Yes, we've started talking about "the holidays." Somehow, November has arrived, and the season is looming again. How did that happen?
Incidentally, "the holiday season" seems to arrive earlier and earlier each year. Christmas trees were on display at department stores during the week before Halloween, and gingerbread lattes, holiday-themed gift items, and even Christmas music followed in the days immediately after.
Since "the holidays" often also mean "holiday entertaining," I've been perusing my (newly organized!) shelves for ideas, mostly on what to do with food. Besides creative recipes that are easy to follow at home, I also love a cookbook that tells a good story, humanizing the super chefs so that I begin to believe I too might be able to cook something edible. I'm kidding about that last part, but stories do offer context and points of connection and inspiration.
So here are five cookbooks by three local experts who also have great stories to tell. And hey, if you'd rather pick up their goodies, I won't blame you. Cookbooks make good holiday and host/hostess gifts too.
"Perfect Pies" and "Perfect Pies and More" by Michele Stuart of Michele's Pies
Stuart is a 27 time National Pie Baking Champion, and if you've tasted her heavenly creations, you know why. The first time I took a bite of her coconut cream pie, I would swear I heard a choir of angels (which fits right in with the holiday theme, come to think of it). And don't even get me started on her savory pies (the ham and brie! the ham and brie!).
If I were prone to such things, I would have danced a jig of joy when Michele's Pies opened in my hometown of Westport. But the culinary adventurers can use Stuart's recipes right at home. Though I should probably add that Michele's Pies has begun taking Thanksgiving orders.
This year, I played Easter Bunny for my family by bringing master baker Barricelli's coconut cake* to our family dinner. My dad still talks about it. Last Thanksgiving, it was SoNo Bakery's pumpkin pie, and at Christmas, it was a fruit tart. What I'm saying is: It doesn't quite feel like a holiday if I don't lay some SoNo Bakery goodness on the table.
Like, I would imagine, a lot of people, I associated honey primarily with comfort and my childhood. When I visited her in Greece, my grandmother would serve it over warm bread and butter for breakfast. When I was sick, I could expect an overflowing spoonful in a mug of hot tea. Honey, my grandma said, was "nature's medicine," which I probably dismissed as an "old wives tale" that turns out to have some legs.
The founder of the American Honey Tasting Society, Marchese, who frequently hosts local events, has changed how I, along with scores of others, think about honey (and what I can serve with it). Her books share her journey from designer to beekeeper, provide a comprehensive history of types of honey, how to appreciate them, and what to do with them in the kitchen.
Marchese and Stuart will be at the Ferguson Library in Stamford on Wednesday to participate in a panel discussion with cookbook authors (Debra Ponzek of Aux Delices will also be there). Click here for more information.
What are your holiday entertaining resources? Share in the comments!
*Yes, I have a thing for coconut.