They Gotta Eat

From CHARLES PERRY, RUSS PARSONS, DONNA DEANE and LAURIE OCHOA

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Hanukkah Thoughts

This beautiful “Honor the Sabbath” challah board, $125, is handmade by local L.A. artist Stan Clickstein from three woods. Matching knives are also available.

Sculptor Branah Layah’s menorah collection Children of Light expresses the warmth of her childhood Hanukkah memories. It includes this model with a whimsical row of children and this Mickey and Minnie menorah. .

Available at the gift shop of the Museum of Tolerance, 9786 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 553-8403.

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Temper, Temper

For the chocolate lover who has almost everything, here’s the first home machine to automate the exacting, frustrating process of tempering chocolate. With this computerized gizmo, it’s easy to make your own chocolates, dip fruits and so on. Settings for white, milk or dark chocolate; also works with chocolate substitute and sugarless chocolate.

The Sinsation Chocolate Maker comes complete with chocolate to get started; $329 plus $19.75 shipping and handling from Chandre LLC., 14 Catharine St., Poughkeepsie, NY 12601; (800) 3-CHOCLA (324-6252).

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We Love Mrs. Weinstein

Mrs. Weinstein’s Toffee won our hearts when it was introduced last spring. One reason was absolute freshness--it’s made in small batches and shipped overnight immediately. To the original light chocolate varieties (almond, hazelnut, pistachio), Mrs. Weinstein has just added dark chocolate versions of the almond and hazelnut toffees, plus walnut-pecan dark chocolate, Spanish walnut and Irish coffee flavors. It’s hard to beat the original flavors, though.

A 1/2- or 1-pound tin (single flavor) is $15-$23, a 1 1/2-pound tin (assorted flavors) is $31. Sold at Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills and in Santa Barbara at Jordano’s Marketplace and Mrs. Weinstein’s own kitchen-store at 14 W. Figueroa St. Or you can have it shipped (which adds about $5 per pound) by calling (800) 682-0978.

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Designer Bread

The name Poila^ne among bread groupies is as powerful as Chanel to the fashion-obsessed. Yes, we have the wonderful sourdoughs of La Brea Bakery and other Southland rustic bread purveyors. But consider that the massive miches of country bread sold daily in the Paris Poila^ne shops have been made with nearly the same methods since 1937, when Pierre Poila^ne went into business. Before Poila^ne, of course, there were generations of bakers who practiced the same craft, which relies on natural fermentation, called levain in France. There’s history in a Poila^ne loaf.

In 1984, Deborah Forman, who runs the Chicago mail-order company Deborah’s Country French Bread, figured out a way to get loaves of Poila^ne bread shipped direct from Paris--it’s baked, then frozen and sent by overnight mail. Yes, we thought frozen bread sounded odd, but if you follow the reheating instructions, the results will be very pleasing indeed.

Besides the Poila^ne loaves--country, currant and walnut--Forman sells olive oil, lavender honey, jams, chocolates and, our favorite, Le Francais hot chocolate creme--not cocoa powder, but wonderful chocolate syrup.

The bread and chocolate package shown is $44.95. Items available separately as well. Call (800) 952-1400 or fax (312) 829-9671.

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Holiday Glaze

Since the time of Louis XIV, the candied chestnuts called marrons glaces have been considered a luxury gift. At France’s, the European-style bakery in Little Tokyo, Itsu Tachibana and his wife, Fusako, and Mynoru Shintadani make marrons glaces by hand. Fresh chestnuts are first roasted, then cooked in syrup. Next, they are shaped and coated with a light sugar glaze. They are then individually wrapped in colorful foil.

Several sizes of gift boxes are available from $8.95 to $24.50 or make up your own gift box and choose from several decorative tin boxes available at an extra charge. France’s Bakery, 404 E. 2nd St., Los Angeles. (213) 680-4899.

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Sweet Love

If you really, really love biscotti, you might really, really need a special cookie jar for them. Say, one of these big, jolly, colorful Italian jars.

They’re $175 each (we said if you really, really love biscotti) at Cottura, 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles; 7215 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles; Fashion Island, 587 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach.

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Drink With the Fishes

Just in time for the holiday season, these handblown fish glasses, from Murano of Venice (Italy), give a new aspect to those tiny bubbles in the wine.

Fish glasses are $72 each. Available at the Malibu Colony, 3835 Cross Creek Road, Malibu, (310) 317-0177, and the Laguna Colony, 384 Forest Ave., Laguna. (714) 497-8919.

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The Prize in the Box

This year is the hundredth anniversary of the brand name Cracker Jack, so naturally there’s an official Cracker Jack Museum Watch--featuring the updated ‘90s version of the iconic sailor lad and his dog, Bingo--with a 14-karat gold-tone case, leather strap and quartz movement from Citizen. It comes with a box of Cracker Jacks, natch.

To order, call the Rich Co., (213) 626-6847. $60 plus shipping.

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Spice Bubbles

California glassblower Bernadette Tellefson specializes in making perfume bottles, fragrance pendants and these dainty handblown and decorated salt and pepper shakers.

Available for $30 to $42 at Freehand, 8413 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles. (213) 655-2607.

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Kitchen Towels of the Season

Jingle, jingle, whoops. There’s a lot of cleanup to be done at this time of year.

Available for $5.99 to $9.99 at Bristol Kitchens, 606 Fair Oaks Ave., South Pasadena. (818) 441-5588.

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Diamond in the Rough

Say you’ve got this friend you really, really want to impress at Christmas. In fact, you’ve been thinking diamond or some other really big rock. Hold it right there. Anyone worth that kind of effort is sure to appreciate a white truffle more. (OK, the person has to be pretty food-obsessed, but there are a few of us.)

Truffles come from underground, too. They’re bigger than diamonds. They smell better. And in this holiday package available from Williams-Sonoma, they even come in a prettier box.

These truffles come from Urbani, by far the largest exporter of white truffles in Italy. And for the holiday season, Urbani has tricked them up with a nifty hand-painted dish from Deruta, the center of the Italian ceramics craft.

You can also buy Urbani white truffles loose at Bristol Farms and occasionally at the Cheese Store in Beverly Hills. They’ll weigh about an ounce each (roughly the size of a walnut or golf ball) and will retail for about $75 each. That’s enough for a dinner for four.

To get a truffle the size pictured here, you’ll probably have to own a major restaurant. Truffles like this huge 2 1/2-ounce specimen are sold only to major accounts. This one would run about about $200.

Still, cheap compared to a diamond.

Dish containing 1 ounce of white truffles is $135, white truffles alone are $85. Dish containing 1 ounce of black Perigord truffles is $98, truffles alone are $48. For the Williams-Sonoma package, call (800) 541-2233. Urbani truffles and truffle products can also be ordered direct by calling (800) 821-2330.

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The Dansant

The few, the proud--the Dancing Teapots. These whimsical teatime utensils and the equally winning salt and pepper shakers are the work of porcelain artist Michael Lambert.

Available for $171 (tea set) and $49 (shakers) at Freehand, 8413 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles. (213) 655-2607.

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Craftsman Knives

Michael Lishinsky specializes in kitchen knives handmade from start to finish in his own blacksmith shop. They’re very handsome and well-balanced old-fashioned carbon steel knives that have to be handled a little carefully (re-oiled whenever washed with soap) but take and hold a keen edge.

Available for $24 to $128 at Freehand, 8413 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles. (213) 655-2607.

--From CHARLES PERRY, RUSS PARSONS, DONNA DEANE and LAURIE OCHOA