Simply Homemade Food Gifts [Hardcover]

Jennifer Darling (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2001

Create and give the gifts that money can't buy, making any occasion memorable with 325 easy ideas for delicious foods and pretty packages in Simply Homemade Food Gifts, from Meredith (R) Books.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Simply Homemade Food Gifts is an inspiring resource for one-of-a-kind gifts money can't buy -- gifts made with hands that will touch the heart in the way only homemade, handpicked food gifts can. Inside you'll find someting to please all tastes and for any gift-giving reason. Say thanks to a helpful family with a batch of lemony cupcakes atop a sparkling glass tray. Got some barbecue enthusiasts on your gift-giving list? They'll love a spicy Jamaican rub! From gooey brownies to sophisticated spreads, there's something here for all types of tastes -- from the sweet-and-simple to the gourmet.

And because tasteful treats deserve equally tasteful presentations, each delicious recipe comes with a beautiful packaging idea. With a few slices of art paper, twists of colorful ribbon, quick strokes of a brush -- or simply by calling on imaginative new ways to use old items, you can present gifts in ways that are sure to bring a smile.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Meredith Press (August 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0696212226
• ISBN-13: 978-0696212222
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 9.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #945,616 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to make friends with food gifts, October 18, 2001

By 

Letta Meinen (Salado, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Simply Homemade Food Gifts (Hardcover)

I truly loved this book, it incorporated my love of experimenting with food and crafts. The crafts come in when you make an interesting container to hold your food gift.

This book has over 325 ideas for kinds of food to make and appealing packages to hold them. There are five different sections which contain the following: Giving Thanks, Bright Birthday Wishes, Cherished gifts for all seasons, Merry gifts for Christmas and Between friends & Neighbors. Each section has beautiful pictures of the item to be made. The instructions and recipes are easy to read and understand. They give detail information as to how long these foods will keep in refrigerator or freezer.

The instruction of the containers for your food gifts list exact materials needed. They give several suggestions whether your gift will need a box, jar or packaging. There are decorative suggestions as ribbons, jewels and ideas for gift tags.

I have tried many of these recipes as I had my family here for a visit for a few days. This book is full of unusual foods such as Cheddar Crackers, Garden Bread, Spiced Honey butter, Red Onion Marmalade, Champagne Truffles, Key Lime Fudge, Soft 'n' Chewy Pretzel Sticks and Carmel-nut Corn to list a few of the things I prepared from this book. This give you an idea of the variety of food gifts are available in this book.

I will use this book many times especially this Christmas.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Repackaged prepared foods, January 26, 2006

By 

Michelle Kinslow (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Simply Homemade Food Gifts (Hardcover)

I was INCREDIBLY disappointed with this book purchase - especially because I paid FULL PRICE for it. I have absolutely NO USE for it. Why?
Why pay money for a book that simply takes prepackaged cookie and cake mixes, and adds a handful of nuts or dried fruit, (thus, making it "homemade") to give away? Anyone with the smallest amount of natural creativity could do this on their own, without the instruction of a cookbook. Let me give you an example: One of the "recipes" in this book is for lollipops.
You melt down other lollipops or pieces of hard candy and drop a stick in the puddle. WOW. That is CRAFTY. How ridiculous. Even worse, - as you will see by the illustration, - the "homemade" 'lollipop' looks disgusting. The stick is about four times as thick as the paper-thin puddle of liquified old hard candy. I wouldn't DARE give such a thing away as a GIFT.
Only a handful of recipes in this book are actually scratch-made from ingredients. The premise of this book is dressing up premade prepackaged foods from your local grocery store, and slapping some notions from the craft store on a glass jar or paper box. While some of the presentation ideas are original and attractive, in general it will prove a grave disappointment to an experienced cook.
I have given this book two stars because it does present lovely photo illustrations of every "recipe", and may give you inspiration for packaging and presenting your best recipes as gifts...... but if you have any creative talent and cooking skill whatsoever, - I advise you to seek out another book on this subject. It is not worth the cost of the book.
Should you be interested in the simplicity and economical value (the craft notions to dress the package will cost more than the food you are preparing)found in this book, - PLEASE- buy a USED copy, - it isn't worth more than $3 bucks. This is definitely a publication for a very inexperienced cook - and it is only for such a one I would recommend this book.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I want one now!, September 13, 2002

By 

Sara Westhead "Sara Westhead" (Southampton, Bermuda) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Simply Homemade Food Gifts (Hardcover)

I bought this as a bridal shower gift, and now I want one. There are lots of great ideas in here - especially if you want to give gifts to people, but really can't afford to.

Each recipe not only comes with a full colour photo, but also instructions as to how to package it. The ideas are inspiring, and easy to play with to personalize for the gift receiver.

I think it makes a great shower gift - especially as newlyweds never have money, and have tons of people to give gifts to!