The secret to Eric Johnson’s ultra-smooth confections? The Alexandria chocolatier makes his own butter from locally produced organic cream. A box of five truffles ($17) includes an extraordinary caramel-coconut variety—Johnson spends days coddling his caramel over the stove to achieve the right depth of flavor. We’re also fans of the dark-chocolate Krishon Krunch sprinkled with dried goji berries ($7 an ounce)—ruby-colored fruits from Tibet that give the candies a festive, seasonal appearance.

Holiday gift deadlines are (eek) drawing near. And we, and probably some fellow readers, are in need of some ideas. So we’re asking you: Is there a culinary present—an ingredient, homemade confection, cookbook, kitchen tool, something from a local restaurant, whatever—that you love to give, or are hungry to get?

Let us know in the comments!

Related: A Foodie Gift Guide 

Spike does latkes the "Grewish" way. Photograph courtesy of Bravo.

Spike Mendelsohn, former Top Chef contestant and chef/owner of Capitol Hill’s Good Stuff Eatery, will teach a latke-making class on the first night of Hanukkah—Sunday, December 21—at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue. Although Mendelsohn’s father is Jewish, it was his Greek mother who taught him how to make the traditional potato pancakes and a variety of accompanying applesauces. Spike will reveal his mother’s “Grewish” (a mix of Greek and Jewish) secret ingredient to class participants, and hand out the recipe for the unique Mediterranean-influenced latkes. Here’s a tip for garnishing: “The perfect latke,” says Spike, “is a few tablespoons of applesauce and one tablespoon of sour cream on top.”

Looking for our New Year's Eve Dining Guide? It's right here. 

1789 (1226 36th St., NW; 202-965-1789). This Washington institution will transform its six dining rooms into elegant Christmas parlors, complete with antique toys, candles, and carolers. While the restaurant is already booked for Christmas Eve and will be closed on Christmas, the festive atmosphere and cuisine will be available on other days as well. The decorations will be up from December 1 through January 6, and the restaurant will be offering a three-course, $40 prix-fixe menu. Executive chef Dan Giusti will present dishes such as rabbit terrine, North Atlantic skate wing, Muscovy duck-leg crepinette, and braised short ribs. Pastry chef Travis Olsen will provide a full selection of desserts. Available nightly.

2941 (2941 Fairview Park Dr., Falls Church; 703-270-1501). Celebrate the holidays with a festive four-course meal created by chef Bertrand Chemel. The dinner begins with a selection of three canapés, followed by appetizer choices such as a warm salsify velouté with fresh black truffles, sunchokes, and chives; yellowfin tuna tartar with celery salad and chives; Maine Peekytoe crab salad served with a tangerine gelée, Tasmanian black pepper, and basil; and seared Hudson Valley foie gras, persimmon confit, pain d’épice, and sunchokes. The middle course is homemade ricotta ravioli with Parmesan cheese and fresh black truffles. Main course options include a butter-poached lobster with savoy cabbage, Syrah sauce, and celery; roasted Chilean turbot, celery root, black trumpet mushrooms, and cipollini onion; a milk-fed-veal duo of braised cheeks, roasted loin, and white barley risotto; and beef tournados with baby carrots, truffle pomme purée, and Rossini sauce. For dessert, diners may choose an eggnog créme brulée with honey-roasted pears, and cognac ice cream; or a coffee moelleux with praline rice, Satusma tangerines, and Venezuelan-chocolate ice cream. $95.

Monday, December 15:
Old Town’s Fontaine Caffe & Crêperie (119 S. Royal St., Alexandria) will host a reception for local photographer Bruno Mahlmann tonight from 5:30 to 8:30. Sample free French cider and sweet crêpes while viewing Mahlmann’s photographs of Paris. For more information, call 703-535-8151.

Tuesday, December 16:
The French Wine Society hosts a “Champagne Blanc de Blancs” seminar tonight. Participants will learn to recognize different traits of the Champagne, which is made from Chardonnay grapes, through a guided tasting. This “Grand Vins” series event costs $85 for members and $99 for non-members. It will be held at Sofitel Lafayette Square (806 15th St., NW) at 6:30; call 202-466-0808 for reservations.

• Former Colorado Kitchen chef/owner Gillian Clark is keeping busy, no question. After closing her Brightwood kitchen, she announced plans to open a new restaurant, Avenue Oven, in Takoma Park. Then there’s the General Store and Post Office Tavern in Silver Spring, which has been in the works for more than a year. And this week, she let Prince of Petworth in on her intent to open another restaurant, a “classically Southern” place called the Georgia Avenue Meeting House in Petworth, the neighborhood she’s called home for ten years. On the projected menu: trout, catfish, pheasant, and pigs’ feet.
    Clark tells City Paper’s Tim Carman that she hopes to have five restaurants or more by 2011 “in spots where nobody wants to open.”

Like many chefs, Susan Holt and Susan Watterson dreamed of owning a place. They just didn’t want to spend 18 hours a day in a restaurant. So the former instructors at Gaithersburg’s L’Acadamie de Cuisine, created what they knew best: a cooking school.

The recently opened CulinAerie is targeted at a new generation of foodies who think of chefs as celebrities and farmers markets as social meeting spots. Some of the hands-on classes have ethnic themes—Persian, Far East fusion—and other sessions cover basics  cake making and knife skills. The calendar also features lunchtime lectures with talks on food writing, nutrition, and throwing a dinner party.