A Southern Grace: the secret of the ooze (and another giveaway)

December 14, 2010

the secret of the ooze (and another giveaway)

Yum

What IS it about oozing glazes, fruit juices, syrups, and sauces (to name a few palate-pleasers) that gets those saliva glands achurnin'? I'm fairly certain that no other family of images whets my appetite more.


What is it about simply seeing such drippage and seepage that instantly gives me a powerful craving for sweet treats that aren't within my reach? We may never know.


Regardless of the messy pool of drool and frustration that ensue, those pictures are what keep me coming back to the world of food blogs day after day.


Are there any specific types of food porn that make you particularly weak in the knees and thankful for that chair in which you're sitting?


I'm sure some folks are partial to the savory end of things, and although I do enjoy the juicy-burger-with-melted cheese shots, I'm much more partial to desserts.


I blame (and thank) my grandmothers, two super-sweet ladies who happen to be super sweet-lovers.



Here's hoping you soon see your favorite drool-inducing dish in THREE dimensions, rather than two. To aid in that endeavor, I'm giving away a handful of coupons for Ghirardelli's new LUXE MILK Chocolate, whether you prefer almond, hazelnut, toffee, or pure chocolate. I'll randomly pick a winner on Saturday, December 18th. To be eligible for the win, simply leave a comment on this post telling me the best and most thoughtful gift you've ever given someone--I like to hear about generous souls. Good luck!

51 comments:

TKW said...

Two years ago, my friend Mary Beth was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma. That entire winter, I delivered a large pot of soup, the recipe and a loaf of bread every week. I got to try out a bunch of new recipes and she had a go-to lunch or dinner when she didn't have the energy to make something nourishing.

oneordinaryday said...

We have given flocks of ducks and chickens in the name of friends through Heifer International that have been very gratefully received. They are such an amazing organization and the gift you give keeps on giving.

Kelli said...

I doubt this counts, but I let my MIL live with my husband and I for 3 years while she underwent chemo.

Other than that, I can't think of anything. I'm not a great gift giver.

pam said...

Our youngest, 21 years old, just totalled her car. She is fine, thank goodness. But we are giving her our car so she has a way to look for a job. **of course, this is offset by the fact that now we HAVE to buy a new car.

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Droolworthy! I love oozing glazes, syrups, honey, sauces, etc...

Cheers,

Rosa

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Gooey I think turns my food porn crank. A spoonful of gooey cheese melts my heart especially if it has "macaroni and" in front of it.The best gift I ever have was a photo album filled with childhood photos and recipes for my daughter heading off to university.

kimberleyblue said...

Wow, those are some serious food-porn shot!

While I usually bake sweets, anything oozing cheese makes me thankful for the chair I'm sitting on. Cheese is definitely my #1 vice!

Albany Jane said...

Oh man, I'm so bad at giving gifts. But I'd have to say it was the time I spent a weekend driving a girlfriend across the state to help move while I was in college and working on the weekend. As in, picking her and her stuff up three hours away one day, and driving 4-5 hours one way another day. Phew, long weekend.

shaz said...

Yup, the ooze does it for me too. And frosting. Thick, swirly frosting. With sprinkles :)

I'm probably not eligible which lets me off the hook trying to think of the best gift (even though I actually like giving gifts).

Deborah said...

I have to admit - thoughtful gifts are some of the hardest to come up with. But one of my favorite gifts that I have given - last year, I made a book of photos of all of my parent's grandchildren. I know that's a gift that will mean something for years to come!

sweetlife said...

I love ooze, from sweets to cheese and everything in between..lol
as a family every year we go shopping for toys for tots with money we have all saved together..my girls love it!!

sweetlife

Randi Lynne said...

I am giving someone a donation towards their schooling this year. I think it's a good gift that will be remembered.

Ingrid_3Bs said...

lol, I'm a super sweets lover too!

Best given gifts, each year on behalf of my company & the donations I solicit. I buy gifts for a local community of needy children. I contact each of the 15-20 families (32 children this year)and find out the children's sizes and likes. I then buy them each a toy & jacket (or shoes, if requested). I make up a goodie bag for each child & buy each family a Christmas dinner to be made on Christmas day. On the 23rd or 24th Santa, the owner of my company, and I handout all the gifts to the children. This is my 5th year doing it and I do everything start to finish. The parents write me such sweet notes of thanks.
~ingrid

Topher said...

Every year for a Christmas present, my mom got a handmade customized monthly day calender from her father with all sorts of dates, birthdays, deaths, and years of relatives and family handwritten in. He comes from a big 100% dutch family and this was the only present she got from her parents every year so you can imagine how much she looked forward to getting it. The first Christmas after he passed, I snuck home and took the last calender without her knowing, and copied down all the same dates in there and transferred them to a new calender that I gave her for Christmas and I've done it for the past 3 years since.

Thanks

Chris

zekks at yahoo dot com

Melanie said...

This was my favorite gift I ever gave: I surprised my best friend with tickets to a Coldplay concert. She had no idea she was getting them. I gave her a shirt and a Coldplay CD, but hid the tickets in the CD. She was so shocked and started crying and I was SO excited to give that gift!

Anonymous said...

homemade cookies from old family recipes.

jacquieastemborski AT comcast DOT neg

Faith said...

Oooh, I'm all about the oozing desserts too, Grace! Gorgeous pics!

Thanks so much for hosting this giveaway! Last Christmas Mike and I sent his family a photo album full of our pictures (they live across the world and hadn't seen him in 3 years). They were so touched, they called us crying...it totally made our Christmas. :)

Cherloo said...

My dad died about 7 years ago for Christmas this year I made her a blanket out of all his old shirts.. :D Great way to keep him around for the holidays..
cher_theblondeprincess@hotmail.com

mrsshukra said...

The need is great, I donate blood during the holidays and hope this gift helps and saves someone's life.

delilah0180(at)yahoo(dot)com

Merut said...

This is just a mean post. How can I focus for the rest of the day when I have oozing frosting on my mind?

Marjie said...

Those cinnamon rolls do it for me.

I do love chocolate.

I can't even remember what I had for lunch yesterday, and you want me to remember gifts? I do try hard, and I hope everyone likes the things I send them. But perhaps the best was this year, when I bought airline tickets for the relatives from Denver to come here for Thanksgiving. $1500 is a steep Christmas gift tag, but she was lonely and so happy!

Barbara said...

Killer pancakes, Grace. I could eat them three times a day. (And would have to go to the gym three times a day.)

I hope I always give thoughtful gifts, I certainly try to. But the most rewarding is the gift I give each year to
Spirit of Giving, which I know goes to a child in need.

Mikell said...

I love to give home made artistic gifts suited to my dearest friends and family. It's wonderful to give something to people who do so much for me!

Love the chocolate! Anything chocolate is my favorite!

Gloria Baker said...

Grace look absolutamente fantastic, nice picture! gloria

lisa is cooking said...

My favorite gift I ever gave was a tiger striped g-string to my brother in law so that he had to open that in front of my family on the first Christmas he spent with us. Still a family favorite story years later.

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

Grace, this pure food porn post should have had a a NSFW warning! Drooling! :P

Hornsfan said...

Grace, love the pics and the post - super sweet as always :) as to sweet gift giving, one of the best gifts I've given needs some context....I hate baseball (yup I know, most people disagree with me) but my boyfriend is a fiend, for his birthday i bought tix to see his college alma mater play mine, scored me some serious girlfriend points to even attend the game with him in addition!

Cara said...

love the oozy pics! I think I did pretty well with my mom's birthday gift this year (my brothers and I went in on it together, but it was all my idea.) We got her a beautiful new set of pots and pans, good quality that will last forever. She has made comments about me having nicer stuff than her, and "when you've been married this long, you should get a second shower!" so I knew she would love that.

Carol in Indian Springs Village said...

I love sweets and those cinnamon rolls are making be crave them! The best gifts I've ever done are handmade ones for mine and husband's family.

Lucie said...

Beautiful, beautiful pictures--they make us dive directly into the heart of the subject! I go crazy for pictures of ice cream sundaes and piles of cookies, for some reason.
As for the best gift? I'd have to say this ridiculous poem I wrote my mother when I was seven about why I love her--it's framed so I guess she enjoyed it!

FOODESSA said...

The weakness in my knees was lately when I brought a Chocolate fountain to my kids at the center. It's the first time where their smiles and giggles made me forget my craze over oozing chocolate.
More than ever...the holiday period brings people together through great food...especially desserts with poured delights ;o)

Have a fabulous week Grace...and flavourful wishes,
Claudia

marla said...

This is such a cute post! Love all the drool worthy shots. not about what it is about sauces, glazes and smears either - but I am a taker too! The most thoughtful gift, not sure right now I still need some coffee ;)

Pam said...

I am partial to egg yolk dripping shots myself. This post has me craving some sweets.

Susan said...

Hmmm, my most thoughtful gift...well, I had some relatives who were a little bit behind on their car payments and they only had the one car and they were looking for a loan, but we just gave them the money to get back to $0.

The Blonde Duck said...

I made my husband a scrapbook for our first year anniversary.

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

I'm drooling over all of your pictures.

Sarah said...

Never thought of this but you are so right. It does make the mouth water to see these photos. Years ago I had a lovely set of vintage luncheon plates that would be ideal mounted on a kitchen wall. I loved them but instead gifted them to a client who had just bought a perfectly matching house through me. I don't know if they ever liked those plates.

Unknown said...

I surprised my mother with a new computer. Her reaction was priceless! She was so excited you would of thought she won a car.

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

I have a love for food photos with gorgeous textured backgrounds like wood or stone and the like. As for the food itself, you're right. Nothing sexier than sauce and other coverings sliding down.

Julie M. said...

I made a scrapbook for my husband many many years ago highlighting our first year of dating. I haven't been that thoughtful since (kidding, kind of).

My favorite food porn (aside from sweets) are hot cheesy dips, hot cheesy pizzas, and hot cheesy soups. Just seeing a shot of cheese trailing up is enough to get my mouth watering and my tummy grumbling. Mmmmm, cheese.

Amanda said...

This post is pure TORTURE!!! All of that ooze is making my mouth water!

Anonymous said...

I handmade an apron from the material left from my making the little girls dresses for my brother and sister in law's wedding , for my sisterinlaw . Beth

Maria said...

Love these photos! Drool!

red ticking said...

the gift of time... i wrote in my blog after thanksgiving about a sweet friend who struggles to make ends meet. although she has a wonderful job working with my sister and father in their dental office, she has a deadbeat husband who has not worked in years. (long story -she left him -got on a plane - had never flown before- my sister purch her the tkt - he found her -she went back etc...) the years of mental and probably physical abuse unknown but she must be one of the sweetest women we have ever met in our lives.

we asked her to make a list of things she needed and wanted. we took her to walmart - she was SO excited... list in hand, shaking and sweating with anticipation ... we checked off items on the list from simple baking items to pans to toilet paper etc...
she wanted a simple set of drinking glasses...
we finished up and she just hugged us sobbing and would not let go...we went to the parking lot and up drives her husband. old car, he did not even get out to greet us ... we drove away and all i can say is... it humbled me to NO END. we did it for her but in the end, it was a HUGE eye opener for us. NEVER again will i take things for granted.

sorry for the rambling... but it truly changed our lives forever... we are so blessed.

and we will forever watch out and take care of linda and her children.

Anonymous said...

I don't like to give gifts unless it is something that is memorable. I can't just buy something to give to someone. It has to be the right thing. I gave many things to my mother over the years because I knew her so well. I had a friend that I knew well too and could easily find gifts for her. The last gift I bought her was some sweet peas (flowers) growing in a pot because we both knew she would not be around the next year when they would bloom in the spring. She passed away from cancer.
Janet in Maine

Noobfoodie said...

hot cakes is my favorite, i always eat this one every breakfast

The Church Cook said...

My love language is food so sometimes I cater a 5-course meal for friends.

Joanne said...

oozing gooey photos are pretty good. Totally droolworthy. Also, really luscious pieces of meat..pulled pork for instance...does it for me every time.

Excellent giveaway! Most thoughtful gift...hmmm...I raised 4,000 dollars for the leukemia and lymphoma society last year for cancer research!

Chef Fresco said...

Love all of these pictures! Not exactly what you asked, but we got a really thoughtful gift for our wedding. One of my best friends from college threw us two pottery bowls, glazed them in our wedding colors and etched our logo in the bottom. Most thoughtful gift we got!

Lori said...

I cant really think of anything that stands out. I do make my parents dinner and have them over every Sunday. Through my previous profession of social worker I had a few opportunities to do some extra things for people but I dont really talk about it.

Your oozing and gushing is very drool worthy.

Anonymous said...

Everybody and their uncle gives nice Christmas gifts. I like to give surprise gifts to my friends and relatives throughout. That is the best gift.