A tisket, a tasket, a delectable basket

YIKES. It’s the final hour, the 11 o’clock number, the last chance cafe. You’ve got to pull a gift out of your, er, imagination, and you don’t want it to be an impersonal, generic, shrink-wrapped disappointment that will be re-gifted next Christmas Eve, if not before.

You still have time to create a truly personalized gift basket, choosing your own favorite edible goodies to introduce to a friend, or selecting things you know he or she loves.

You can spend a little time in Whole Foods or Bristol Farms or Trader Joe’s and put together a basket without too much trouble.

But for the food-lover’s basket that wows, you’ll want to stop at Surfas in Culver City.

Named for founder Gerald Surfas, this store calls itself a “chef’s paradise,” and while “paradise” might be pushing it, I wouldn’t argue with “wonderland.”

The store, with its aisles of utilitarian cookware and restaurant supplies, is more a working warehouse for serious cooks than a gift center, but it has everything you need to make a custom basket, starting with the basket, along with raffia (ribbon-like filler) to cushion the treats and cellophane to wrap everything up in (all on aisle 1). Then just browse, picking up what looks great. You will find the familiar, the unfamiliar and the intriguing among the 14-or-so-thousand items.

With 20 different mustards from which to choose and 17 salts, you are bound to find a word, a phrase or an image that, like a private joke, refers to something unique and personal, something which says to a cherished friend: “You are one of a kind.”

The items pictured are what caught our fancy.

Le Cabanon harissa paste. This fiery red chili paste is the traditional condiment to spice up couscous and other North African dishes. This one, from Tunisia, is almost as good as homemade. $2.89 for a 5-ounce tube.

Grace lemon verbena tea. In France, verveine (lemon verbena) is as popular an infusion as chamomile or mint. Here, it’s almost impossible to find in whole-leaf form. $7.99 for 2-ounce bag.

Brauerei blueberry fruit vinegar. From an Austrian company that makes outstanding fruit and other vinegars, this one is beautifully balanced. $25.86 for 8.8 ounces.

Rustichella D’Abruzzo organic trennette pasta. Edgy pasta shaped like triangular quills from one of the best pasta producers in Italy. $5.74 for a 1.1-pound box.

Mandelin premium almond paste. There’s something so sensual and rich about almond paste -- and it just says Christmas. Use it to make marzipan fruits or almond macaroons. $7.65 for a 1-pound bag.

Cote Garrigue rose syrup. All-natural, rose-infused syrup, wonderful in sparkling wine or water. $12.15 for a 16-ounce bottle.

Green & Black’s organic hot chocolate. An envelope of this makes a luscious, very grown-up hot chocolate cup. $1.99 for a 0.7-ounce packet.

Piment d’Espelette. A sun-dried chili from the Basque region of Southwestern France, this is the spice du moment. $13.44 for a 1-ounce tin.

La Gula baby eels in olive oil. Baby eels are one of the world’s great delicacies. These, from Spain, are in garlicky olive oil. $7.49 for a 230-gram tin.

Denoix moutarde violette de Brive. This mustard from Burgundy is stained deep purple with grape must. Soft and sweet, it’s amazing with ham. $9.79 for a 200-gram jar.

Chiquilin bittersweet paprika. Deeper and more pungent than the usual sweet Hungarian variety, this Spanish paprika gives a kick but is not too spicy. $2.60 for a 75-gram tin.

Albo ventresca (tuna belly) in olive oil. From Spain, this is the velvety belly of the tuna. Heavenly with a squeeze of Meyer lemon. $9.75 for a 118-gram tin.

Rougie goose fat. Anyone who loves cooking French will swoon upon seeing this. It may just be a can o’ fat, but boy, does this baby ever lend richness to potatoes, lentils -- almost anything that goes with, well, fat. $11.48 for a 24.6-ounce tin.