St. Lawrence Market: Gourmet Gifts
Toronto's Historic St Lawrence Market Has Gourmet Hostess Gifts, Stocking Stuffers and Holiday Entertaining Supplies
Holidays are here. Hostess gifts are a must. Why bring a bottle of wine when you can bring a unique, delicious gourmet gift? Cool ideas for stocking stuffers, too.
As my colleague Mary Luz indicated, Shopping the St. Lawrence Market, Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market was indeed one of the highlights of our recent trip. Thanks to Mario’s speedy yet comprehensive lunch-time introductory tour, we were well-prepared for our afternoon of shopping and dining, and shopping and dining...
Perfect for Holiday Entertaining and Gift-Giving
With the holidays approaching, you should really consider markets such as this for many people on your list. We bought some terrific spice rubs at Scheffler’s for our friend who is a grill commando. Mario was purchasing some sausages and cheeses, if memory serves, to take to someone moving into a new place. That’s a perfect housewarming gift when you can’t recall which box your dishes or pots are in and you’ve got no energy to go out to eat. I’m definitely going back for those sausages, Mario!
I purchased the Hungarian Hot Paprika Pepper Paste at Scheffler’s too, it’s been a terrific find and is already half gone! It went into my Piri Piri Sauce, it was part of my tomato sauce for stuffed peppers tonight, it adds just enough heat and depth to many things, a perfect secret ingredient.
Think of markets like this, gourmet shops or kitchen stores, as places to shop for small items you can use for holiday entertaining. You can also find lots of things that make thoughtful hostess gifts or stocking stuffers. You don't have to break the bank, either. Here are some of my favorite ways to pair a fun find with something edible, store-bought or homemade, for a gift that will be truly appreciated.
Hostess gifts
- Cheese spreaders are an ideal hostess gift. They’re not too expensive; they come in handy all year, and are especially at the holidays. You can combine a set of spreaders with some homemade tapenade or with some store-bought cheese spread.
- How about a decorative bottle and pouring spout along with some artisanal olive oil? Pasolivo Meyer Lemon Olive Oil would be perfect.
- Another idea: a decorative canister filled with your homemade spiced nuts.
- Clever cocktail napkins along with a bottle of wine make a fun hostess gift, too.
- Chris’ cheese shop in the market was staffed with friendly helpful staff. I mentioned the Ontario cheese article Mario had clipped for me and suddenly I’m sampling Ontario cheddars. That 8 year-old cheddar and a truffled Italian semi-soft cheese were both vacuum sealed for my trip home. Don't forget about your local cheese monger when looking for holiday gifts.
Stocking stuffers & Holiday gifts
Another great source for stocking stuffers and holiday gifts are restaurant supply stores like the one I took Mary Luz to when she visited Boston, or kitchen equipment stores like the one in the St. Lawrence market.
You can find many small but really useful items in shops like these. I like to pair something that is useful or fun with something edible. I found a little gadget called “Squeeze-ease” – two plastic bars about 2 inches long, attached at the ends with small rubber bands. The end of a tube of say, Hungarian Hot Paprika Pepper Paste, or Tomato Paste, or Toothpaste fits between the two rods, enabling you to get every bit in the tube. These would make a perfect stocking stuffer coupled with the unique pepper paste or high-end toothpaste like the Italian Marvis.
- For your eco-minded shoppers and folks who frequent farmers markets, I found an eco-friendly shopping bag. Hip designs, rolls up and snaps into a compact size, ideal for travelers.
- Smoked salmon is a luxurious gift. If you’re lucky maybe someone will share it with you! We brought some back from Vancouver and it disappeared all too fast. We found more at Caviar Direct.
- Kozlik’s is an example of an artisanal producer (in this case, mustard, vinegar) so devoted to his craft; it’s infectious to speak with him about it. We traded stories of past lives in the corporate world and tips on recipes and cooking. Oh yes, and more gifts ticked off the list.
And finally to the food:
We decided to forego the huge sandwich shop, Mostacio’s. As Mario predicted, we found it had long lines of guys queuing up for huge, inexpensive sandwiches. Instead, we went upstairs. I got the local “pea meal bacon” sandwich and Caleb stopped at the Portuguese “Churrasco of St. Lawrence” for the Piri Piri chicken and the addictive custard tarts. It’s true, Mario warned us. Even so, we still ended up stuffed, groaning, and eating more of those custard tarts.
Pea meal bacon – I have to try whatever the local specialty is when I’m traveling. In Toronto, there’s food from all over the globe, but they still have one thing that is uniquely theirs: pea meal bacon. For those of us here in the lower 48, it’s what we call Canadian Bacon (pork loin) but it has the addition of fine dusting of cornmeal. It’s not smoked as our bacon is, and makes a delicious sandwich.
Finally, a sweet ending.
We did visit the honey guy, who was the ultimate enthusiastic purveyor, just as we were warned. We sampled enough honey to perk us up for the rest of the afternoon. We bought delicious, unique honeys, some intended for gifts and some for home. I accidentally opened the one I’d sampled and loved – and the one that was intended for a gift. Oops.
Guess it’s a good thing that we’re heading back in November for the Gourmet Food Show!
