canvas bag holds two porce- lain-covered Falcon enam- elware tumblers and Zarfs (that's Timbuk2-speak for felt coffee cup sleeves), a Porlex mini hand-grinder, Blue Bottle "travel dripper" (or what we call "a cone"), 100 coffee filters and, of course, coffee — a 2-ounce sample of Blue Bottle's Three Africans drip blend. Let the brewing commence. Details: $179 from Tim- buk2, 506 Hayes St., San Francisco and other loca- tions; www.timbuk2.com. 4 EAT: Wine-infused edibles Zin-fused savories and sweets become downright trendy, as an increasing number of wineries and ar- tisanal food producers col- laborate on projects that range from zinfandel-in- fused hot sauce to char- donnay-spiked desserts. Of course, some of these pair- ings are less than great. But the marriage of Jojo's Sri- racha and Sonoma's Ra- venswood Winery — whose slogan is "no wimpy wines" — has resulted in two ex- tremely tasty srirachas, one infused with old vine zin- fandel, the other with pe- tite sirah. Ditto for the alliance be- tween Sonoma's Clos Du Bois and Krave jerky, which yielded a sweet, salty and highly addictive Cabernet Sauvignon Balsamic Black- berry Beef Jerky. It may be the most sophisticated backpacking, tailgating, whatever snack ever. And the packaging — a Califor- nia-etched box with two wines and both jerkys — is charming. Details: A gift pack of Ra- venswood wine and spiked sriracha is $22; www.raven- swoodwinery.com. Find the Clos Du Bois Krave gift box ($65 for two wine bottles, two jerkys) at www.Clos- DuBois.com. 5 DRINK: Sia blended Scotch whiskey Whiskey is blowing up, thanks to enthusiasts such as Carin Luna-Ostaseski of San Francisco. The 36-year- old left a high profile career as a digital designer to cre- ate Sia, which means "six" in Scottish Gaelic, and bring it to market via Kickstarter. One whiff, and you'll see why the crowd sourced this so quickly: The nose is full of citrus and spice, and the palate explodes with smoky vanilla creme brulee. The blended Scotch whisky clocks in at 43 percent alcohol by vol- ume, but you wouldn't know it. It's smooth as silk, with a long fin- ish. Sia is distilled in Scotland and matured, blended and bottled by third-generation craft- ers Douglas Laing & Co., Ltd. from a blend of Spey- side, Highlands and Is- lay malts. Perfect for the newbie and expert alike. Details: $50 at siascotch. com. Also available at Cask in San Francisco and Bel- tramo's in Menlo Park. 6 PLAY: Travel-centric place mats Travel with kids, and you'll end up spending a lot of time in restaurants, which can be a delight- ful experience or a fraught one, depending on your child's antsiness factor. So these soft, food-grade, hand-silk screened silicone place mats are genius. De- signed by San Francisco's Kat Nouri, they're squish- able, washable representa- tions of some of our favorite cities, including San Fran- cisco, Paris, London and Se- attle. There's even a farm- to-table design for pint-size foodies. Squish one — the place mat, not the pint-size foodie — into your bag, then un- furl it at the bistro so junior can color in the Space Nee- dle, for example, while you luxuriate at Seattle's Dahlia Lounge. Wipe off the hues with a damp cloth and the col- oring can recommence the next morning at Serious Biscuit. Details: $18 for the mat, $7 for a set of six nontoxic, dry-erase markers from modern-twist.com. 7 EAT: Farmers Market Lovers calendar You loved his persim- mons, his tomatoes and fennel. Now you can en- joy Dave Johnson's pro- duce watercolors all year round, not just on Sun- days in Eat Drink Play. Printed by Hardscratch Press, the 2015 Farmers Market Lover's Calendar combines the artwork of Johnson, a Bay Area News Group graphic art- ist, and the poetic prose and recipes of farm- ers market guru Lesley Stiles. Details: Find the calen- dar ($21.50) at Mrs. Dallo- way's book shop in Berkeley, The Gardener in Berkeley and the San Francisco Ferry Building Marketplace, Dan- ville's Rakestraw Books and other locations. Order it on- line ($26 via PayPal, includ- ing tax and shipping) at les- leystilesfoods.com/php/cal- endar.php. 8 DRINK: Hard Cider Kit Hard cider has been pop- ping up on menus every- where. New cideries are opening at a breathless pace. And now it turns out, this oh-so-trendy libation is just the ticket for the DIY crowd, too. Word is, it's even easier than making beer, es- pecially when you give your favorite cider-hound a kit like this one to launch his new hobby. The Hard Cider Kit from the Brooklyn Brew Shop — which also makes a beer- brewing kit — includes ev- erything one needs to make three batches, from the gal- lon-size fermentation jug and yeast to the racking cane, tubing clamp and as- sorted paraphernalia. Four weeks later, your gift re- cipient can be gifting you — with bottles of home- brewed cider. Details: $40 from the Brooklyn Brew Shop, brook- lynbrewshop.com. 9 EAT: Recchiuti chocolates Tarragon grapefruit- scented chocolates. French fruit gelees. Star anise, pink peppercorn, lemon ver- bena, jasmine blossoms — oh lordy. You know those loathsome, lithesome peo- ple who claim they can eat just one chocolate? These must be the sweets they're talking about. One Recchiuti truffle, in- fused with lavender buds and vanilla, or bergamot oil and Ceylon tea, is pretty much guaranteed to send you into such a swoon, by the time you get back up, the now-gathered crowd will have finished off the box. Order two. One for the one you love. The other for you. Details: The Merry Christmas Box ($45) in- cludes 16 classic truffles. The Very Merry Christmas Box ($85) holds three lay- ers of infused truffles and gelees, 32 sweets in all. Pre- fer a little Napa sparkling wine in your chocolate? Go for the Champagne Truf- fle Box ($25), which holds 30 small, powdered sugar- dusted sweets. Find them at the Rec- chiuti shop in San Francis- co's Ferry Building Mar- ketplace or www.recchi- uti.com. 10 DRINK: The Lab Book Sure, your favorite home brewer could jot down the details about his or her IPAs, stouts and porters on whatever scratch paper is lying around. Or fash- ion bottle labels from yel- low stickies. But wouldn't it be infinitely cooler to re- cord his homebrewing ex- ploits — and recipes — in the "Home Brewer's Lab Book"? And use actual beer labels? This 168-page notebook from Chronicle Books de- votes two-page spreads to each brew, with check- boxes, lists and fill-in-the- blanks to record everything from boil and mash temper- ature to tasting notes. Re- sult? The home brewer can replicate his successful ex- periments and, perhaps, avoid making Seaweed IPA again. (While it is true that you can use just about any flavoring agent in brewing, kelp may not have been the best choice. Good thing you wrote that down.) Pair the book with a set of Home Brewer's Labels (also from Chronicle), with enough stickers to adorn the fronts, backs, necks and caps of 40 bottles of beer and/or cider. Details: The $20 lab book and $12.95 label set are available from Amazon and local booksellers. 11 EAT: Book, books, books Perhaps other parts of the publishing industry are under threat — it's cer- tainly not cookbooks. We're drowning in enticing vol- umes and there's one (or 12) for everyone on your gift list. Young foodies? Try Jac- queline Briggs Martin's "Al- ice Waters and the Trip to Delicious" (Readers to Eat- ers, $18.95), a picture book about the Chez Panisse founder, the Edible School- yard and all things fresh, lo- cally grown and tasty. Pizza buff? Tony Gemi- gnani's "Pizza Bible" (Ten Speed Press, $29.99) un- covers all the Neapolitan, deep dish and calzone-fied secrets of San Francisco's 11-time world champion piz- zaiolo. Thomas McNaugh- ton's "Flour+Water" (Ten Speed Press, $35) delves into all the pasta goodness that makes his San Fran- cisco restaurant a stand out. And Christopher Kos- tow, whose Restaurant at Meadowood boasts three Michelin stars, tells all in "A New Napa Cuisine" (Ten Speed Press, $50), an im- pressive coffee table book that's part memoir, part lush photo album and part cookbook — although those 100 recipes are probably more suited to Michelin- caliber chefs than home cooks. 12 DRINK: 'American Spirit' and spirits James Rodewald, the former Gourmet magazine drinks editor, has penned an irresistible ode to li- bations. "American Spirit: An Exploration of the Craft Distilling Revolution" (Sterling Epicure) isn't just thoroughly researched, it's a rollicking read, with plenty of space devoted to Soquel's Osocalis Distillery and Alameda's St. George Spirits, where crazy cre- ative geniuses forage for gin botanicals on Mt. Tam and commit sugar cane mayhem en route to rum agricole. Pair this terrific book with a bottle of St. George Terroir gin — and a distill- ery tour — for maximum delight. Details: Find Rode- wald's book ($24.95) at Amazon and local book- sellers. Terroir gin ($30) is available at BevMo and other liquor stores and at the distillery in Alameda, which is open for tours by appoint- ment; w w w.stgeorge- spirits.com. SHOPPING Holidaygi sforyourfavoritefoodieandlibationslover RENATASTONE-COURTESY Robert Mondavi Private Selection X Crawford Denim Vintner Shirt is made using the label's 2013Heritage Red Blend wine. COURTESY OF GEORGEANNE BRENNAN Homemade jambon cru set from La Vie Rustic, $35. SIA SCOTCH WHISKY - COURTESY Sia Scotch whisky retails for $50at Cask in San Francisco. 2 Bud's BBQ 22825AntelopeBlvd.RedBluff M-F11am-6pm Sat. 11am-3pm Closed Sunday (530) 528-0799 BBQ PORK★ BEEF ★ CHICKEN We'vebeenherefor 11 years. Where have you been?? FOOD » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, December 3, 2014 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B4