The Cheap Gourmet

Beer of the Month Club - The Gift that Keeps on Giving!

My husband's birthday is July 31st. He's turning 40, so I wanted to get him a gift that would be memorable. With the passing of my mother, handling of her estate and our upcoming move, I didn't have time to head to the Mall and spend endless hours searching for the perfect birthday gift. Instead, I decided to locate something spectacular online. And, guess what? I hit the jackpot!!

I discovered, GreatClubs.com; a website that offers just about any kind of "gift that keeps on giving". They offer Beer of the Month, Chocolate of the Month, Wine of the Month, Cigars, Flowers, Coffee and even Pizza of the Month! Since my husband is a connoisseur of beer, I chose to subscribe to the Beer of the Month Club.

The Beer of the Month Club allows you to choose the length of your subscription; from one month to one year. I elected the one year subscription because I know my husband is going to flip over this gift. Besides, the annual subscription gives you an extra $25 in Club Cash. With this added bonus, Brad will receive what I refer to as the "Baker's Dozen of Beer." In essence, using the extra $25 he can receive an extra month of beer for the price of 12 months. I love bargains, don't you?

This monthly beer club includes a 12-pack of four different microbrewed beers from around the country. Each month, Brad will receive a collection of these unique mircobrewed beers right to our doorstep. With the cost of gas these days, I'm thinking of ordering everything online! He'll also receive a monthly newsletter, "Beer Expeditions", which provides information about the various beer selections. Another nice feature of Beer of the Month is members receive discounts on any additional purchases. If Brad falls in love with a particular microbrewed beer, he can order more of it through the club at a discounted price. 

Hopefully, Brad won't be reading The Cheap Gourmet blog this month. I'd hate to ruin his birthday surprise! However, I did want you to know about this service. All I ask is that you keep his gift a secret until July 31st :-) If you are looking for a gift that keeps on giving, check out GreatClubs.com. I'm seriously contemplating joining the Chocolate of the Month club and giving it to myself for my upcoming 50th birthday on July 27th. There's nothing wrong with treating yourself to a milestone birthday gift is there??

In Honor of my Mother, the Cooking Queen

As you may have noticed, I haven't updated The Cheap Gourmet blog for quite some time. This is due to the fact that my mother, the Cooking Queen, passed away on June 26th. Mom had been battling metastatic lung cancer for 14 months. I was blessed with the opportunity to spend the last four months with her at her home. We shared many memorable moments together and nearly as many banana splits. For some reason, mom craved banana splits at 2 am. Considering it was nearly the only food she craved, I made certain to make them into the most beautiful gourmet banana splits she had ever eaten.

I was fortunate enough to inherit most of mom's kitchen items and her recipe collection. I'll definitely be compiling a Tastebook cookbook consisting of mom's recipes for my siblings and myself. But, first I plan to create each recipe, photograph it and post it on this blog.

Mom loved to cook and share food with family, friends and neighbors. She would love nothing more than for me to share her favorite concoctions. For that reason, the month of August will be dedicated to sharing mom's recipe collection with you.

In the meantime, here are links to a few of mom's recipes which have already been featured on The Cheap Gourmet blog:

Everything But The Kitchen Sink Vegetable Beef Soup

Best Homemade Potato Salad

Gourmet Meatloaf

White Bean Soup with Rosemary and Parmesan

I invite you to visit The Cheap Gourmet blog frequently. However, I hope you will make a special effort to visit during August. It will be donned "The Queen of Cooking" month in honor of my amazing mother, Barbara. Her cooking and the love she infused in every dish will be sorely missed, but it is my goal to share her passion for cooking and her love of food with everyone who arrives here.