Edible gifts
Profumo del Chianti
Powder-fine seasoning salt from Tuscany’s master butcher Dario Cecchini, scented with wild lavender, rosemary and bay. It is pretty much the Platonic ideal of finishing salt for most grilled meats, but we also like to toss freshly popped popcorn with a tiny pinch of this and a few drops of the best olive oil.
$19.95, http://www.formaggiokitchen.com (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)
Trufflebert Hazelnuts
Toasted hazelnuts are delicious. Toasted and salted Trufflebert hazelnuts are something beyond that -- hazelnuts with a flavor that approximates what wine geeks are getting to when they talk about the hazelnut notes in a $120 bottle of Meursault.
$15 per 1-pound jar at Mozza2Go, 6610 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 297-1130; or $9 per pound plus shipping at http://www.trufflebertfarms.com (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
