Gluten-free gift basket, and specialty beer

[Anonymous]

We are going away for spring break and will leave the dog with some neighbors whose dog is pals with ours. They are lovely people and refuse payment of any kind, so in the past we have made a donation to the rescue from which we adopted our dog in their name, as thanks. We plan to do this again.

I'm thinking I'd like to do something a bit more personal though. Based on having had them to dinner in the past, I know the wife is gluten-free and that the husband likes beer. Neither of them drinks wine. So I thought I would make a gift basket for her of gluten-free things, and give the husband a specialty/craft beer of some kind. And some treats for the pup.

I could go to Trader Joe's and find GF things but thought I would ask here for ideas - presumably our neighbor shops at TJs so I'd like to seek out some special things, YK?

I'd also welcome beer suggestions.

Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

For the wife: You could put together a gift set that includes a gluten-free baking mix of some sort, along with an accessory, like, say, a pizza crust mix + cutter, or a scone mix + a jar of gourmet preserves, or a pancake mix + jar of real maple syrup. King Arthur Flour sells gluten-free mixes online. I'm not gluten-free, so I have not tried them, but their products are generally excellent. Babycakes NYC has an online store for their gluten-free baking mixes as well.

Craft beer itself is a harder pick without knowing what the person likes. If there's a local brewery he likes, a growler is always fun. If you don't know what he likes, though, how about a gift certificate to a store, or a beer of the month club? Or a pair of beer tulips - nice for sipping craft beers. Or a good beer book, like The Brewmaster's Table?

[Anonymous]

There is a wonderful little gluten free bakery in Del Ray called the Happy Tart - she might like some items from there. I would get them fresh if possible - the pre-packaged items are not as good as fresh-baked.

[Anonymous]

Thank you, these are great ideas.

What if I make a GF/flour less chocolate cake for this basket? Is that strange, or thoughtful?

[Anonymous]

If you're good at it, it's thoughtful.

I was going to say--chocolate is gluten-free. So are nuts.

[Anonymous]

For the beer, if you can remember even one beer he's enjoyed when you were with him, it's not too hard. Did he have an IPA and like it? There are 5,001 great IPA's out there. Did he say good things about Belgian? Belgian is very trendy now and there are about 4,000 options available. Did he like something heavy and dark? Those are out there too. (Porters and stouts--not to be confused with Black IPA, also a current trend.)

If you know he likes one of these things, stick to that broad type, and ask for help at a beer store (or really, from anyone who looks like a beer enthusiast in the beer section). Whole Foods in DC and MOM have great beer selections these days, as do most grocery stores in VA (damn you, MD!). If you want even broader selection you can try a beer specialty shop. But there are so many good options out there, picking out a mixed case shouldn't be hard.

The trick is sticking with a type you know he's enjoyed. For instance, I love all IPA's and hate all Belgians. If you asked any beer person anywhere to put together a sampler of IPA's, I'd be thrilled with any of them. I wouldn't be so thrilled with Belgian, or wheat beer, or something fruity, but you'd never have seen me drink even one of those around the house. (In general, it's a good idea to steer clear of wheat beer or fruity beers unless you know he likes them.)

[Anonymous]

Also, it's hard to go wrong with anything made by Dogfish Head. Except maybe their Pumpkin Ale, but thankfully that's out of season.

[Anonymous]

Lilit Cafe in Bethesda has some really nice GF beers:
http://www.lilitcafe.com/beerwine.htm

These are my favorite pretzels:
http://www.glutino.com/our-products/snacks/pretzels/pretzels-sticks-8oz-us/

and cookies:
http://pamelasproducts.com/products/cookies-and-biscotti/cookies/espresso-chocolate-chunk-cookies/

[Anonymous]

IPA = India Pale Ale. If you hear someone praise a beer as "hoppy," they probably like Pale Ales.

[Anonymous]

I would not cook a gluten free cake. It's thoughtful but the average person does not realize how much flour is in their kitchen. I'm not sure I would trust your baked item to be 100% safe (no offense). Wouldn't you hate to make her sick?

[Anonymous]

For gluten free goodies I'd head to My Organic Market rather than Trader Joes. TJs has GF items, but MOMs as a much better selection of snacky and cookies.

[Anonymous]

I would not cook a gluten free cake. It's thoughtful but the average person does not realize how much flour is in their kitchen. I'm not sure I would trust your baked item to be 100% safe (no offense). Wouldn't you hate to make her sick?

Fair point. We keep GF because of gluten sensitivity and auto-immune issues, but no one here has celiac so we don't have to worry about the 100.00% issue. If the DW you're talking about has celiac (or you're not sure), then not baking yourself is probably the right, safe thing.

+1 for Lilit Cafe--they're saviors for GF Bethesdans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not cook a gluten free cake. It's thoughtful but the average person does not realize how much flour is in their kitchen. I'm not sure I would trust your baked item to be 100% safe (no offense). Wouldn't you hate to make her sick?

OP here. We had them to dinner last year and I made a flourless chocolate cake that they raved about. That's why it occurred to me. I agree that the average person has a lot of flour in the kitchen, but none was in the cake. Does that change your view?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For gluten free goodies I'd head to My Organic Market rather than Trader Joes. TJs has GF items, but MOMs as a much better selection of snacky and cookies.

Thanks very much!

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much, all - the beer info is fantastic and you've given me great ideas for gluten-free snacks.

I'll let you know what I do!