Santa Is a Foodie

Why give a boring old sweater when the stores are full of delicious things to sate the appetite of even the finickiest person on your shopping list? A few of our favorite ideas follow. The numbered items are pictured on the cover.

1) BOTTLED PLEASURES

Francesco Ferretti’s family was pressing olives long before he was born. Now Ferretti is following in the family tradition, harvesting the mature olives grown on his family’s 500-acre farm in Cori, Italy, then cold-pressing the crop within five to six hours. Previously, the imported Pietra Pinta olive oil was only sold wholesale to top Italian restaurants (Valentino and Rex among them), but now you can pick up a three-quarter-liter bottle for less than $15 at Bristol Farms in South Pasadena, Rolling Hills Estates or Manhattan Beach, and at Broadway Deli in Santa Monica. It’s a pretty impressive present.

2) GO FISH

Tired of forking out big bucks for so-so smoked salmon? At American Fish & Seafood (550 Ceres Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 612-0350), a wholesaler, processor and distributor of fish from all over the world, you get smoked farm-raised Norwegian salmon--the kind that top restaurants use--for $11.95 a pound. At most other places, this salmon, hot-smoked in the traditional European manner, sells for more than twice that.

3) YULE LOG

In France, it isn’t Christmas without buche de Noel , a rich concoction of sponge cake rolled into the shape of a log, frosted with chocolate butter cream and decorated with meringue mushrooms and marzipan elves. At Xiomara (69 N. Raymond, Pasadena, (818) 796-2520), chef Patrick Healy is baking the festive cakes for the holidays. Order Healy’s chocolate-hazelnut creation with vanilla custard sauce in small ($24, serves 6) or large ($35, serves 10).

4) SWEETENED GREETINGS

Three cousins from Louisiana--Norwood Clark, Ronald Washington and Darryl Banks--run Uncle Darrow’s Eatery (5301 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 938-4293) where they’ve been dishing up jambalaya, catfish and file gumbo for the past six years. Their real specialty, however, is Cajun “pa-cawn” candy made from an old family recipe; it tastes like a cross between fudge and a praline. The candy comes in three sizes; a large packet of the candy costs $10 and can be mail-ordered. The cousins also make excellent, buttery “karamel” popcorn ($1.50) and individual sweet “tater” pies ($1.50).

5) JAMMIN’

Marmalade lovers have three terrific reasons to celebrate this holiday season: lemon, orange and grapefruit. At Sunny Springs Ranch in Fontana, Phil and April Valvo and daughter Shannon make low-sugar marmalades and jams using natural pectin and the organic fruit grown on their five-acre ranch. The whole property is fed by two natural springs. “The more fruit I can put in,” says April, “the better.” The marmalades and jams are available in three sizes (four ounces, $3; eight ounces, $5; 16 ounces, $8) and are sold at local farmers markets (Torrance, Hollywood, Calabasas, Encino, Westchester) or by mail. For information, call (909) 822-5417.

6) SMALL PACKAGES

Christmas without tamales? Not in Mexico. And not in Culver City, either. That’s where Belgian-trained Pascal Dropsy (by night the chef at St. Mark’s in Venice) makes tamales with his wife, Shirley Coriz, an American Indian who has been making traditional tamales since she was a little girl growing up on the Santo Domingo Pueblo in New Mexico. Of course, these aren’t ordinary tamales. With his chef’s training and her family expertise, they’ve come up with some unique combinations--and they’ve managed it without using lard. Green chile and smoked Gouda; chicken and mango-habanero; black tiger shrimp with pineapple and chipotle sauce; beef carnitas; and Belgian chocolate with raspberries and pecans are a few of the 16 choices. “I came up with the different fillings,” says Dropsy, “but Shirley taught me the traditional method and how to tie them.”

Their Corn Maiden Co. tamales (12102 Summertime Lane, Culver City, (310) 202-6180) run between $22 and $33 a dozen. They are available for take-out or by mail order. And with two days’ notice, the tamales will be delivered to your door with steaming and microwave instructions.

7) BETTER THAN MISTLETOE

A wreath to whet the appetite. And it only takes a few minutes to whip up. Braids of locally grown garlic ($14 and $20) are available from Lori’s Herbs at local farmers markets (Thousand Oaks, Santa Monica, Encino); the chiles and rosemary can be bought at any farmers market or nursery. Tie on a red bow and hang it in your kitchen for Christmas. When the holidays are over, use the rosemary branches to flavor your favorite dishes: Dried chiles arbol make great salsa; the garlic is a year’s supply of goodness.

8) THE GIFT OF GAB

Cucina magazine was intended for the restaurant trade to promote Italian food and wine culture in America. But the glossy bimonthly color magazine has become so newsy and gossipy that it’s worth subscribing to if you love Italian food. Try out chefs’ recipes, listen to them gripe, and be up on their events. A one-year subscription is $18. Write Datatex Corp., 120 E. 41st St., New York, N.Y. 10164-2263. Or call (212) 338-0362.

SAY GORGONZOLA

What could be more versatile than a hunk of creamy, blue-veined Gorgonzola? It makes a good sauce on pasta, works well in salad dressings, melts nicely in hot potato skins and is a fine topping for grilled steak. Best of all, it makes a lovely end to a meal, served with pears and walnuts. Some of the best ($6.25 for a half pound) can be found at Say Cheese (2800 Hyperion Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 665-0545), an upscale food boutique crammed with imported cheeses, La Brea Bakery breads, coffee beans, flavored oils and vinegars, crackers and imported chocolates.

MERRY MEAT

After Christmas Eve services in Germany, families often return home and drink tall flutes of Weissbier and feast on soft pretzels and Munchener Weisswurst--fat, fluffy sausages that are simmered and then slathered with sweet whole-grain mustard. At Atlas Sausage Kitchen (10626 Burbank Blvd., North Hollywood, (818) 763-2692), sausage maker Michael Obermayer makes Munchener Weisswurst ($4.69 per pound) the old-fashioned way, using carefully hand-trimmed veal flavored with cream, parsley, mace and other spices. You’ll also find other delicious hand-crafted sausages, cold cuts and smoked meat at this 50-year-old shop. Just don’t ask the Santa look-alike wurst maker for apple sausage or other gourmet-types. “I’m in the meat business,” huffs Obermayer, “not the produce business.”

GARDEN GROOMING

It was the contents of the walk-in refrigerator at Abiquiu, chef John Sedlar’s Santa Monica restaurant, that inspired Sedlar and former hairdresser Philip Berkovitz to create the Philip B. line of hair and skin-care products available exclusively at Neiman Marcus nationwide. All the products contain high concentrations of food and plant extracts. The white truffle shampoo ($42.50 for eight ounces) was developed in Sedlar’s kitchen using an infusion of Italian white truffle oil, fresh lemon rind and fresh thyme. The carrot conditioning creme ($44.50 for eight ounces), which contains 25% carrot extract (most plant-based hair products contain up to 4%), really does make the hair smell like fresh-picked carrots. Carrots never cost so much, but hair may never have smelled so good.

COOKIE CRUNCH

From the man who does great things with the lowly potato, now comes biscotti. You can pick up a small sack of these twice-baked cookies at Patinette (250 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 626-1178), Joachim Splichal’s upscale snack bar at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Choose from chocolate, cinnamon and pistachio, and baklava. Six of the crunchy cookies are packed in a cellophane bag tied with a sprig of pine and a holiday ribbon. They’re buttery, rich--and only $3.

STOCKING STUFFER

Garlic tastes great and is good for you too. On the other hand, peeling cloves by hand can be monotonous if you’re cooking for a crowd. Now there is a tool to do the yucky part of the job: the E-Z-Rol garlic peeler, a simple, flexible tube, originally designed to aid the handicapped and made from an FDA-approved material that looks and feels like something between neoprene and a vintage rubber girdle. Insert a clove or two in the tube, press down firmly and roll it back and forth with the palm of your hand until you hear a crinkly sound. Best of all, the tool also peels roasted chestnuts, easing what may be among the most painful kitchen jobs during the holidays. The peeler costs about $6.25 and is available at Christopher Ranch (2208 Glendale Galleria, Glendale, (818) 637-2813).

MORNING JOLTS

See Dick roast coffee. See Jane blend tea. Dick and Jane Healy own the Coffee Roaster (13567 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, (818) 905-9719), a mecca for coffee and tea fanatics. For the beverage connoisseurs on your gift list, try a pound or two of espresso blend (half Sumatra Mandheling and half Ethiopian Harrar), or some of Jane’s Welsh breakfast blend of smoky Keemun with long-leaf Assam. Espresso roast is $9 a pound; the Welsh breakfast blend, $14 a pound.