Men’s Gift Ideas

Last week I went to an Editor Showcase Cooking & Entertaining event at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. There, 29 brands gathered to provide editors with information and samples of their products. We also got great ideas for entertaining, which is perfect for the soon approaching holidays.

I discovered a few new products, learned new uses for familiar products, and got to try a couple products I’ve always passed by on the grocery shelves, but have never bought. I came home with two giant bags of samples, which I will be reviewing over the next few months and telling you all about!

In the meanwhile, I wanted to give you a glimpse of what’s to come!

We all know Sweet’N Low. Did you know this zero calorie sweetener can be used to make “skinny” mixed cocktails?

Ninja puts a new spin on the crock pot, with a multi-use cooking appliance that can even be used to bake!

Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse, which will be coming soon to uptown NYC, offers a line of scrumptious spring rolls, but we’re not talking your typical Chinese restaurant find. Flavors like macaroni & cheese, Reuben, and buffalo chicken are super tasty.

Hamilton Beach has really stepped it up with their funky line of animal print crock pots. And blending is taken to the next level with their professional-grade blender pictured on the left (which retails for about $800).

Satori Cheese offers amazing, delicious cheeses, including my favorite: Cognac BellaVitano, which is “steeped in Rémy Martin Cognac for 7 to 10 intoxicating days.”

Lékué, pronounced Lee-Kway, the Spanish manufacturer of creative, colorful, kitchen products, has introduced a collection of more than 40 products designed for healthy, low-fat cooking, baking, and food storage.

With vines dating back more than 2,000 years, the Rhône Valley is the second largest Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée in France with more than 6,000 grape growers, covering 188,700 acres and delivering more than 404 million bottles of wine per year. Love the rose they had!

I love olives and olive oil is the only oil I cook with, so I was very happy to see International Olive Council’s Add Some Life campaign, which strives to inspire consumers about the taste, versatility, nutritional benefits and importance of making olives and olive oil staples in their daily lives.

Hurricane or another natural disaster approaching? Camping trip ahead? Just want to be prepared for the Apocalypse? eFoodsDirect  is a gourmet storable food company whose mission is to help all American families have healthy, easy-to-fix, affordable, delicious storable food insurance. These space-food-sealed meals have a shelf live of 25 years, tastes great, and are all natural.

If you don’t know about stock, you don’t know about a great cooking secret. Use it instead of water when cooking veggies for extra flavor and add it to rice when boiling. Knorr now has a reduced sodium version so you can cut down on the salt.

Coffee drinkers: Did you know Green Mountain Coffee has more than 100 high-quality, 100% Arabica varieties and the largest selection of Fair Trade Certified coffees in the country? Now you do.

What’s better than comfort food? How about low-calorie comfort food you can have straight from your microwave in a few minutes, thanks to Healthy Choice’s new Baked Entrées line.

We’ve all seen those commercials where CRL cleans just about everything in its path. These products are good for any host/hostess who is serious about solving tough cleaning problems.

For vegans, or anyone who wants to skip the dairy, Earth Balance produces a line of delicious buttery spreads, shortenings, nut butters, soymilk, soy nog, coconut spread and alternative mayo. I tried the Creamy Coconut nut butter and washed it down with the Organic Soy Milk. Yum!

Make-at-home fondue? Need I say more? Emmi Roth also makes and variety of specialty other artisan cheeses and premium fresh dairy products.

Chavrie is an all-natural, fresh goat cheese based on a classic French recipe and created from the milk of local Amish farmers in the farmlands of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

A dinner party wouldn’t be complete without a nice cup of coffee (to soak up the wine!). Eight O’Clock Coffee brings over 150 years of expertise to their full line of gourmet coffee varieties

Mmm, avacado! Avocados from Mexico are creamy and delicious and always in season for cooking and entertaining.

 Charmane Skillen began selling gourmet sea and mineral salts at area farmers markets. S.A.L.T. not only described her product, it was a symbol of her motivation–her four beautiful daughters, Sydney, Alexis, Lauren and Taylor.

You know Sugar in the Raw–the brown sugar packets a Starbucks? Well, did you know In the Raw also makes, zero-calorie Stevia In The Raw,  organic Agave In The Raw, and Monk Fruit In The Raw, a zero-calorie sweetener made from fruit?

Athens Foods is the world’s largest producer of fillo dough and fillo products, including convenient, fully baked Mini Fillo Shells that you can use to make tasty bites like this.