by Virginia B. Wood
For
reasons I’m loathe to explain at the moment, I’m feeling a lot like Mrs. Santa Claus today. In
that capacity, I’ve got some excellent gift suggestions for the food lover on
your Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa list. There really is something for
everybody this year: cookbooks and videos, magazines and newsletters, cooking
classes and mail order foods. Any or all of these things are sure to make an
epicurean, delighted.
Food to Read
My current favorite food magazine is elegantly written and beautifullyphotographed Saveur, the American version of a popular French magazine
of the same name. The magazine invites the reader to “savor a World of
Authentic Cuisine” and does precisely that. Picture the National
Geographic of food and you’ve got the right idea. There is more good
writing and fewer recipes in Saveur than in most of the other glossy
food publications, and I wish it came out more often than bi-monthly. Still, it
is worth every cent of the $24 subscription price. Saveur, PO Box 5429,
Harlan, IA 51593-2929.
The other good gift subscription is to Edward Behr’s wonderful food newsletter
The Art of Eating. Behr, an erudite Vermonter, writes quarterly about
subjects that capture his interest. Receiving the newsletter is like getting
an entertaining, long letter from a very knowledgeable friend. The 16-page
summer newsletter was about the Apulia region of Italy, and the fall letter is
an in-depth study of dark chocolate, including a visit to the French chocolate
manufacturer Valrhona at the factory beside the Rhone River and an interview
with master chocolatiers Maurice and Jean-Jacques Bernachon. Contact Behr at
Box 242, Peacham, Vermont 05862.
Cooking Classes
The cooking classes available in the Austin area are every bit as entertainingand nourishing as an upscale restaurant meal. Though there are not as many good
cooking schools as there are good restaurants, there are plenty of choices
where students get to learn, socialize, and eat with other food lovers in
pleasant settings. Remember that cooking classes make great couple, group, or
corporate gifts or outings. Gift certificates to an upcoming class at Central
Market (206-1000), Breed & Company Westlake (328-3960), Cooking with
Marie-Claire (323-5832), or Blanco River Cooking School (512/847-2583) would
make great stocking stuffers.
Mail-Order Food Gifts
The mail-order food business is booming these days. There are plenty of localcompanies with their own catalogues and/or 800 numbers for mail-orders. A taste
of Texas would be a welcome gift anywhere. There are pecans and candies from
Berdoll Pecan Farm (303-6157); sauce gift boxes from Timpone’s Fresh Foods
(800/883-3238); sauces, chilies, cookbooks, and gifts from Don Alfonso Foods
(800/456-6100); Thai sauces and condiments from Satay (467-9008); extravagant
pies and glistening roasted peppers in heart-shaped bottles from Royer’s Round
Top Cafe (800/624-7437); vast assortments of award-winning dry roasted nuts
from Austinuts (800/404-6887); absolutely delectable candies from venerable
local confectioner Lammes Candies (800/252-1885) or prescription designer
sweets from Dr. Chocolate (454-0555).
Smart chefs are wise to the mail-order game as well. Order from the signature
line of specialty products created by Coyote Cafe creator Mark Miller
(800/866-4695); Hudson’s on the Bend chefs Jeff Blank’s and Jay Moore’s popular
assortment of sauces and condiments (800/996-7655); or shop with the newest
contender in the specialty food market, Star Canyon chef Stephan Pyles, from
his new gift basket catalogue featuring everything from a red Bucking Bronco
Tie to salsas, soups, and condiments, to Chocolate Chile Truffles
(800/201-4629).
For the true carnivores on the gift list, send naturally raised, hormone- and
antibiotic-free wild game meats from the Texas Wild Game Co-operative at Broken
Arrow Ranch (800/962-4263); if you missed one of the most popular vendors at
this year’s Christmas Affair, just call Marshall’s Bear Creek Smokehouse
(800/950-BEAR) for excellent smoked turkeys and hams.
If someone on your list is passionate about fresh produce, organic citrus
fruit from the Texas Rio Grande Valley will be a big hit under the Christmas
tree. Call immediately to order. Orange Blossom Farms (210/-876-2103); Stanley
Jacobsen (210/585-1712); or South-Tex Organics (210/585-1040).
Cookbooks
This fall there are two or three equally deserving cookbooks for each one I’llhave the space to review, but I can’t let that deter me from the task. As I’ve
said often, one of the best aspects of this job is the opportunity to read and
review cookbooks and meet the interesting people who’ve written them. Very
early in the year, I had the good fortune to meet one of my food-writing idols,
author and former New York Times restaurant reviewer Mimi Sheraton, when
she was in town writing about the owner of Sweetish Hill. I was pleased to
receive a copy of Sheraton’s newest book The Whole World Loves Chicken
Soup — Recipes and Lore to Comfort Body and Soul (Warner
Books,$22.95,hard). The esteemed author enlightens us with her voluminous
research about the universal comfort food, and shares enough international
recipes and variations that a dedicated soup-maker could go for years without
ever making the same soup twice. Each soup appears with some tidbit of cultural
information or an explanation of its origin and among the recipes there are
anecdotes, cooking tips, and soup-related historical facts and literary quotes.
Sheraton’s knowledge will amaze you and her chicken soups are bound to
comfort.
A few years ago, successful children’s book author Angela Shelf Medearis
decided she wanted to create a tribute to her Mom and other good
African-American cooks and that desire produced her first cookbook, The
African-American Kitchen (Dutton, $18.95, hard). Her newest effort is both
a useful and educational book, A Kwanzaa Celebration — Festive
Recipes and Homemade Gifts from an African-American Kitchen (Dutton,
$17.95, hard). Medearis says that she wrote this new book because she “wanted
to contribute to a celebration that was created by and for African-Americans,”
and her contribution is significant. There is a brief history of the holiday, a
thorough explanation of the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa, and guidelines for the
holiday celebrations. The author has compiled 100 festive recipes that are
introduced with anecdotes or quotes from famous African-Americans, and there is
also a section on Kwanzaa gifts from the kitchen. The perfect companion gift to
either of Medearis’ cookbooks is her video Kitchen Divas, wherein she
and her sister Marcia Shelf provide a very entertaining guide to preparing a
five-course African-American feast. To order, call (800/224-9662). It’s a
treasure.
If you are one of those people who finds that they are open to the message but
can’t tolerate the strident, self-righteous messenger when it comes to
information about vegetarian dining, organic produce, and seasonal eating,
California chef John Ash is the man to convert you. From the Field to the
Table (Dutton, $29.95, hard) is Ash’s new book and it is guaranteed to
inspire you to seek out the best in fresh, seasonal organic ingredients to
prepare his or your own recipes. My favorite quote from the book is “Farming is
the first step in cooking. A great cook is only as good as his or her
ingredients.” Granted, the author has at his disposal one of the most
remarkable organic gardens in the country at the Valley Oaks Food and Wine
Education Center at the Fetzer Vineyards in Hopland, California that provides
him with an incredible bounty in all seasons. However, his recipes can be
adapted to whatever is fresh and seasonal where you are cooking. Share this
book with someone who loves good food, or just buy one for yourself.
The various related cuisines along the border between the Mexico and the
Southwestern U.S. are the subjects of several recent magazine articles and
books. One of the best of these is The Border Cookbook (Harvard Common
Press, $14.95, paper) by Santa Fe travel and cookbook authors Bill and Cheryl
Jamison. The Jamisons’ newest work is a thorough compendium of recipes from the
Texas Valley to Southern California, on both sides of the border. The reader
can follow the subtle ingredient variations as climate differences and
available crops change the flavor of what we now call Southwestern cuisine as
it progresses across the West. From Mark Miller’s long, enthusiastic foreword
to the several hundred recipes, this is a worthwhile book for any cook or
anthropologist who is interested in the foods of the Americas.
Though it is not a cookbook, the newest fundraising book project from the
national hunger relief organization Share Our Strength is a must-have for the
young readers on your Christmas list. The Greatest Table (Harcourt
Brace, $18.95, hard) is a beautifully produced fold-out book with each of the
panels illustrated by one of the nation’s most popular children’s book
illustrators. The text, written by Michael J. Rosen, educates young readers
about the greatest table, one where all Americans are welcome and able to eat.
It may not be as big a hit on Christmas morning as Disney movie action figures,
but it brings a message for the entire year. Proceeds from the book sale will
benefit hunger relief. Happy Holidays.
n
This article appears in December 15 • 1995 and December 15 • 1995 (Cover).