2013 Gift Guide: Gift Boxes

There's something extra special about receiving a package filled to the brim with small treasures. From boxes of Italian sweets to gifts of cheeses, pickles, and smoked salmon, these are the gift boxes we'd love to receive this season.

Franny's Favorites Italian Pantry Box
Any cook would be thrilled to receive this gift box of pantry items from Franny's restaurant in Brooklyn—one of our favorite spots for pizza and rustic Italian food—filled with goodies such as Tutto Calabria long chiles, Sicilian salted capers, Pianogrillo extra virgin olive oil, plus the Franny's cookbook for ideas on what to do with it all.
Franny's Favorites Gift Box, $149 at BKLYN Larder

Épicerie Boulud Connoisseur Gift Box
House-label smoked salmon, capers, two loaves of house-baked bread, homemade terrines, a wheel of seasonal cheese, and an array of condiments fill this basket of elegant picks from Épicerie Boulud—this is one gift you'll want to drop off in person so you have a chance of enjoying some of the goodies within.
Connoisseur Gift Box, $269 at Épicierie Boulud

Barbecue Collection from Salt Lick BBQ
Give the gift of Salt Lick, and you'll have a friend (or several) for life. The cult-favorite Texas BBQ joint's gift set is perfect for feeding a crowd: beef ribs, brisket, smoked turkey, pork ribs, sausage, and two bottles of their addictive signature sauce is enough for 18 people.
The Ranch, $189.95 at Salt Lick BBQ

Deluxe Breakfast Basket from Loveless Café
The only thing better than eating breakfast at Loveless Café in Nashville, Tennessee, is having one of their gift baskets shipped to your house! This gift would be perfect for an indulgent southern Christmas morning breakfast with the whole family.
Deluxe Breakfast Basket, $125 at Loveless Café

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Italian Gift Boxes from Nudo
High quality and unique products paired with great design make Nudo an excellent choice for gifting this season. Below are two of our favorites: Grow Your Own Olive Tree and Adopt One Too
Tend to your very own baby olive tree, plus "adopt" an Italian-born one for a year—register your adopted tree and receive three 500ml bottles of cold-pressed olive oil from your tree's fruit in April.
Grow Your Own Olive Tree and Adopt One Too, $125 at Nudo Chilli Lover Gift Box
Bring on the heat with a collection that includes Italian dried chiles, chile-infused extra-virgin olive oil, sweet chile jam and even a kit to grow your own chile peppers.
Chilli Lover Gift Box, $35 at Nudo

Ottolenghi Jerusalem Hamper
Packed with amazing Middle Eastern pantry staples that can be hard to find stateside, this gift box from the celebrated London restaurant includes a sultry baharat spice blend, ground cardamom, dried Iranian black limes, tart Palestinian sumac, sweet helva, and more.
Jerusalem Hamper, $90 at Ottolenghi

Tasting Box Subscription from Hatchery
A gift basket in miniature: Available in 3-, 6-, or 12-month gift subscriptions, Hatchery sends 5-6 tasting sizes of carefully curated artisanal products from small producers across the country, with the goal of helping the the recipient discover new flavors and ingredients. Want more of something in the box? You can purchase full sizes on their website, with special members-only discounts. Monthly Tasting Box Gift Subscription, from $60/3 months at Hatchery

Gift Boxes from Eataly
The Italian super store has curated a series of gift boxes for food lovers this year—here are the two we'd most like to give (or receive). Sweet Italy Gift Box
Italian christmas sweets are among the best in the world. Give the sweet tooth in your life a box packed full of indulgent Italian treats like biscotti, gianduja spread, sumptuous chocolates, mini panettone, and more.
Sweet Italy Gift Box, $75 at Eataly Italy North to South Gift Box
Nearly every region of Italy is represented in this collection of ingredients and ready-to-eat treats like Croxetti pasta, Emilia Romagna tomatoes, cantucci cookies, fig mostarda, and more.
Italy North to South, $148 at Eataly

Coffee Kits from MistoBox
We've written about the coffee subscription service Mistobox in the past, but this year we're exciting to discover their coffee-making gift sets, each designed for a different type of coffee drinker (and a different price point). (clockwise from top): Eye Opener
Get started brewing pour over coffee with a 3-cup Chemex coffeemaker, Chemex filters, a digital scale, and a gooseneck kettle that boils water at the push of a button.
The Eye Opener, $120 at MistoBox Travel Kit
Make fantastic coffee wherever you are, with a compact kit that includes an AeroPress coffee maker, Hario slim mill grinder, and an Able Brewing stainless steel disk filter.
Coffee Travel Kit, $65 at MistoBox Pour Over Starter Kit
Perfect for a blossoming coffee nerd, this starter kit is sized for an individual, with a single-cup ceramic dripper, filters, digital scale, and a gooseneck kettle.
Pour Over Starter Kit, $140 at MistoBox