Recipe: Gourmet Food Gifts - Praline Pecans, Sun-dried Tomato Pesto Torta, Homemade Brandy Vanilla Extract

Gourmet Food Gifts:
(Your friends and family will enjoy a basket filled with sweet and savory treats including praline pecan, cinnamon-apple lollipops and flavored oils. Best of all, they can each be made for a very low price)

Praline Pecans

1 pound pecans
2 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1 pinch of salt
1 stick of butter
1 jelly roll pan

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Beat the egg whites until stiff. Add the sugar and salt. Melt stick of butter in the jelly roll pan in the oven. Fold the pecans into the meringue. Distribute pecans evenly into jelly roll pan. Place in oven and bake 35-40 minutes, stirring the nuts every 10 minutes. Cool and they are ready to serve.

Sun-dried Tomato Pesto Torta

2 packages of cream cheese (16 ounces)
1 container Marscapone cheese
1 1/2 cups sun-dried tomatoes in oil
3 whole eggs
1 container ready-to-use pesto (or use your own)
3/4 cup roasted pine-nuts

In a food processor, blend cream cheese, Marscapone cheese and eggs. Set aside. Puree sun-dried tomatoes and set aside. In a seven-inch springform pan (the kind with latches on the side, commonly used for cheesecakes), layer half the cheese mixture, then the pesto, then sprinkle the nuts, then sun-dried tomatoes and finish with a final cheese layer.
Bake at 350 degrees. Check how done it is at 30 minutes. Shake the pan: If the center wiggles, leave in for 15 more minutes. If it's firm, it's done.

Homemade Brandy Vanilla Extract

(Vanilla is the most commonly used flavoring in baking. Pure vanilla extract is made from vanilla beans soaked and preserved in alcohol solution. Don't buy the imitation, which has a fake flavor. You can make your own vanilla extract with a special flair.)

4 or 5 vanilla pods
2 cups bourbon, vodka, or brandy

With a large chef's knife, cut each vanilla bean lengthwise in half and put them in a screw-topped jar with two cups of the alcohol. The bourbon or brandy adds its own flavor, enhancing the vanilla, not smothering it. The vodka has a milder flavor that is nice with delicate cakes. Cover tightly and let stand for two weeks or longer to achieve a full vanilla flavor. The extract is now ready to use. Transfer into decorative glass containers as gifts.