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Tequila & Tacos: A Guide to Spirited Pairings

by | Nov 16, 2020 | 2020 Gift Guide, For the Gentleman, For the Wine/Cocktail Lover

Tequila & Tacos: A Guide to Spirited Pairings
Katherine Cobbs
$19.99

Tacos have been trending for years, and finally tequila is having its taco moment. While a crunchy, savory beef taco washed down with a frozen margarita is always acceptable, today the inspired options for what can be stuffed in an edible wrapper or blended with agave spirits are infinite.

Behind the bar, the burgeoning array of top-shelf tequilas and mezcals available hold their own—and even outshine—liquor mainstays like vodka, gin, and bourbon. The ubiquitous tequila shot with requisite salt and lime chaser can’t compete with the complex, nuanced flavors of the finely crafted blanco, reposado, and añejo tequilas and smoky mezcals that deserve sipping and savoring.

Featuring authentic classics like Tacos Al Pastor and Baja-style fish tacos, Tequila & Tacos also includes entirely new spins on the taco—such as fried Brussels sprout tacos, spicy cauliflower tacos in Indian paratha shells, or tempura-battered seaweed tacos cradling ahi tuna—paired with uncannily delicious cocktails crafted with the finest agave spirits, like a traditional tart Paloma cocktail rimmed with spiced salt or an eye-opening Mezcal Manhattan. Curated from bars and taco stands around the country, this book is a must-have for the taco and tequila aficionado.

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American Cheese: An Indulgent Odyssey through the Artisan Cheese World

by | Nov 16, 2020 | 2020 Gift Guide, For the Entertainer, For the Home Chef

American Cheese: An Indulgent Odyssey through the Artisan Cheese World
Joe Berkowitz
$16.99

Joe Berkowitz loves cheese. Or at least he thought he did. After stumbling upon an artisinal tasting at an upscale cheese shop one Valentine’s Day, he realized he’d hardly even scratched the surface. These cheeses were like nothing he had ever tasted—a visceral drug-punch that reverberated deliciousness—and they were from America. He felt like he was being let in a great cosmic secret, and instantly he was in love.

This discovery inspired Joe to embark on the cheese adventure of a lifetime, spending a year exploring the subculture around cheese, from its trenches to its command centers. He dove headfirst into the world of artisan cheese; of premiere makers and mongers, cave-dwelling affineurs, dairy scientists, and restauranteurs. The journey would take him around the world, from the underground cheese caves in Paris to the mountains of Gruyere, leaving no curd unturned, all the while cultivating an appreciation for cheese and its place in society.

Joe’s journey from amateur to aficionado eventually comes to mirror the rise of American cheese on the world stage. As he embeds with Team USA at an international mongering competition and makes cheese in the experimental vats at the Dairy Research Center in Wisconsin, one of the makers he meets along the way gears up to make America’s biggest splash ever at the World Cheese Awards. Through this odyssey of cheese, an unexpected culture of passionate cheesemakers is revealed, along with the extraordinary impact of one delicious dairy product.

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Telephone Tales

by | Nov 16, 2020 | 2020 Gift Guide, For the Gentleman, Stocking Stuffers

Telephone Tales
Gianni Rodari
27.95

Every night, at nine o’clock, wherever he is, Mr. Bianchi, an accountant who often has to travel for work, calls his daughter and tells her a bedtime story. But since it’s still the 20th century world of pay phones, each story has to be told in the time that a single coin will buy.

Reminiscent of Scheherazade and One Thousand and One Nights, Gianni Rodari’sTelephone Tales is composed of many stories––in fact, seventy short stories, with one for each phone call. Each story is set in a different place and a different time, with unconventional characters and a wonderful mix of reality and fantasy. One night, it’s a carousel so beloved by children that an old man finally sneaks on to understand why, and as he sails above the world, he does. Or, it’s a land filled with butter men, roads paved with chocolate, or a young shrimp who has the courage to do things in a different way from what he’s supposed to do.

Awarded the Hans Christian Anderson Award in 1970, Gianni Rodari is widely considered to be Italy’s most important children’s author of the 20th century. Newly re-illustrated by Italian artist Valerio Vidali (The Forest), Telephone Tales entertains, while questioning and imagining other worlds.

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Tarot del Toro: A Tarot Deck and Guidebook Inspired by the World of Guillermo del Toro

by | Nov 16, 2020 | 2020 Gift Guide, Stocking Stuffers

Tarot del Toro: A Tarot Deck and Guidebook Inspired by the World of Guillermo del Toro
Tomas Hijo, Guillermo del Toro
$29.99

Let the fantastic vision of Guillermo del Toro guide your tarot practice with this sumptuously illustrated deck inspired by the haunting world of the award-winning filmmaker.

From the macabre world of Guillermo del Toro comes a deliciously twisted take on a traditional seventy-eight-card tarot deck. Designed and illustrated by Tomás Hijo, this deck features sumptuous original artwork inspired by the themes, imagery, and characters of some of del Toro’s most popular films, including Pan’s Labyrinth, Crimson Peak, and The Shape of Water. Featuring both major and minor arcana, the set also comes with a helpful guidebook explaining each card’s meaning, as well as a simple introduction to creating and reading spreads. Packaged in a collectible gift box, this imaginative set is the perfect gift for del Toro collectors and tarot enthusiasts alike.

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Live Life Deliciously With Tara Teaspoon: Recipes for Busy Weekdays and Leisurely Weekends

by | Nov 16, 2020 | 2020 Gift Guide, For the Home Chef

Live Life Deliciously With Tara Teaspoon: Recipes for Busy Weekdays and Leisurely Weekends
Tara Teaspoon
$32.99

As a food editor and stylist for Martha Stewart, Tara knows how to create and showcase gorgeously themed meals for every lifestyle and occasion.

In her first cookbook, she shares more than 120 delicious showstopping recipes that are designed to impress. From leisurely weekend brunches spent over burrata cheese with grilled peaches and orange zest chimichurri to easy weeknight rice bowls with carrot-ginger dressing to a mouthwatering Italian crostata baked tart, Tara explains how to put together and master several special go-to dishes from the culinary capitals of the world to add to your repertoire.

The book also features a section where she provides a basic recipe which can then be easily transformed into two or three new recipes to make meal planning a breeze during busy weeknight schedules.

Live Life Deliciously with Tara Teaspoon shows serious foodies how to present food as an interesting and beautiful culinary experience with dishes that taste as delicious as they look.

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Stuff You Should Know: An Incomplete Compendium of Mostly Interesting Things

by | Nov 16, 2020 | 2020 Gift Guide, Stocking Stuffers

Stuff You Should Know: An Incomplete Compendium of Mostly Interesting Things
Josh Clark, Chuck Bryant, Nils Parker
$27.99

Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant started the podcast Stuff You Should Know back in 2008 because they were curious—curious about the world around them, curious about what they might have missed in their formal educations, and curious to dig deeper on stuff they thought they understood.

As it turns out, they aren’t the only curious ones. They’ve since amassed a rabid fan base, making Stuff You Should Know one of the most popular podcasts in the world. Armed with their inquisitive natures and a passion for sharing, they uncover the weird, fascinating, delightful, or unexpected elements of a wide variety of topics.

The pair have now taken their near-boundless “whys” and “hows” from your earbuds to the pages of a book for the first time—featuring a completely new array of subjects that they’ve long wondered about and wanted to explore. Each chapter is further embellished with snappy visual material to allow for rabbit-hole tangents and digressions—including charts, illustrations, sidebars, and footnotes. Follow along as the two dig into the underlying stories of everything from the origin of Murphy beds, to the history of facial hair, to the psychology of being lost.

Have you ever wondered about the world around you, and wished to see the magic in everyday things? Come get curious with Stuff You Should Know. With Josh and Chuck as your guide, there’s something interesting about everything (…except maybe jackhammers).

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