Make your own gourmet gifts this holiday season with help from local businesses

You're the resident authority among your friends on where to get the best meal in town. So they shouldn't be at all surprised when the best goodies they get this season come from your kitchen.

Local businesses are stocked with the supplies and instructions you'll need to unleash your inner gourmand. So round up your friends and family for some hands-on craft projects, then bottle, roast, brew and bake all the love you've got into this year's holiday gifts.

Gallaghers' Where-U-Brew
This D.I.Y. brewery and winery in Edmonds lets you brew anything from pilsners and ambers to wheat beers and stouts -- even hard ciders and alcohol-free root beer. Call to set up an appointment, then bring a small crew (three to five people is best; 21 and over) to their pro-level facility to mix the ingredients for the brew of your choice.

After it's fermented for two weeks in their steam-fired copper kettles, you'll return to bottle your beer. They'll even let you bring in your own homemade labels, which are easy to make with your computer printer. You'll then take home a batch of 132 handcrafted microbrews to give to your friends, for a little more than a buck per beer (not including bottles).

You can also get a jumpstart on next year's gifts with their winemaking program. From start to finish, the wines take about four to eight months. Gallaghers' has more than 45 varieties, and the cost works out to less than $5 per bottle. No appointment necessary.

Sur La Table
Sometimes all you need to take your sweets to the next level is a little help from the professionals. Head over to Sur la Table in Kirkland for the store's hands-on workshops ($69; 18 and over). "Homemade Holiday Gifts" on Dec. 2 will teach you how to make your own sweet and spicy caramel corn; crunchy date, coconut and cashew granola; red pepper jam; chocolate sable cookies with sea salt; and cherry pistachio cookies. The Dec. 6 cookie class will cover Italian fig cookies, Scandinavian rosettes, dazzling stained-glass cookies and iced gingerbread. Call 425-827-1311 or register online.

Theo Chocolate
Spend the day at Theo Chocolate's Confection Workshop in Fremont with head chocolatier Autumn Martin on Dec. 13 ($125 per person). You'll learn how to make ganache, temper chocolate and enrobe the fillings, plus explore different methods for decorating and wrapping.

"The idea," says Martin, "is to teach people how to make them, but also take home some goodies." So each student will leave with a box of at least 12 pieces made by the class, as well as a pound of bulk chocolate to get going with more confections at home. All materials and a light lunch are included. Call 206-632-5100 for reservations.

Victrola Coffee
Forget chestnuts. Show the out-of-towners just how Seattle you are with bags of fresh coffee you roasted at home. Victrola Coffee now sells green coffee beans in two-pound bags for $4.50 to $5.50. A popcorn popper is all you need to get a nice, even roast. Or if you feel like splurging, pick up a basic home roaster like the iRoast 2 by Hearthware ($179.99), available at Seattle Coffee Gear in Lynnwood or online at Sweet Maria's, the reigning authority on all things home-roasting.

Get a craft party together to package your beans with personalized labels and bags. For a real homespun look, mason jars will work just fine. You can also buy airtight sealable plastic bags (best for freshness) or lined paper bags from Sweet Maria's (35-95 cents each). Decorate the bags with glitter and rubber stamps, or make your own labels fired off from your ink jet printer.

Victrola head roaster Perry Hook says he's happy to give you all the advice you need on how to get the best flavor from your beans. Call to order a batch, or e-mail him directly at perry@victrolacoffee.com.

The Cellar Homebrew
Farmers aren't the only ones allowed to make cheese. You can do it in your own kitchen with a simple kit from The Cellar Homebrew in Greenwood. It doesn't require months of planning ahead, either -- the 30 Minute Mozzarella & Ricotta Kit ($25.95) allows you to produce up to 30 pounds of delicious soft cheese in -- you guessed it -- 30 minutes.

The Cellar's Nick Green says there's really nothing you need to know before diving right in -- it's a pretty foolproof process, which we love. "All you need is a kit and some milk and you're good to go," he says.

If you know other home gourmands, the Hard Cheese Kit ($32.95) makes a great gift for those who want to get started on next year's gifts early. It will produce nine different cheeses, including Farmhouse cheddar, Gouda, Monterey Jack, Colby and Parmesan, which can take anywhere from one to 12 months to age. Don't forget to buy the wax!

Copyright © The Seattle Times Company