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The Essential Wine Book: A Modern Guide to the Changing World of Wine

by | Nov 9, 2020 | 2020 Gift Guide, For the Wine/Cocktail Lover

The Essential Wine Book: A Modern Guide to the Changing World of Wine
Zachary Sussman
$19.99

Highlighting wines from old world regions such as France, Italy, Spain, and Germany to new world wines from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, and more, The Essential Wine Book tells you what to drink and why. Beginning with foundational information about how wine is made, how to taste it, and how to understand terroir, wine expert and journalist Zachary Sussman then gives an overview of the most important and interesting wine regions today—both established and still emerging.

For instance, the great French wines of Burgundy and Champagne are already well known, but for affordable bottles you can easily find at your local wine shop, Sussman profiles up-and-coming producers in other regions, including the Jura, Languedoc-Roussillon, and more. In a similar vein, California’s Napa Valley has for decades been the source of America’s most prestigious wines, but here you’ll learn about other areas of the state that are gaining recognition, from Lodi to the Santa Rita Hills.

You’ll find user-friendly “just the highlights” notes for each region, as well as recommendations for producers and particular bottles to seek out. Diving deep into what makes each region essential and unique, this comprehensive guides gives new wine drinkers and enthusiasts alike an inside track on modern wine culture.

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The Unofficial Hogwarts for the Holidays Cookbook: Pumpkin Pasties, Treacle Tart, and Many More Spellbinding Treats

by | Nov 9, 2020 | 2020 Gift Guide, For the Big Kid, For the Fanboy/Fangirl, For the Home Chef

The Unofficial Hogwarts for the Holidays Cookbook: Pumpkin Pasties, Treacle Tart, and Many More Spellbinding Treats
Rita Mock-Pike
$19.95

What better way to celebrate than by whipping up a magically delicious meal in your kitchen? From sumptuous fall and winter feasts to delectable desserts and tea-time treats, this book has all of your holidays and special occasions covered, with an extra magical twist. Celebrate in true wizarding world style with recipes like: 

– Pumpkin Pasties
– Cauldron Cakes
– Roast Beef
– Yorkshire Pudding
– Chocolate Gateau
– Bath Buns
– Rock Cakes
– and many more! 

Bring your love for wizardry and magic into the kitchen and onto the table with The Unofficial Hogwarts for the Holidays Cookbook—the perfect gift for any Potterhead. With 75 delicious recipes, easy step-by-step instructions, and spellbinding full-color photographs, this cookbook is sure to stupify any fan of the boy who lived. Tuck in!

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Botanicum Medicinale: A Modern Herbal of Medicinal Plants

by | Nov 9, 2020 | 2020 Gift Guide, Finding Your Inner Calm, For the Nature Lover

Botanicum Medicinale: A Modern Herbal of Medicinal Plants
Catherine Whitlock
$29.95.00

Remedies derived from plants are the world’s oldest medicines. Used extensively in China, India, and many African countries, herbal medicine has become increasingly popular in the West along with other holistic and alternative therapies. Botanicum Medicinale offers a modern guide to 100 medicinal plants, featuring beautiful, full-color botanical illustrations and informative, engaging text.

Each entry describes the plant’s classification and habitat, traditional and current medicinal uses, and an interesting fact or two. Readers will learn, for example, that absinthe, the highly alcoholic, vividly green potable, was traditionally flavored with bitter wormwood (Artemesia absinthium); that cannabis may have been used by Queen Victoria for menstrual pain; and that willow bark contains a chemical similar to aspirin. Detailed and striking artwork depicts each plant. The entries are arranged alphabetically—from Adonis vernalis (a perennial in the buttercup family) to Vinca minor (also known as the common periwinkle). The 100 plants featured in the book all have a long history of medicinal use or are the subject of new medical research. Many treat a range of conditions, from insomnia to indigestion. Some plants are lovely enough to be in a bridal bouquet; others are considered weeds. Cross-reference features at the end of the book connect specific medical conditions and the plants used to treat them.

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The Magnolia Bakery Handbook: A Complete Guide for the Home Baker

by | Nov 9, 2020 | 2020 Gift Guide, For the Home Chef

The Magnolia Bakery Handbook: A Complete Guide for the Home Baker
Bobbie Lloyd
$35.00

When it opened its doors in 1996, Magnolia Bakery quickly became a landmark and destination in New York City. Fans lined up around the block to get a taste of the shop’s freshly-baked cupcakes, cakes, banana pudding, cheesecakes and much more. Today, Magnolia Bakery can be found in shops in New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Dubai, Manila, and Bangalore. 

Bobbie Lloyd, Magnolia Bakery’s Chief Baking Officer, has played a critical role in maintaining the company’s reputation for handmade baked goods, and its authenticity and excellence throughout its growth. Bobbie has worked to update its classic treats, introduced new temptations, and carefully expanded the business both online and in new locations across New York and the world.

The Magnolia Bakery Handbook is the first book Magnolia Bakery has published since the business was sold by the founders in 2007. Gorgeously designed, filled with irresistible creations, it is sure to become an essential staple for home bakers. Along with almost 150 recipes, all beautifully photographed, Bobbie shares hundreds of tips, tricks, techniques, and must-have tools for successful baking. 

Inside you’ll find everything you need to make the classic desserts of Magnolia Bakery at home. Chapter include: 

  • Invaluable Tips and Techniques for the Home Baker
  • The Ingredients Used in My Kitchen and at Magnolia Bakery
  • Tools of the Trade
  • Cakes 
  • Cupcakes
  • From the Cookie Jar
  • Brownies and Bars
  • Pies and Crisps
  • Muffins
  • Scones and Coffee Cakes
  • Ice Box Desserts
  • Banana Pudding
  • Base Recipes: Buttercreams and Icings, Crumbs and Crusts, Fillings and Sauces, Adornments
  • Sources

Whether you have a craving for Magnolia Bakery’s popular banana pudding, classic icebox cake, or their rich double fudge brownie, The Magnolia Bakery Handbook shows you how to make it and bake it right.

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Truth Bomb: Inspiration from the Mouths and Minds of Women Artists

by | Nov 8, 2020 | 2020 Gift Guide, For the Art Lover, For the Feminist

Truth Bomb: Inspiration from the Mouths and Minds of Women Artists
Abigail Crompton
$34.95

If anyone can teach readers how to pursue the life and work of an artist, it is the twenty-two amazing artists included in Truth Bomb.

This colorful compilation of pioneering and established women artists from around the world motivates and empowers. Their stories and artworks in this volume challenge readers to find solace in the shared human experiences of birth, death, love, anger, joy, and sadness. Truth Bomb offers the best commentary and insight into the incredible formation of diverse women artists such as Yayoi Kusama, Miranda July, Mickalene Thomas, and the Guerrilla Girls while uncovering the power of taking a chance, pushing the envelope, and ultimately not being afraid of making a mark. Each artist tells a story of resilience, tenacity, sacrifice, and steely determination. The result is a magical visual mash-up of images, memories, historic moments, interviews, and inspirational beginnings as told by artists themselves. Truth Bomb is an ode to art and artists and an attempt to decipher the mystery of creativity.

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Wild Kitchen: Nature-Loving Chefs at Home

by | Nov 8, 2020 | 2020 Gift Guide, For the Home Chef, For the Nature Lover

Wild Kitchen: Nature-Loving Chefs at Home
Claire Bingham
$34.95

With environmental concerns at an all-time high, many of us are looking to promote sustainability in everyday ways, especially at home. It is more important than ever that our kitchen and dining spaces allow us to live in harmony with nature. This glimpse into the home kitchens and dining areas of twenty of the world’s top chefs, food bloggers, and restauranteurs reveals inspiring ways that the food-obsessed are embracing the “wild” at home in their everyday cooking and dining.

From a chef who experiments with herbs in a city apartment to a blogger who forages with her family in a local forest, each personality’s featured kitchen story offers a behind-the-scenes view of their unique cooking philosophy along with their insider tips for creating a unique kitchen space. Each chef—from Julia Sherman and David Tanis to Judy Williams and Rita Sodi—provides a simple recipe that uses their favorite natural ingredients. Offering advice on essential utensils, entertaining, and bringing the outside in, the book also features a directory of websites and restaurants for those interested in finding out more.

The desire to know where our food comes from and to minimize our carbon footprints is ever-growing. Wild Kitchen offers fresh insights into kitchen design and styling from those who understand the sustainable lifestyle best, and will inform, delight, and inspire all food lovers looking to get back to nature.

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