For Christmas this year, why not give the gift of cooking? Well, at least the gift of cookbooks.
On Saturday morning (from 8 to 10:30 a.m.), a group of local cookbook authors are gathering at the Golden Fig on St. Paul's Grand Avenue for a meet-and-greet. What better opportunity to pick up a signed, personalized copy of a cookbook (or cookbooks) for every cook or baker on your shopping list? The scheduled authors include:
Lucia Watson and Beth Dooley. Their classic "Savoring the Seasons of the Northern Heartland" (University of Minnesota Press, $19.95) is a must-have for Minnesota kitchen shelves. True confessions: I've made the devil's food chocolate cake with milk chocolate-sour cream frosting for so many birthdays that I can probably prepare it from memory. Watson is the chef/owner of Lucia's Restaurant in Uptown Minneapolis (and also the author of "Cooking Freshwater Fish" with In-Fisherman magazine, $29.95), and Dooley is a local food writer – her work often appears in Taste – and a restaurant critic for Mpls.St. Paul magazine.
Stewart Woodman. His recently released "Shefzilla: Conquering Haute Cuisine at Home" (Borealis Books, $27.95) contains recipes from his Heidi's restaurant, along with favorites he's collected along the way, all carefully tested in his just-like-everyone-else's home kitchen in south Minneapolis. My favorite recipe? It's another cake, an almond-mascarpone-orange Bundt that borders on a pound cake. It's fantastic, and worth the cost of the book all on its own. Heidi's is reopening in its new Lyn-Lake location on Jan. 11.
Robin Asbell. "New Vegetarian" (Chronicle Books, $19.95) contains more than 75 savory and sweet ideas that go beyond the tried-and-true; many were inspired by students in her frequent cooking classes. Asbell is also the author of "The New Whole Grain Cookbook."
John Michael Lerma. The cooking teacher and food writer has two book titles: "John Michael Lerma's Garden County" (Syren Book Co., $15.95) and "Garden County Pie" (Syren Book Co., $19.95).
Eleanor Ostman. The retired St. Paul Pioneer Press food writer published 30 years of newspaper food column memories in "Always on Sunday" (Sunday Press, $15).
And although she won't be able to make it, don't forget about Taste editor Lee Svitak Dean. Her "Come One, Come All: Easy Entertaining with Seasonal Menus" (Minnesota Historical Society Press, $29.95), a collection of easy-to-prepare recipes culled from the pages of Taste, makes an ideal gift for the Taste devotees -- or any party-giver -- on your list.
