Last week, I recommended several wine books that would make a great present for the wine enthusiast on your gift list. But not everyone may be a thrilled with receiving a book on wine — or at least not as much as they would enjoy drinking the wine itself. Since food and wine go together like bacon and eggs, here are a few cookbook recommendations for those on your list who may want to prepare their own food and wine pairings, as well as a couple other wine oriented gifts. Retail prices are approximate.
I grew up on comfort food, so the “Gooseberry Patch Big Book of Home Cooking” ($30) feels like an old friend. This compilation of comfort food recipes allows you to retreat to your childhood memories and dive into your favorite recipes with your kids on a cold weekend day. Easy to follow recipes using standard pantry items are conducive to spontaneous creativity.
“Everyday Exotic: The Cookbook” ($30) by Roger Mooking and Allan Magee is a great gift for the budding male gourmand who is looking to stick his toe into the world of cooking. The ingredient lists are short, the directions are concise, and the pictures are inviting. The approachable recipes are man-friendly traditional meals but with an “exotic” twist. For example, try the Malaysian-Inspired Chicken Wings (page 45), which employs an “exotic” homemade peanut sauce and is served with Rice Noodle Salad.
If healthy eating habits are part of your New Year’s resolution this year, then pick up a copy of “The New Sonoma Cookbook” ($23) by Connie Guttersen that features healthy, appetizing recipes (zucchini and tomato torta; Thai roast beef lettuce rolls) with easy to follow instructions and a user-friendly page layout. Many recipes offer suggestions for variations of ingredients and, of course, wine suggestions. Helpful hints are highlighted in shaded boxes.
We love Italian cuisine in our house, so the cookbook “Ciao Italia Family Classics” ($40) by Mary Ann Esposito is at my fingertips. Use it to create everyday meals (spaghetti with tuna, capers and lemon) and Sunday family memories (Lasagne verdi alla Bolognese) for your family including soups, salads, pastas, meats, fish and desserts.
If you are wondering what do to with all of those wine corks laying around the house, here are a few clever ideas from the Wine Enthusiast catalog (wineenthusiast.com). The Oval Wine Cork Trivet Kit ($30) is a unique way to safely serve hot dishes and plates while enjoying memories of bottles past. And if you need a handy place to pin up messages and reminders, the Large Wine Cork Board ($35) is a perfect gift. The 22 inches by 22 inches mahogany wood frame just needs your corks and a little imagination to fill it in and then hang in the kitchen, office or wine cellar.
Looking for a unique way to keep your white wine cold? Try a Woozie ($8-13) (woozie.com), a reusable, washable wetsuit-like insulator for your wine glass that doubles as a wine charm for glass identification in a crowd. They are available in a variety of colors and themes or may be customized with your own design to celebrate a special milestone (i.e. 40th birthday). Available in party packs for multiple glasses, they also come in larger sizes that can accommodate wine bottles.
Do you need a gift for a friend who is going green in all aspects of his life? We found melted wine bottles at an art show and fell in love with them. Bottles are melted at very high heat and are then transformed into cheese trays, bread plates, spoon rests and even wind chimes. There are a number of websites — dlrproductions.com is one of our favorites — that produce these products and some will even honor custom orders for a particular label (you can send in your own special bottle — empty of course). Some websites offer other melted bottle art items such as night lights, glass tumblers, tree ornaments, herb pots and candles ($15 and up).
