December 2002

Features

• Primer: Cave Man | Cheese Basics

  Exalted chefs rely on Bernard Antony, an artisan who ages cheeses into magnificent maturity in his caves. Here's a look at his craft and a crash course on cheese basics.

• Road Trip: Biloxi or Bust

  On a drive along the Gulf Coast's Redneck Riviera, ambitious new restaurants are turning up next to classic seafood joints and fried-chicken spots.

• Four Perfect Holiday Dishes

• Holidays: Hanukkah Doughnut Party

  It's a Hanukkah tradition to serve foods cooked in oil—as if anyone needed a reason to devour these fresh, warm, irresistible doughnuts.

• How to Temper Chocolate

• Cookbooks: 10 Best Cookbooks of the Year

  For F&W's forthcoming Best of the Best recipe collection, we tested a year's worth of cookbooks to single out the finest.

• Cooking at Six | Cooking with Children

  Most six-year-olds crave mac and cheese, but Gio Tramonto would rather make spaetzle with chives—with a little help from his mother, star Chicago pastry chef Gale Gand.

• Editors' Picks: Gift Check

  Here's what the F&W staff is giving this year: extraordinary serving pieces, pantry finds and themed gift baskets——at a discount!

• Entertaining: In the Papers | Invitations

  The latest in invitations, gift tags and note cards? Ice cream colors, rice paper and quirky illustrations.

• Family: An Austrian Christmas

  His Viennese grandmother was a terrible cook, yet she made perfect Wiener schnitzel at Christmas. A writer remembers that revelatory dish.

• Fast Company | Cocktail Party

  Melissa Clark's cocktail parties are as sophisticated as the cookbooks she coauthors with celebrity chefs, but the preparation is much, much quicker. Here she pairs her stylish, no-fuss appetizers with bartender Eben Klemm's ultracreative drinks.

• A League of Their Own | Community Cookbooks

  Before the days of blockbuster cookbooks, Americans relied on recipe collections from junior leagues and other community groups. An enthusiast explains their appeal, and F&W's Marcia Kiesel creates holiday recipes inspired by seven classics.

• Awards: Spirits of the Year 2002

  For our third annual Spirits of the Year Awards, we tasted more than 50 new contenders from innovators, traditionalists and everyone in between.

• Update: Champagne News

  Trends, travel tips, vintage reviews and other notable developments from the sparkling-wine world.

• The New Classic Cookies | Pierre Hermé's Christmas Cookies

  Brilliant pastry chef Pierre Hermé learned his craft growing up in Alsace, the only part of France with a Christmas cookie tradition. His recipes here reveal both his Alsatian heritage and his maverick vision.

• Trends: It's a Small World

  From micro bikes to teeny-weeny martinis, tiny is trendy. Here, a look at a few small wonders.