Best Food Products | December 2014
11 December Must Haves That'll Get the Party Started
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Is your schedule packed with holiday parties? Are you hosting one yourself? We've got you covered with a handful of items that'll save the day, including an app for picking your next favorite bottle of wine or beer (for hostess gifts), an elegant yet affordable copper platter, and a charitable kombucha brand (for recovery the next day). Plus, a can't-miss cookie butter brand, because, well, cookie butter.
Saucey App
Few things kill a holiday party faster than running out of alcohol. Don't let this happen to you by downloading Saucey (free), an app for on-demand delivery of beer, wine, and spirits. Prices are of course marked up, but that's what you get for the convenience factor. My favorite feature has to be the cocktail kits. Several cocktail bundles are available, including well-loved classics like the negroni and lesser-known options like The Scottish Robin Hood. Order one of these and you'll get everything you need to make it, plus a recipe. While it's currently only available in San Francisco and Los Angeles, I'm hoping this one will expand.
— Nicole Perry, assistant editor
Gooey on the Inside Cookie Butter
For all you cookie butter fans out there, Gooey on the Inside ($10) just took it to the next level. Not only has it created out-of-this-world flavors like Fluffernana, Honeycomb, Red Velvet, Vanilla Birthday Cake, and Marshmallow Crispie, but they are also hand-crafted, all-natural, and preservative-free. These cookie butters taste exactly like their baked counterparts and are loaded with delicious add-ins like white chocolate, real pieces of birthday cake, shortbread, and honeycomb clusters. They're tasty on bread, fruit, ice cream, crackers, and cookies or, my personal favorite, straight off a spoon.
— Brandi Milloy, host/producer
OXO Palm Brush
Ceramic and nonstick cookware sometimes require fussy cleaning; this OXO Palm Brush ($4) is gentle enough to use on those types of pots and pans and couldn't be more effective in cutting through even the toughest messes. I love it so much, it's basically replaced my sponge.
— Anna Monette Roberts, assistant editor
SweeTarts Candy Canes
Some people have a sweet tooth, I have a tart tooth — is that a thing? Well, now it is, which is why I'm completely obsessed with these festive SweeTarts candy canes. Tangy red and green stripes hide a slightly fizzy, supersour, crushed-up SweeTarts center. My mouth is watering just thinking about it now.
— NP
Kombucha Dog
Satisfy your kombucha cravings while helping shelter dogs find homes with Kombucha Dog ($48 per case of 12 bottles), a raw, undiluted drink fermented with cold-pressed juices. Available in four flavors — just kombucha, mint, wild blueberry, and ginger — it's altruistic and delicious. When founder Michael Faye, a commercial photographer, started brewing kombucha, he decided to use his product for good and started photographing homeless dogs to use on his labels. Now he's helped over 50 dogs find homes; so crack open a bottle or two, and maybe you just might find your new four-legged best friend.
— Nicole Iizuka, producer
Dana's Bakery Holiday Macarons
Dana's Bakery Holiday Box ($30) intrigued us with flavors like egg nog, sugar cookie, and chocolate hazelnut, but the flavor and texture of these gluten-free macarons completely blew us away. We're convinced these are some of the best mail-order macarons out there. Prepare to see the dozen disappear in the snap of a finger.
— AMR
Hammered Copper Platter
Copper kitchenware is usually prohibitively expensive, which is why I love Birch Lane's Hammered Copper Platter ($41). Made from copper-plated stainless steel (hence the reasonable price), it's just the thing for instantly dressing up finger foods for your New Year's Eve soiree or a holiday dinner party.
— NP
Next Glass App
The Next Glass app (free) scans wine and beer bottle labels (through your smartphone camera) and, based on what you've rated highly in the past, will predict how likely you are to enjoy them. The app is especially useful if your friends and family use it, so you can see whether they will enjoy a particular wine or beer as much as you. We're thinking this app will come especially in handy while shopping for inexpensive wine and beer to bring to holiday parties.
— AMR
Old School Favorites Nutsz
Are candied nuts really rave-worthy? Yes, when they're Old School Favorites Nutsz ($12). Plump, not-too-bitter walnuts are glazed in a just-right amount of maple syrup and sprinkled with sea salt for a salty-sweet treat. Put them out in a bowl for party guests, add them to salads, or do what I did, and nosh on them straight from the package.
— NP
Hudson Bellamy Wines
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have Miraval, and next to hop on the celebrity wine bandwagon are Kate Hudson and Matthew Bellamy. The Hudson Bellamy Wines ($25-$50) hail from the Santa Barbara, CA, region, and though we have yet to try them, we're guessing they are as rustic and boho as their makers.
— AMR
Art of Tea Oolong Rose
With its potent perfume, rose could easily overpower delicate oolong tea, but not in Art of Tea's Oolong Rose (from $5). This balanced blend packs in just enough dried rose petals to subtly punch up oolong tea's floral characteristics.
— NP
