Presents for Hungry Times : Putting Up for Your Friends : Holidays: Black Truffle Oil or Rosemary-Scented Nicoise Olives are inexpensive and surprisingly easy to make.

The food I make to give to friends is the food I would like to be given. They are savory foods, at once luxurious, delicious, comforting and healthful. For those who receive them, they are also immensely versatile: They can be used to feed friends who drop over during the holidays and have the added distinction of being low in calories.

These are not the predictable Christmas cookies, meant to be handed out to all the neighbors; they are truly special offerings for your most appreciative friends. And while they are not inexpensive, they do represent a kind of economy since they are all easy to make, take little time or organization and require few ingredients.

The Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto is made from sun-dried tomatoes that are soaked and pureed to a fine paste with garlic, olive oil and basil. Use it like a traditional basil pesto, as a spread on crusty bread, or as a sauce for a quick pasta dinner.

Despite the number of olives available in supermarkets, I find it almost impossible to buy a flavorful home-cured olive to serve with cocktails. These Rosemary-Scented Nicoise Olives are marinated in oil flavored with lots of rosemary sprigs. This deceptively simple technique imparts a wonderful flavor to the olives. The leftover rosemary oil can be used for cooking or as a dressing for pasta, fresh ripe tomatoes or cooked vegetables.

Roasted Peppers and Onions in Ancho Chile Oil--onions and a variety of sweet and hot peppers in an oil infused with ancho chiles--makes a colorful gift.

Given the cost of fresh black truffles, Black Truffle Oil might seem like an extraordinary extravagance. However, it takes only one ounce of truffles and very little effort to flavor one quart of oil. A single cup of oil would make a very generous gift. In specialty food markets, two ounces of commercial truffle oil may sell for $15; a two-ounce bottle of this homemade oil costs about $5.

The packaging of these gifts is almost as important as the food itself. Because some of these foods are costly (the truffle oil) or concentrated (the tomato pesto), they are meant to be packaged in small containers.

You can get the containers from a variety of sources. You might simply remove the labels and reuse empty olive oil bottles or jelly jars. And you can now buy decorative jars and bottles in many housewares shops.

Flea markets and second-hand stores are also good places to look for inexpensive and unusual containers. You might find ribbed milk bottles, small crocks, decanters and old apothecary jars with ground-glass stoppers in beautiful shapes. Be sure to sterilize them in boiling water, then dry thoroughly before filling.

Ribbon is all that’s needed to dress up the jars or bottles. Other embellishments--tiny Christmas balls and ornaments, fresh holly and pine--can be added along with the ribbon.

Handwritten tags make a nice addition to the gift. In addition to your name, you might include the name of the preparation, the ingredients, the date it was made and the best way to store it. You can cut simple tags from a heavy linen card with a hole punched for a ribbon, or buy more elaborate ones in a stationery store or museum gift shop.

The success of these preparations depends upon using the best possible ingredients, particularly extra-virgin olive oil. Many good olive oils are now available in half-gallon and gallon cans. Buy small quantities of several oils and taste them to find the one you like before purchasing the larger quantities. All of the recipes can be doubled or tripled.

This pesto is delicious spread on sandwiches with goat cheese or mozzarella and on pizzas or focaccia. For a quick pasta sauce, add two to three tablespoons of the cooking water and two tablespoons of the pesto to each cup of cooked pasta. Toss and season to taste with Parmesan cheese and freshly ground pepper. Since the pesto has a very intense flavor, a little goes a long way. One cup packed into a jelly or mustard jar makes an ample gift. It will keep for about two weeks under refrigeration.

SUN-DRIED TOMATO PESTO

12 ounces sun-dried tomato halves, not packed in oil

6 medium cloves garlic

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar, about

2 packed cups fresh basil or Italian parsley leaves

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons honey

Bring 6 cups water to boil in large saucepan. Stir in sun-dried tomatoes. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until very tender, about 15 minutes. Drain. Rinse lightly with warm water and squeeze to remove as much water as possible.

Combine tomatoes and garlic in food processor and process, scraping bowl occasionally, until mixture is coarsely chopped, about 1 minute. With machine on, drizzle in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Process, scraping bowl when necessary, about 1 minute. Add basil leaves, pepper and honey. Process, scraping bowl when necessary, until thoroughly incorporated. Season to taste with little more balsamic vinegar. Makes about 5 cups, 17 calories per tablespoon.

Pack these olives into French canning jars and affix sprigs of fresh rosemary. The olives will keep for several weeks under refrigeration.

This recipe actually generates a byproduct--the oil in which the rosemary is frizzled--which in turn becomes another lovely food gift. If you make more than one batch of this recipe, funnel the oil into decorative bottles. Add a sprig of rosemary. The deliciously flavored rosemary oil is wonderful in salad dressings, soups and vegetable stews; on steamed vegetables, ripe tomatoes, roasted peppers, pasta, mashed or baked potatoes. Try it when frying eggs or drizzle it on grilled bread. One teaspoon of the rosemary oil contains 40 calories. The oil will keep indefinitely under refrigeration.

ROSEMARY-SCENTED NICOISE OLIVES

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup fresh rosemary sprigs, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

1 pound Nicoise olives, drained and rinsed

Freshly ground pepper

Heat oil in small, heavy saucepan over medium heat 1 to 3 minutes or until piece of rosemary sprig frizzles when dropped into oil. Reduce heat to low. Add all rosemary sprigs and cook until oil is very fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and steep at least 10 minutes.

Strain rosemary oil into small bowl, pressing rosemary sprigs with back of spoon to extract any oil. Place olives in medium bowl. Add rosemary sprigs and 2 teaspoons rosemary oil and toss to coat. Save remaining rosemary oil for another use. Season olives to taste with pepper and toss again. Pack olives and rosemary together. Makes about 4 cups, 24 calories per 10 olives.

These peppers are delicious as an hors d’oeuvre paired with the Rosemary-Scented Nicoise Olives and served with thin slices of bread. They also make a nice appetizer or a topping for pasta. The peppers should be packed into wide-mouthed jars since they are quite chunky. Keep refrigerated for up to two weeks.

ROASTED PEPPERS AND ONIONS IN ANCHO CHILE OIL

3 medium unpeeled Bermuda, Vidalia or Spanish onions (1 1/2 pounds)

2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 large dried ancho chile

1 cup boiling water

1 small clove garlic, thinly sliced

5 yellow and sweet red peppers in any combination

1 large jalapeno or serrano chile

Freshly ground pepper

Quarter onions but do not remove skins. Brush cut sides of onions with 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil. Arrange onions, cut side down, in large cast-iron skillet or heavy roasting pan. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt on top. Roast onions at 450 degrees 30 minutes. Turn onion wedges so that second cut side touches pan. Roast onions 25 to 30 minutes longer until very tender and dark brown or even slightly charred. Cool. Remove stems and tough skins. Separate into slices.

Tear ancho chile into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Place in bowl and pour boiling water over top. Cover and set aside until very tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well and slice into fine julienne.

Combine ancho chile, remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and garlic in small, heavy saucepan. Cook over low heat 15 minutes, occasionally mashing chiles against pan with spoon. Cool.

Roast sweet peppers and jalapeno chile directly over gas flame or under broiler as close to heat as possible, turning until charred all over, about 5 minutes. Enclose chiles in paper bag and set aside to steam 10 minutes. Using small sharp knife, scrape off blackened skins and remove cores, seeds and ribs. Rinse peppers under running water to remove any remaining seeds or bits of blackened skin. Cut sweet peppers lengthwise into 1 1/2-inch strips. Mince jalapeno chile. Place all peppers and onion slices in large bowl.

Tip saucepan of ancho chile oil so that oil runs to one side. Using fork, slide chile pieces to other side, mashing to extract oil. Spoon 2 tablespoons ancho oil and 1 tablespoon ancho pieces over roasted peppers and onions. Add remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Season to taste with pepper. Toss to coat. Makes 4 cups, 88 calories per 1/2 cup.

The haunting flavor of this oil elevates food from the simple to the sublime. Served with cocktails, the oil is a great dipping sauce for fresh fennel and country bread. Try it on pasta, risotto, polenta, mashed potatoes, carpaccio, wild mushrooms, fresh artichoke hearts and grilled or poached salmon. This oil will keep indefinitely under refrigeration.

BLACK TRUFFLE OIL

1/2 clove garlic

1 quart extra-virgin olive oil

1 ounce fresh black truffle

Lightly rub inside of heavy medium saucepan with cut side of garlic. Pour in olive oil. Place saucepan on heat-reducing pad over low heat or place pan askew so only half rests on burner over low heat.

Using mandoline, truffle cutter or thin sharp knife, slice truffle as thinly as possible. Add truffle to garlic oil. Heat oil until warm but not hot, 7 to 10 minutes. Cover and let steep, checking to make sure oil does not get hot, 5 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and set aside to cool.

Pour oil and truffles into clean, dry quart jar. Let steep at room temperature 1 week, then divide oil and truffle slices among several smaller bottles. Makes 1 quart, 40 calories per teaspoon.