Behind the Recipe -- Jeri Quinzio

Gifts good enough to eat. Or cook by.

Here are some great gift cookbooks for holiday giving or receiving.

 

100 Perfect Pairings: Main Dishes to Enjoy with Wines You Love
By Jill Silverman Hough

Chock-full of delicious, creative, and easy-to-make recipes for everyday cooks, 100 Perfect Pairings makes food and wine pairing easy and approachable. With recipes organized into twelve chapters by wine variety, simply turn to the chapter for the wine you want to serve, make any of the entrees you find there, and enjoy it with your wine. It’s that easy. Be it Pinot Grigio or Pinot Noir, a big dinner party or a simple meal with friends, “100 Perfect Pairings” promises wonderful recipes that make every pairing, well, perfect!

Jill Silverman Hough is a cookbook author, food and wine writer, recipe developer, and culinary instructor whose forte is making food and cooking simple yet special.
 

Almost Meatless: Recipes That Are Better for Your Health and the Planet
By Joy Manning & Tara Mataraza Desmond

Ideal for today’s conscientious carnivores, Almost Meatless is a timely new book featuring 60+ tasty recipes that go light on the meat.  Without compromising flavor or protein, these dishes maximize health benefits while minimizing the grocery bill and impact on the planet.

Tara Mataraza Desmond is a writer, cookbook author and recipe developer focused on food for health and wellness, pregnancy and parenthood.
 

The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook: Home Cooking from Asian American Kitchens
By Patricia Tanumihardja

Asian grandmothers—whether of Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian, Vietnamese, or Indian descent— are keepers of the cultural, and culinary, flame. Their mastery of delicious home-cooked dishes and comfort food makes them the ideal source for this cookbook. The 130 tantalizing dishes assembled in this tome comprise hearty food, brightly flavored, and equally good to look at and eat. Plus, all the recipes are translated to work in modern home kitchens.

Pat Tanumihardja is a food and travel writer currently based in the Washington, D.C. metro area and blogs at The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook
 

Brewed Awakening
By Joshua M. Bernstein

Brewed Awakening is Joshua M. Bernstein’s definitive take on the craft beer revolution. The book is the deeply reported story of the wild innovations and passions driving craft beer, focusing on the tales of the risk-taking brewers, bar owners and the dedicated beer drinkers across the globe. There’s a story in every pint glass, and Brewed Awakening gives voice to each one.

Josh Bernstein is a Brooklyn-based beer, spirits, food, travel and bicycling (phew!) journalist, as well as an occasional tour guide.
 

The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches
By Susan Russo

How do you keep a Dagwood from toppling over? How did the Hero get its name? And who invented the French Dip? Discover these answers and more in The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches—a chunky little cookbook dedicated to everything between sliced bread. You’ll find recipes for every sandwich imaginable along with fascinating regional and historical trivia. From the humble Sloppy Joe to the chic Nutella sandwich, from the iconic Po ‘Boy to the fresh-faced donut sandwich, The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches will satiate sandwich connoisseurs everywhere.

Susan Russo is a San Diego-based cookbook author, blogger (Food Blogga), and freelance writer specializing in food and lifestyle.
 

The I Love Trader Joe’s College Cookbook
By Andrea Lynn

The ultimate one-stop shopping guide, The I Love Trader Joe’s College Cookbook finally offers starving college students a welcome relief from fast food fiascos. Designed to help shoppers recognize the best finds and reap the fruits of Trader Joe’s smart buyers, many recipes utilize TJ’s signature products to create unique meals like olive focaccia, frito pie, pulled-pork sliders, and fish tacos, among other things.

Andrea Lynn is a NYC-based food writer and recipe developer who has tasted almost every product Trader Joe’s has to offer.
 

Parents Need to Eat Too: Nap-Friendly Recipes, One-Handed Meals & Time-Saving Kitchen Tricks for New Parents
By Debbie Koenig

Give a new parent the gift of sanity! Parents Need to Eat Too makes it easy for new moms and dads to take care of themselves as well as they’re caring for baby. Every recipe has been tested by a group of more than 100 moms, and every recipe also includes instructions for turning that dish into baby food. The book goes on sale in February, but author Debbie Koenig has created a special holiday offer, available now: She’ll send a free signed, custom-made bookplate and holiday card to anyone who pre-orders the book as a gift.

Debbie Koenig is a Brooklyn-based food and parenting writer and blogs at Words to Eat By.
 
Golden Afternoons: The Official Handbook of the Society for the Preservation of Ladies’ Afternoon Tea
By Roz Cummins

Roz Cummins is a Boston-based food writer who specializes in sustainability. She also loves tea and baking. She has worked as an editor, a teacher, and an arts administrator. She is currently working on a book called Golden Afternoons: The Official Handbook of the Society for the Preservation of Ladies’ Afternoon Tea.

 

 

A bicicletta, please. But hold the bicycle.

I love that cocktails are so popular now.  I love experimenting with new and different ones when I go out. I think bartenders being creative with ingredients like cilantro, beet juice, St. Germain, cynar, and cachaça is exciting.
 
I’ve thrown out the sticky bottle of Angustura bitters in the back of my kitchen cabinet now that freshly flavorful versions – rhubarb, orange, and such – are being made.
 
That’s all good. What isn’t is having to stock up on dozens of different ingredients to make those new drinks at home. And using most of the ingredients only once or twice.

So this season, I’m sticking to one aperitif. One that calls for just two ingredients – Prosecco and Campari. Yes, it’s like a Campari and soda, but tastier and more fun. Called a bicicletta, it looks cheery and holiday-ish. It’s red. It’s bubbly. Its taste edges

 

toward bitter without going over the line. It’s perfect.


You can make a bicicletta with a dry, still white wine – I like Vermentino but you can use Pinot Grigio, too. You can add a splash of club soda. You can serve it on the rocks. But straight up with Prosecco gives the drink a holiday sparkle.

I was introduced to the drink when I was in Sardinia, where pretty much every meal except breakfast started off with a bicicletta.

Where did it get its name? The story goes that old men used to gather at the bar/cafe and drink biciclette in the late afternoon. When it was time for supper, they got on their bicycles and rode tipsily home, weaving from one side of the road to the other. (Happily, there was no traffic in these small villages.) So the drink took its name from the tipsy bicycle rides.

Whether or not the story is true, serving biciclette kicks off holiday get-togethers in style. Just don’t let your guests ride their bicycles right afterward.

Of course, you can make biciclette in any kind of glass. But since it’s the holiday season, why not use festive champagne flutes. Just pour a shot of Campari into the glass and fill with Prosecco. Add a twist of lemon peel as a garnish, if you like.

Happy holidays!