FOODWORTHY

If you’re looking for dinner napkins or kitchen linens with a bit more personality, you may be impressed with the collection of hand sewn monograms at Leontine Linens.  They take a modern approach to the monogram with designs that are full of character and shy away from the staid classic styles many of us remember from our L.L. Bean backpacks.  It’s as if the poster font from Where the Wild Things Are was inspired by their catalog.

From Thanksgiving Day through December 1, Amazon will be offering a yearlong subscription to Food & Wine magazine for just $5.00.  Are such rock bottom prices perhaps a sign that yet another food magazine will soon be folding?  Open communication through the Internet has made us all magazine publishers, recipe testers, and content editors, so get your $5 subscriptions while you can.

Ruhlman delivers another cookbook classic.

It’s difficult to find a cookbook for less than $30.  And when you consider that at most you might try four or five recipes before putting it back on the shelf, it makes free recipes from the Internet that much more appealing.   Great cookbooks however are part art and part build your own adventure.  They can inspire, while at the same time serving as a source of reference.

Buying a cookbook can feel like a splurge, but for every cookbook addict out there, check out Swaptree.  The site lists close to 50,000 available cookbooks for trade.  List the items you have to get rid of (“have it”) and tag the items you want (“want it”).  Swaptree creates trades by matching members who have books/CDs/DVDs to get rid of with other members looking for the same items.  There are no fees and everything is free.  The only cost is shipping.

My “Want it” List

The Art of Simple Food, Alice Waters

Ad Hoc at Home, Thomas Keller

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, Jeff Hertzberg

Baking, Dorie Greenspan

Breakfast, Lunch, Tea, Rose Carranini

The Elements of Cooking, Michael Ruhlman

The Gift of Southern Cooking, Edna Lewis

A Handbook of Native American Herbs, Alma R. Hutchens

Top Secret Restaurant Recipes, Todd Wilbur

Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World, Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Hideous, yet somehow captivating. I must own it.

Order your very own buddy big boy snacks and sweets server from reclaim2fame.  The company has been around for over 15 years salvaging materials and turning them into bizarre and lovable creature-servers.  Oh, and if that’s not enough, he’s also wearing wingtip oxfords.