Food baskets are one of the easiest and most appreciated types of gifts to give. While most food baskets are filled with sweet treats or decadent snacks, there is another kind of food gift basket you can give to those you love. Italian food gift baskets are a great way of giving your loved one a way to experience Mediterranean cuisine without having to spend a fortune at an expensive restaurant. They are very easy to make and can be as simple or as elaborate as you want them to be. Here are the steps to creating a remarkable Italian food basket.
The first step is to decide what type of Italian meal you want the recipient to make. This will depend a lot on their level of skill in the kitchen. For example, you don't want to give Italian food gift baskets for linguine to a person who barely knows how to boil water. On the other hand, a professional chef may find spaghetti a little too easy to make. Go through some recipes, both in books and online, and find dishes that fit the skill level of the person you want to give the basket to.
The next step is to go to the store and buy all of the dry ingredients. For oils and seasonings, the smallest bottle or packet you can find will do just fine. For perishable ingredients, such as meat or vegetables, try to find canned versions that won't expire any time soon. If fresh ingredients are called for, then include a gift card for the amount you think the perishable ingredients will cost for your Italian food gift baskets. The goal is to create a basket that allows them enough time to make the meal at their convenience.
Once you have all of the ingredients together for your Italian food gift baskets, arrange them nicely in the container. You may need to put down a bed of shredded paper to prop everything up and prevent the bottles from jostling each other. Before closing the basket with cellophane, put a card with the recipe on it in the basket where it can be seen. To make your basket more festive, use red or green colored cellophane which are two colors of the Italian flag. Lastly, present your basket to the recipient. After all that hard work, hopefully they will share their meal with you.