Presenting a baker's dozen of gift items from local kitchens

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Baked delights include shortbread
from Alan Wong's ($7) and Cookies
in Paradise ($5), and biscotti
from Big Island Candies ($15).

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By Catherine Kekoa Enomoto
Star-Bulletin

Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate macadamia shortbread and three-cracked pepper dressing are among new isle delectables in the culinary gift lineup.

Tomorrow's Turkey Day repast should provide fortification for the post-Thanksgiving kickoff of the shopping season.

"Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year," said Kate Miller, head of the gourmet department at Liberty House Ala Moana.

She said on the day after Thanksgiving, her fourth-floor department - a Mrs. Claus pantry piled with gourmet candies, cookies, fruitcakes, coffees, teas and spices - may ring up six times its normal trade. A 25 percent discount on many items boosts traffic, she added.

A foodie's roundup of gift suggestions follows, for stocking stuffers guaranteed to fit all sizes, budgets and tastes.

Shortbread is tall in our list with three entries. But our baker's dozen of 13 presents also appeals to chocoholics and other sweet lovers, as well as to chef wannabes and health nuts.

Award-winning restaurateur Alan Wong upstages with a trio of gourmet delights. Gift ideas range from traditional to trendy. Most items are appropriate for sending through the mail.

Ready, set, buy: (Prices listed are approximate, depending on where the items are purchased.)

1. Alan Wong's Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate macadamia shortbread cookies ($7)

Introduced this month, these rich confections - featuring chocolate chip macadamia cookies sandwiching a layer of rare estate chocolate - are flying off the shelves. A package of seven sandwich cookies weighs in at 6.5 ounces, at Alan Wong's Restaurant and at Liberty House.

Wong's Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate line also includes a new macadamia praline truffle; $1.50 each, or a box of seven assorted truffles is $10.

2. Macadamia rice bran blend oil ($26)

People counting fat grams want every gram to be worthwhile - in more healthful monounsaturates, as well as subtle flavorings of macadamia nuts and rice bran. Use this gourmet oil to saute, dress greens or marinate; in 16.9-ounce designer "wave" bottles, at Alan Wong's Restaurant and Liberty House.

3. Big Island Candies biscotti ($15)

Biscotti, the twice-baked Italian cookies for dipping in dessert wine or coffee, have a new incarnation in Big Island Candies macadamia and chocolate macadamia flavors. White chocolate-style waves top individually wrapped cookies in a 12-ounce gold foil box, at Big Island Candies in Hilo; order at (800)-935-5510.

4. Cookies in Paradise pineapple macadamia shortbread cookies ($5)

Tuck these sunshine yellow, bite-size bits of fruit-flavored shortbread into holiday stockings. Or add the melt-away morsels to a trendy pint-size coffee mug or a gift basket, along with minis of Tazo tea and Panache cocoa. Cookies come in 5.5-ounce bags, at Islands' Best and at Pat's Island Delights.

(Find mini Tazo teas at Executive Chef; one-serving packets of Panache gourmet cocoa at Gift & Gourmet; large French-style mugs at Gift & Gourmet and at Islands' Best, which holds a grand opening of new digs, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The new site will offer free demos, samplings, balloons and drawings for Beanie Babies and other prizes, at the makai entrance of Ala Moana Center's Makai Food Court.)

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Head off that snack attack
with Munchies' flavored popcorns
($4.15 for a half-pound) or Hula Girl
shortbread flavored with espresso ($5.45).

5. Hula Girl chocolate espresso shortbread cookies and coconut shortbread cookies ($5.45)

Pure Kona coffee and coconut enhance shortbreads from Ocean View, Big Island - perfect indulgences for holiday noshing; in green foil 8-ounce bags at Islands' Best and Pat's Island Delights.

6. Doris' cream cheeses of Hilo ($5.95)

Devotees of Doris' cream cheese hoard it by the case of 24, says proprietor Pat Ohta of Pat's Island Delights. The creamy spread comes in flavors of guava, mango, pineapple, strawberry/strawberry guava, and best-selling lilikoi. Ohta says customers spread it on bagels, crackers, lavosh, animal cookies, senbei - even Spam. Six-ounce jars have pearlescent labels, at Doris' Island Delights in Hilo Shopping Center, and exclusively on Oahu at Pat's Island Delights.

7. Kanemitsu Bakery lavosh ($1.75 and $6.25)

Kanemitsu Bakery, the home of famous Molokai Bread, presents light, buttery flatbread made with Friendly Isle mana. The lavosh comes in jalapeno, Maui onion, Parmesan and sesame flavors - and cries out for Doris' cream cheeses. Buy lavosh in 3.2- and 12.3-ounce bags at Pat's Island Delights.

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
For the chef, from Santa, from left:
Hawaiian Jammers! pouring fruit jams
($5.25), Maui Upcountry preserves
(about $4) and Hawaiian Thai sauce
(around $6).

8. "Hawai'ian Jammers!" pouring fruit jams ($5.25)

Pour all the fresh, chunky fruit flavors of the Hamakua Coast onto toast, ice cream, fish, poultry and meats. The Hawaiian Herb & Spice Co.'s new product comes in mango-papaya, poha-pineapple, and 'ohelo-guava flavors, in 10-ounce bottles at Pat's Island Delights.

9. Ohia Cottage Bed & Breakfast poha jam ($7)

A homemade, irresistibly chunky taste of Keaau, Big Island, comes in 1.5 to 6.4-ounce jars at Compleat Kitchen, Executive Chef and Islands' Best. New seasonal offerings of Kona coffee jelly, Kona coffee sauce, and Kona coffee mocha sauce; guava-pineapple, guava-strawberry and mango jams; and lilikoi butter are available by mail order only at (808) 966-4384 on the Big Isle.

10. Maui Upcountry preserves ($3.75 to $4.50)

A sweet value comes from the slopes of Haleakala - jams and jellies in flavors such as blackberry, guava, mango, peach, poha, starfruit-lilikoi and strawberry-guava. A 7.5-ounce jar is $3.75 at Munchies, or $4.50 at Pat's Island Delights.

11. Hawaiian Kine three-cracked pepper dressing, and Hawaiian Thai sauce ($5.50 to $6.50)

Hawaiian Kine - originator of Tasty Splash seasoning for fresh tofu, chilled cucumbers and carrots, and steamed spinach - introduces a pair of zesty sauce/dressing/marinades for holiday gift giving. Use Hawaiian Thai sauce and three-cracked pepper dressing on salads and seafoods, and to marinate or stir-fry beef, poultry and seafoods. Find 10-ounce bottles at Compleat Kitchen, Islands' Best and Pat's Island Delights.

12. Gift certificate for Munchies popcorn and other goodies

To your favorite film buff, give a gift certificate for Munchies hot popcorn in mix-and-match flavors of furikake, arare, barbecue, cheddar, white cheddar, li hing, jalapeno, pizza, ranch and sour cream. A half-pound bag of furikake/white cheddar popcorn with sakura flower-shaped arare costs $4.15. If desired, add any of the store's 400 munchables, including li hing gummi bears and chocolate-covered iso peanuts. Movie watching will never be the same! Popcorn comes in half-pound, one-pound and 1-1/2-pound sizes.

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
The 'Opelu Project offers a guide
to the Hawaiian way of growing
and preparing food ($10).

13. "From Then to Now - A Manual for Doing Things Hawaiian Style" ($10)

For earthy types, here's a back to the soil-and-sea primer. The 'Opelu Project on the Waianae Coast presents a 100-page guide to growing and preparing kalo (taro) and 'uala (sweet potato), plus mythology and techniques of making and using an imu and a seafood dry box.

Buying by catalog

From ready-made dainty delicacies to ingredients and supplies, the business of mail order is set for the holidays. Here are just a few of the goodies we found in the catalogs that found us.

LOCAL TREATS

Big Island Candies: Send loved ones on your mainland gift list Big Island Candies treasures, such as popular macadamia shortbread cookies, decadent "Crunch" chocolate-potato chip confection, and macadamia rocky road. Call (800) 935-5510.

Li Hing Wingding: For prices on hundreds of snack items - from dried white peaches from the Pacific Northwest (at Munchies) to Betty's Best crispy oatmeal cookies (at Wholesale) - call Munchies at 841-6641, or Wholesale Unlimited Inc. at 839-5258 on Oahu or (800) 820-SNAX.

Mauna Loa Mac Attack: It's macadamia madness, from pineapple-macadamia Paradise Cake for $25, to the Hawaiian Hibiscus Hamper gift assortment for $150. Call (800) 832-9993.

Gift & Gourmet: Buy a $5 gift membership to this downtown coffee club/gourmet nook offering more than 90 Kona estate and international brews. Call 528-5818.

'TIS THE SEASON-ING

Adriana's Caravan: International selection of spices and herbs, from the currylike Amba Spice ($4 for 2 ounces) to the Caribbean's Trinidad Blend ($5 for 2 ounces). Call (800) 316-0820.

Tabasco Country Store: It isn't just the company's sauce that's hot: Check out paraphernalia such as double-handled gumbo bowls (four for $32) and glass decanters with red chile pepper stoppers ($16-$29). Call (800) 634-9599.

SWEET SURRENDER

Godiva chocolates: Try any of nine Cafe Godiva coffee flavors ($10-$11), or Godiva biscotti ($10). Call (800) 9-GODIVA.

Perugina: In addition to a 50-piece box of Baci (sweet bites of whipped milk chocolate and hazelnut for $29), the Italian confectioner offers panettone, an Italian Christmas cake, in varying sizes ($2.75-$23.50). Call (800) 272-0500.

Baker's Catalogue: Offers ingredients, equipment and cookbooks for any baking project. Perfect Slices' bread and slicer tray ($74.95) offers the perfect finish to the recipe that started in the Zojirushi V20 bread machine ($199.95). Call (800) 827-6836.

Grandma's Recipe Rugelach: Available in several flavors, from Traditional (with fruits, raisins and walnuts) to El Rancho (jalapeno-flavored), in tins ($12.50-$34.95) or loaf ($19.95). Call (888) 729-8800.

American Spoon Foods: Fruit preserves - from apricot to sour cherry - are touted as "summer in a jar" ($5.25-$5.95) in the current catalog. Gift baskets and boxed sets, including the Cherryland Store Box ($34.50) - dried red tart cherries, sweet orchard mix and a jar each of mango butter, peach preserves, sour cherry spoon fruit and blueberry butter - are also available. Call (888) 735-6700.

MISCELLANEOUS MAGIC

Virginia Traditions: If you have a crowd to feed, wow them with a hickory-smoked, cooked Virginia ham ($57.95-$62.95) that serves 20 to 30; for smaller groups, the 2- to 4-pound barbecued beef brisket ($22.95-$39.95) will have them lined up for more. Call (800) 222-4267.

Blue Crab Bay Co.: Friends will think their ship has come in when you arrive with the Grill Lover's Basket ($49.95), a fish-shaped basket with all the makings for a seafood barbecue, from basting brush to bamboo skewers. Call (800) 221-2722.

America's Finest Pasta Sauces: The book-of-the-month club was never like this. Tempt the taste buds with two 26-ounce jars of gourmet pasta sauces from some of the finest Italian restaurants in the country, along with 2 pounds of pasta imported from Northern Italy and a newsletter of recipes, sample menus and cooking tips for $19.95 per month. (800) 55-SAUCE.

Junior's Most Fabulous Cheesecake: If you're dieting, you might want to skip the five new flavors (chocolate malted, cherry crumb, apple crumb, raspberry swirl and brown marble swirl) and go straight to the aprons ($16). Or not. Call (800) 9-JUNIORS.

International Junk Food of the Month Club: An assortment of goodies from around the world. Join the club ($19.99-$39.99 per month for two to 12 months) or make a one-time gift purchase. Call (888) 762-2584.