A Buona Domenica Gift Guide!
A list of sparkly suggestions from yours truly
I am not what you might call “on the ball” when it comes to the holidays. Our house is always, always the last in the cul-de-sac to put up lights, and it’s been years since I sent out Christmas cards. Our tree never goes up before the second weekend in December (this one is actually by choice). So obviously, I haven’t started shopping.
And yet, I have somehow (miracle!) managed to compile this guide for you (and me). I’ve kept it personal, which is to say I love everything on this list, and I’ve steered clear of stuff from big box stores and big brand names.
If you are a person who has had your presents all wrapped up and tucked away since last August, I am jealous of salute you, apologize for my sluggish ways, and suggest you browse the list anyway—you can always start shopping for next year!
If you are like me and only now turning your attention to shopping, I hope you find something here that strikes your fancy, for the Italophile in you life, and/or yourself.
BONUS: Several of the purveyors on the list have generously offered discount codes for Buona Domenica’s paid subscribers. These discounts are noted below, and the discount codes are at the end of the newsletter (behind a paywall). Annual subscription is 20% off through Christmas, so now is a good time to become a supporter of this publication and get in on the perks.
BUONA DOMENICA GIFT GUIDE
Vegetable Prints: You may have read my recent interview with Lane Selman of Culinary Breeding Network. In addition to her work with farmers, plant breeders, and others in the world of food, Lane curates an Etsy shop where she sells CBN merchandise to support her organization. There are lots of cool vegetable-themed gifts in the shop, but my favorites are the Tatti Stampi vegetable prints, like the one pictured above. They are produced in a small print shop in Maremma (Tuscany). In addition to the pomegranate, you’ll find prints of carrots, pumpkins, peppers, olives, and (of course) radicchio.
NOTE: Lane will be in Italy for much of December, so orders will ship after Christmas. However, you can always print out a copy of your gift and put it in an envelope as a place holder, which is what I do.
My well-loved mortar and pestle
Marble Mortar and Pestle: It took me years to commit to buying one of these analog kitchen tools (they can be expensive) but I’ve never regretted it. I use mine not just for pesto, but to pound garlic, peppercorns & other spices, nuts and more. For more information, I’m sending you to my friend Nancy’s website, where you’ll find a link for mortars and pestles in her gift guide, along with a discount! Nancy owned La Cuisine, a kitchenware store in Alexandria, VA, for many years; it’s where I bought my mortar and pestle. Now retired, Nancy writes Kitchen Detail, a blog that dishes on all things gourmet. She has lots of contacts in the business and often gets great deals for her subscribers.
Mr. Espresso Coffee: I recently began collaborating with this Oakland, CA-based coffee company, founded in 1978 by Carlo DiRuocco. Mr. Espresso has a great backstory: When Carlo immigrated to California from Salerno, he was disappointed by the lack of good coffee, so he began slow-roasting beans over an oak wood fire, as he had learned in Italy, and selling them to local cafés and restaurants. The company is still family-run and its beans are still oak wood-roasted. Here’s a link to Mr. Espresso’s holiday offerings. On the website you’ll also find several espresso blends, as well as a variety of non-espresso coffee blends. There is also gear and, if you really want to go all out, a selection of beautiful, sparkling, Italian-made home espresso machines.
Paid subscriber discount: one-time 10% discount for any Mr. Espresso product.
My double-headed pasta cutter gets a good workout Bespoke Pasta Tools: One of the few silver linings of the pandemic has been the enormous interest in homemade pasta and, consequently, the proliferation of pasta tools available to home cooks. I’ve highlighted the small but beautiful selection of tools at q.b. cucina before, but it’s been awhile and it’s time for another shout out. At $80, the double-headed brass fluted pasta and pastry wheel is a splurge, but I adore mine, not just for its brassy gleam, but for how well i’s made, its heft, and the way it cuts pasta sheets so effortlessly, with such sharply defined edges. It’s a tool to be passed from generation to generation.
There are plenty of less extravagant items in the q.b. cucina shop, incuding this olive wood gnocchi board, a parmesan cheese knife, and hand-stamped tea towels made with natural rust dye.
PAID SUBSCRIBER DISCOUNT: one-time 15% discount on any purchase except sale items, through December 31 (cannot be combined with other coupons).
One of several sets of Italian towels from Starbright Farm Italian Linens: Photographer Helen Norman and her family own Starbright Farm, an organic herb farm in the rolling hills of Maryland. They make and sell a variety of products, from herbal teas to essential oils, soaps, and bath scrubs. In their renovated barn (and online), they sell a carefully curated selection of gifts for the home. There’s much to choose from, but these embroidered cotton linen towels immediately caught my eye. The are made in Puglia by a small family-run textile company, and are woven on vintage punch card looms.
Paid subscriber discount: one-time 10% discount through Dec. 12.
A trio of Italian olive oils from Olio2G Olive Oil Gift Set: Our friends at Olio2Go have put together a trio of 2021 harvest olive oils from three regions of Italy. The Da Vinci Crude Viaggio set features oil from Fonte di Foiano (Tuscany), Olio Quattrociocchi (Lazio), and Dievole (Basilicata/Puglia). The Da Vinci Crude Verde set features oil from DeCarlo Arcamone (Puglia), Tamia Green (Lazio), and DiGiovanna (Sicily). Or click around on the Olio2Go website for something that strikes your fancy.
The website also has a selection of olio nuovo, freshly pressed oil from the 2022 harvest; as well as seasonal sweets, including Rustichella d’Abruzzo orange and chocolate panettone, Calabrian baked figs wrapped in fig leaves, and soft torrone with almonds and chocolate.
Paid subscriber discount: 12% discount on any Olio2Go purchase through Dec. 19.
Mezzaluna: I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have one of these rocking blade choppers in my kitchen. I put it to use almost daily, mostly to chop herbs, but it’s also great for mincing garlic and shallots, chopping nuts, etc. Here is the model I have (and have had for years). I prefer single blade to double blade, but that’s just my personal preference. Here’s a website that reviews an array of mezzaluna knives.
A seasonal cookbook of recipes from Tuscany’s rugged northwest corner Cookbooks: A couple have caught my eye recently:
At the Table of La Fortezza, by food stylist and design expert Annette Joseph (disclosure: Annette is a friend and colleague). A few years ago, Annette and her husband, Frank, bought a half-dilapidated medieval fortress in the Lunigiana, the rugged northwestern corner of Tuscany. Now fully restored, La Fortezza is where Annette hosts workshops and retreats. The book is filled with seasonal recipes that showcase the Lunigiana’s inventive, rustic cuisine: Slow-Smoked Pumpkin with Toasted Hazelnuts and Pecorino, Wood-Grilled Lamb Chaps with Porcini Mushrooms, and Chestnut Ravioli with Chard and Ricotta among them.
Via Carota, by Jody Williams and Rita Sodi, the chef/owners of the restaurant of the same name, in Greenwich Village. I haven’t had the pleasure of dining here yet, but based on the simple, elegant recipes in this vegetable-forward cookbook, I’m sure I would love it. Grilled Maitake Mushrooms with Smoked Scamorza Cheese, Hand-Rolled Pici with Duck Ragu, and Olive Oil Panna Cotta are just three of the recipes I’ve bookmarked.
And here is a link to my own cookbooks, with descriptions.
Photo courtesy of the Chicago Tribune Homemade Vov: I make this boozy zabaglione liqueur, from my book Preserving Italy, every December; in fact, last year it was one of the recipes we made in my online holiday cookies/sweets class. I’ve shared the recipe before—in my December 2020 newsletter, back when it was still a monthly newsletter on Squarespace and had a much smaller subscription list. So I’m sharing it again here. Other homemade gifts from the kitchen: Italian-ish chocolate bark, and/or a batch of cranberry-hazelnut biscotti.
Gift Subscription: Don’t forget that an annual subscription to Buona Domenica is 20% off until December 25!
Quick update on Classes
I’m currently working on my list of online classes for the beginning of 2023. Next week I’ll have more information on three forthcoming stuffed pasta classes, including a class on Ligurian Turle (pictured above), beautiful half-moon ravioli filled with potato and cheese. I’ll also be offering my basic Pasta all’Uovo (egg pasta dough) class for beginners. A cooking class gift certificate makes a great gift!
Paid subscribers will once again be offered a discount when registering for classes.
Finally, look for a bonus email midweek; I have a special surprise coming.
And now for those discount codes…
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