My Holiday Wish List (Foodie Gifts)

Happy Holidays to you all! It has been a month since I posted here, so I thought I'd share with you my holiday wish list. The items I am sharing are things that I absolutely love and wouldn't mind getting as gifts this year. I am in no way affiliated with these brands, nor am I being compensated for the items I selected. If you read my blog often, some of these brands will be familiar to you because I have written about them in previous posts.  I love food!  I also love to celebrate the businesses in my city and state. All of these items represent foods, drinks and businesses from the Buckeye State.  If you are looking to buy gifts for me, yourself or the foodies in your life, all of the links are attached to the brand names.

5. Al's Delicious Popcorn

I tried Al's Delicious Popcorn over the summer while exploring the city with my nephew and fell in love with the Dill Pickle popcorn. I have been craving the flavor ever since. Pretty please someone slip a gallon bag under my tree! (mouth waters) You can find some of Al's Delicious Popcorn at Celebrate Local, but to see everything that Al's has to offer you have to go to their shop at
1500 Bethel Road.

 

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4. Tommy's Old Fashion Jerkey

I came across this brand watching a local television show a couple months ago and decided to check this place out. I have been sending people there for jerky and smokies ever since. I am not a huge jerky fan, but I love their  Sweet & Sassy Smokies. They are the perfect combination of sweet and spicy. I went through an entire bag in two days the first time I bought some. You can order the jerky online or visit the Grove City location at 3461 Broadway.

 

3. Ohio Amish Country Wine

  

 I discovered two of my favorite wines in Dover, Ohio at two different wineries. The two wineries also happen to be across the street from each other. Though I love all kinds of wine, full bodied to sweet, reds and whites; these two wines are the traditional sweet Ohio wines you would expect. I am thirsty just thinking about them!

Breitenbach Winery

I have sworn by Breitenbach Winery's Dandelion Wine since I first tasted it about four years ago. It is a delicious white dessert wine made from Dandelion blossoms. It can only be purchased at the winery or online.

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Swiss Heritage Winery

I tried this wine a year ago while on a Christmas cookie tour in Amish Country. As many times as I had been to the winery directly across from Swiss Heritage, I never thought to stop in Swiss Heritage Winery until last year. I am glad I did because I discovered their Doggone Good Sweet Red wine. I am always looking for a good sweet red and this one is in my top three. It is a blend of Concord and Chamberson grapes.

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2. Marie's Candies

  

Every time I visit West Liberty, Ohio, I pay a visit to Marie's Candies. While everything I have

 tasted from there has been phenomenal,  my favorite Marie's treats

 are the dark chocolate potato chips. I have even gotten my mother hooked on them. I had them sent  to her this year for her birthday. This is the ultimate treat for chocolate lovers and the chips can be purchased in milk or dark chocolate. You can order the chocolate covered chips online or visit the West Liberty store at 311 Zanesfield Rd. (also US St. Rt. 68).

 

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1. Columbus Food Adventures

I feel like I write something about Columbus Food Adventures every other month. Well, it is because I love love love, this food tour company. The number one thing I would love under my tree or in my stocking is a gift certificate for a food tour with CFA. There are 11 tours to choose from and there are five that I have not done yet. My favorites tours of the six I have taken are: the Taco Truck and the Dessert tours. I would certainly love to check out the Brunch Tour or the Grandview Walking Tour in the near future.  Gift certificates can be purchased for any of the 11 tours or you can let the one you are shopping for decide by purchasing general gift certificates in increments options of one (The Wildcard), three (The Wanderer) or five (The Grand Tourist). You will find these great gift options on the website.

 

I hope this is helpful to someone out there struggling to find special gifts for people who love food and wine. Family and friends, this is really my personal wish list as well. LOL! 

Happy Holidays!

Kristin, 

Made In Ohio

Tommy's Jerky

3461 Broadway
Grove City, Ohio 43123
614.875.0028

After a cold and rainy Saturday, I was excited to get out, enjoy the weather and explore this past Sunday. Not wanting to travel very far, my guy and I decided to check out a jerky place that was featured a few weeks ago on the show 'Out and About Columbus'. While I am not a jerky fan, I am certainly glad we stopped in.

The store was immaculate and decorated with Western style touches. There were animal skins, antlers, taxidermy and lots of barrels. We were greeted right away by a dark haired beautiful woman named Stephanie. She promptly gave us a few pieces of information about the store and told us that we could taste whatever we wanted as long as we followed a couple simple rules to encourage proper sanitation. All of the rules made sense of course and made me feel secure about tasting the samples. The barrels housed the samples and toothpicks for tasting. The samples went from mild to spicy going toward the back of the store. I tasted my way through the barrels of the smokies first.  Just as things started to get a little spicy, I found my favorite smokey. The Sweet & Sassy was sweet with a little kick.  I continued to taste and found a couple more flavors I enjoyed such as the Jalapeno & Hot Pepper Cheese and the Roasted Jalapeno Beef.  Then I swapped sides and tasted the actual jerky. The jerky had even more flavor options which weren't limited to just beef. They also carry elk, turkey, buffalo, venison, alligator, kangaroo and when available, salmon jerky. I tasted everything from the game section except for the salmon because they were out of it. Stephanie offered to put me on a list so that I would be informed when the salmon came back in.

This was such a fun experience. I loved tasting my way through the store. I especially loved the grilled warm summer sausage.  I personally never thought about cooking summer sausage since I have always seen it sliced and eaten cold on a cracker. Stephanie suggests mixing it into eggs for breakfast. Yum! What I appreciate most about Tommy's Jerky, is that the jerky is made in Ohio. If you are a jerky lover, the jerky is delicious and they have A+ customer service. With the holiday season coming, I encourage you to keep your jerky lovers in mind. Tommy's Jerky will build gift baskets onsite. I wouldn't mind getting some smokies in my Christmas stocking this year or in a gift basket mixed with more of my favorite Ohio things. They also sell hot sauce, BBQ sauce, salsas and kettle corn, all made in Ohio. Just some ideas!

 

Until next time,

Be blessed! Be free! Be adventurous!