The Taste of a Place - Menu for Hope 3

Some of the most commonly occurring prize types you'll find in our Menu for Hope Campaign fund raiser to collect money for the United Nations World Food Programme are food items and Hampers that give you the taste of a place. Bid on one of these for a chance to get a taste of the US West Coast and beyond, delivered directly to your door*...

UW07: Jack from Fifth Flavour offers a bottle from the inaugural vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon from Medlock Ames, a fantastic, young winery in Healdsburg. According to the winemaker, "This dark and intense Cabernet exhibits the classic plum and blackberry aromas of the Alexander Valley, but is enhanced by an exotic spicy quality we find characteristic of our vineyard. The dark fruit core of this wine is balanced by firm structure and rich dense tannins that last with the finish." A huge, dense wine for those in the mood for a well-made, new world Cabernet, made by a winemaking team with a real passion for their craft and their product. In addition, Jack has a bottle of estate-grown olive oil from L.A. Cetto. The texture and mouthfeel is absolutely unctuous, with a luxuriously rich, fruity flavor and a long, buttery finish. This oil works fantastically for a light, quick saute, as a dipping oil, or as a finishing touch for savory dishes. I picked up this bottle during a trip to Mexico's wine country in Baja (a wonderful area... definitely worth a trip!), so it was personally imported into the USA... legally, of course! [shipping: "anywhere that accepts such shipments from CA"]

UW05: Matt from MattBites is giving us a taste of Australia via very cute Chef Christopher Smith (yes, there is a picture of him on Matt's site ;). Fig & Almond Pyramid, Pear & Hazelnut Pyramid, Apricot & Pistachio PyramidThese fruit pyramids were voted "Best Product of the Aisle" at the 2004 Fancy Food Show in San Francisco and contain over 1 pound of reduced fruit. Yes, they're flavorful indeed and excellent with bries, blue cheeses and VPC's Crackerthins.Plain and Black Pepper Crackerthins These are premium water crackers that are perfect with cheeses, the fruit pyramids and pates. They're super thin and super crunchy. Olivia's Chocolate Panforte Made by hand with Belgium bitter-sweet coveture chocolate, freshly roasted hazelnuts & almonds and glace fruit (peach, apricot, kiwi, fig & orange). Slice into this panforte and enjoy with coffee or tea – it's heavenly.Truffle Infused Honey Matt says "I'm including two jars of this heavenly product because I love it so much". Each 4.2 oz jar contains 2 grams of fresh black Perigord truffles from France in Red Gum & Clover Honey with a dash of White Truffle oil. Serve it over stilton, enjoy with prosciutto, duck, and with fresh figs and pears.[shipping: "USA only"]

UW11: L from Cook & Eat wants to give you a taste of her favourite coffee and one of her superb photographs too, ready to hang on your wall. She says "Love coffee? My kick @$$! blend of home roast will get your morning started with a bang. A blend of Intelligentsia coffee (Tres Santos) with a handful of Kaapi Royale Robusto, which contains 4x the normal caffeine gives crema like you wouldn't believe with a beautiful bittersweet finish. Your beans will be roasted just before they are popped into the post, so they will be perfectly fresh on arrival. Serve up the brew in a new set of Rosanna espresso cups. And to top it off, this Coffee Lover's package will include an 8x10 signed, matted and framed print of one of my photos, like this one featuring the Rosanna cups." [shipping: "Worldwide"]

UW13: Amy from Cooking with Amy has combined coffee with chocolate for her delicious prize package:
* Savor four Scharffenberger mocha chocolate bars
* Drizzle Charlie Trotter Bittersweet Chocolate-Kona Coffee Sauce
* Stir up Schokinag Dutch Process Cocoa Powder (22/24% cocoa butter)
* Sip Dark Roast coffee from Peet's, Douwe Egbert and more
* Nibble Chocolate Covered Coffee Beans
* Read Hot Chocolate from Ten Speed Press
* Bake a cake from Coffee Cakes from Chronicle Books...and a couple of surprises! [shipping: "worldwide"]

UW14: Alan from Ma'ona will send the sunshine of Hawaii anywhere in the world. "Rich and addictive Big Island Candies chocolate-dipped shortbread cookies and a pound of 100% Kona coffee (whole bean). Coffee from the Kona region is known as some of the very best in the world, smooth as a baby's bottom (but much better tasting). BIC dipped cookies... well, you'll have to try them for yourself. Put the two together and you have a Hawaiian dessert package guaranteed to create lifelong cravings and a compulsion to come visit." [shipping: "Worldwide"]


UW27: Rancho Gordo beans are considered the best in the Bay Area. Steve has offered us a great package as follows: 6 pounds of beans of your choice, hot sauce, quinoa, amaranth, popcorn a Rancho Gordo calendar. [shipping: "USA guaranteed, worldwide at the recipient's own risk"]

UW31 & UW32: Elise from Simply Recipes has put together two prize hampers: "A French food lover’s delight! MirePoix USA/EnjoyFoieGras.com is donating a gift basket filled with French food delicacies. The basket contains two types of Rougie foie gras from France, goose foie gras with 3% truffles and bloc of duck foie gras; a delicious heat-and-serve cassoulet containing traditional white beans, two duck legs confit, and pork and duck sausages; black truffle oil, white truffle oil and truffle salt; a jar of shallots confit (wonderful with foie gras); and a premium fleur de sel, the perfect finishing salt for any dish. A $250 value. All products are shelf stable. AlejandroandMartin.com have donated twenty 100ml (each contains a 10th of a liter) bottles of their premium artisan olive oil. These specialty olive oils are made by small artisan producers from Spain, Greece, Italy, and California. The bottles come in four flavor profiles - Mild & Delicate, Fragrant & Fruity, Olivey & Peppery, and Green & Grassy. Perfect for an olive oil tasting event or as gifts for friends. A $200 value. [shipping: "USA only"]

UW34: You can have a taste of the Bay Area sent straight to your doorstep, thanks to Anita of Married with Dinner who has created an “Armchair Food Tour of the San Francisco Bay Area” that includes taste-tempting treats from four Northern California counties.The first stop on our tour is San Francisco, where we pick up:
- a copy of the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market cookbook
- a 4.25-oz holiday ornament filled with assorted Ghirardelli chocolates
We cross the bay to Berkeley, and sample:
- a 3/4-pound bag of Peet’s Coffee limited-edition Holiday Blend
- a 13.5-oz. jar of Scharffen Berger Pure Dark Ganache Chocolate Sauce
- an 8-oz. pot of June Taylor Blackberry Conserve
Then over the Golden Gate Bridge to the Wine Country, where we find:
- a 1-pound bag of Rancho Gordo “Ojo de Tigre” heirloom beans
- a 12.5-oz. bottle of Sonoma Syrup Company’s Eureka Lemon simple syrup
[shipping: "USA only, or $25 towards world wide shipping"]

UW38: Back by popular request, Fatemeh of Gastronomie is offering her Persian Pantry again this year:
* 4.6 grams of pure Khorasan saffron threads, hand-carried from Iran by my aunt
* A bundle of cleaned, chopped and dried herbs for Ghormeh Sabzi, enough for 4-6 servings
* A bag of leemoo-omani, dehydrated persian limes, critical for many Persian dishes
* Kashk (dried or a jar of fresh, depending on winner's location) - most of you have told me this is the single most difficult thing for you to find, and it's so important.
* Resht-e, Persian noodles used to make Aash
* Rob-e Anaar, or pomegranate paste. This is different from the pomegranate molasses you fine in most markets. You'll see why when you receive it
* Sumac, the dried and crushed berries of the poisonous plant. Sprinkle it on Basmati rice, fry up a few kabab, and you have a perfect Chelo Kabab
* Finally, I'll be putting together a selection of sweets and other goodies based on the winner's requests
[shipping: "Worldwide"]


UW49: Finally in this round, a prize offered by Chez Pim, donated Patrice Boyle the owner of Soif Wine Bar and Merchant and the new La Posta :
1 round (5 to 6 lbs) of Rinconada Dairy's Pozo Tomme - raw farmstead sheep's milk cheese from the wilds of Santa Margharita, San Luis Obispo County
1 container of housemade Dolcetto cogna from La Posta Restaurant
1 delicous bottle of Az. Ag. Roccolo Grassi Valpolicella Superiore DOC 2002 from Soif Wine Bar
[shipping: "USA only"]




(* Please note that shipping restrictions may apply on prizes in the Menu for Hope Campagin, please check with individual donors if you have specific questions)

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Menu for hope 3 | Menu for hope III

The Taste of a Place - Menu for Hope 3