[This annual gift guide has become one of my favorite parts of Lottie + Doof. I really enjoy putting this together, and this year I had fun shooting all of these good things “on location” in our apartment. As always, these are all items that I own/use and can vouch for.]

Rhubarb Hops Syrup

Wisconsin’s Quince & Apple produce all sorts of beautiful products. This year I especially love this rhubarb and hops syrup that can be added to sparkling wine, or water to make a memorable refresher.

Gold Flatware

These feel right to me, right now. Lots of this. Modern. Gold.

Wilder Quarterly

There are a slew of new home/food publications out, and many more on the horizon. Some are great, and some seem to be sacrificing substance for style. Wilder manages to prioritize both style and substance and does them both well. They describe themselves as a publication for people “enthralled by the natural world”. It is a wonderful mix of growers, makers, plants, animals, ideas and recipes. There is an article on will-o-the-wisps and one on Julie Newmar’s garden in the current issue—nuf said. read more+++

Remember food blogs? The early days? When things weren’t so highly produced and full of weathered wood, mismatched antique flatware, and book deals? It was way back then that someone sent me a link to a site called Smitten Kitchen. Like many of you, I was immediately charmed by the writing and wit of Deb Perelman. She managed to express the same obsessiveness about cooking that I felt, but always kept it good humored. Without Deb (and Luisa, Heidi and Molly!), there would be no Lottie + Doof. She showed us all how it was done.

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Last winter we drove up to Madison, Wisconsin, with our friends Katie and Justin. Winter had us all feeling a little shack-nasty* and we thought a trip out of town might do us good. On the way home from Madison we stopped in New Glarus, a town famous for its brewery and weird alpine architecture. The brewery is fantastic, and totally worth a stop (though admittedly is more fun in the summer when you can sit outside drinking beer). And New Glarus is a charming enough place to spend a few hours. The bakery in town is pretty great and I always pick up a few pastries for the drive home. We had dinner at one of the several touristy Swiss-themed restaurants in town. It was as expected, huge portions and lots of fat, but also pretty satisfying. Among the things we ate was a giant potato rösti. As delicious as it was, about three bites in I felt defeated by the amount of fat (butter and cheese) in the dish. But I’ve been thinking about the potential. read more+++

Thanks to this blog, and all of you amazing people, I get to do some really fun stuff. A few weeks ago, the folks at Falafill (delicious, fresh and modern Middle-Eastern restaurants in Chicago) asked me to participate in their Chefs for Charity program. Each month Falafill has local chefs (“chefs”, in my case) design a seasonal wrap which is then sold at all three Falafill locations. Getting to design a wrap is pretty fun, but the really amazing part: one dollar ($1!) of each wrap sold goes to the charity of the chef’s (my) choice. Whoa!

I designed what I think is a really tasty wrap (so far, a couple of friends, Bryan, and a teenager who works at the Oak Park branch, all agree). In addition to Falafill’s classic falafel (which is so delicious), the wrap includes urfa pepper and eggplant spread, arugula, feta, pickled pears(!!!) and toasted walnuts. It is available now. Go get it!

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“You Don’t Own Me” PSA from You Don’t Own Me on Vimeo.

I’ve been watching the recent presidential debates on Twitter. Well, I’ve been watching them on my TV, but following along on Twitter. The majority of folks I follow usually tweet about food. That changes for those few hours when the debate is taking place and suddenly everyone is talking politics. It is an odd phenomenon. It becomes especially odd when, during the debate, someone tweets about something not related to politics. During one of the debates, Chicago chef Rick Bayless tweeted:

A Genius Mix on my iPhone: Black Eyed Peas, Justin Timberlake, Sound of Music & R Kelly from his Christmas album.Called Urban Crossover

Which became unintentionally hilarious (though maybe that phrase is inherently funny?) in the middle of an impassioned series of tweets about election issues. Ruth Bourdain responded to Bayless with what everyone may have been thinking:

WTF? read more+++

Make this salad. Now.

I cook a lot (obviously), but I think this simple salad was the best thing I made this year. Oh, I know there were more impressive and exciting recipes and I loved them all (well, I loved the ones that made it to these pages—there were plenty of duds). But this salad—this salad I want to eat every day. I think I could. I don’t think I would ever grow tired of it. It feels empowering to know that I can easily make something so delicious whenever I want. Isn’t that the ultimate praise of a recipe? It gives you superpowers.

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I have been charmed by the Baked boys, Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, since I read their first book, Baked: New Frontiers in Baking. The duo specialize in American comfort desserts with a sophisticated edge. They’ve recently published their third book, Baked Elements: Our 10 Favorite Ingredients (in addition to running a very successful bakery and creating a line of products for Williams Sonoma). This third book might be my favorite, a great collection of recipes organized by their favorite ingredients like pumpkin, cinnamon, and booze.

Here is where things get fun: Matt and Renato are coming to Chicago! I’m going to get to hang out with them, and so are you. Floriole and I are teaming up to host a book party and sweet tasting at the bakery. For $40 (plus tax) you will get your very own copy of Baked Elements (just in time for holiday baking/gift giving!), a buffet of our favorite treats from the book (prepared by Floriole’s expert bakers), and time to hear from Matt and Renato about their bakery and books (they’re so fun!). I’ll be there serving as host for the evening, and I really hope you’ll join me. There isn’t much I like better than meeting you good people in the real world. Tickets, and complete details, are available here or at Floriole. Don’t miss your chance to get Baked, right here in Chicago. read more+++

My favorite kind of recipes are the ones that combine a few ingredients into something truly extraordinary. Strawberries + sour cream + brown sugar=BAM! It isn’t really cooking, more like assembling. Like this salad, which features the unlikely combination of olives and celery. They combine to form something very special.

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Now we arrive at the time of year where I am writing about recipes just as their ingredients are going out of season. I can’t keep up with the farmers and I always fall behind. But, with any luck, we’ll have another harvest next year and you will have this recipe. For the record, I have tried in the past to just save the recipe and photos and post them eleven months from now, but it never works. I forget what happened and don’t feel as connected to the recipe. So, on with it—plums!

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[Today’s final post comes from my best friend, Katie. She is literally the best.]

LAND OF LOTTIE

A Doof Tour of Chicago’s Southwest Side

If a wayward reader stumbled upon Lottie + Doof, a cursory glance might cause her to surmise the blogger grew up in the Hamptons. More committed and thorough readers, or those who read the paczki post know that Tim spent years one through five on Chicago’s Southwest Side. For years I’ve been telling Tim he should treat loyal Doofers to the culinary wonders of his old neighborhood. When he gave me the chance to contribute to L+D’s 4th anniversary, I whisked him away in my car to eat our way from 34th to 92nd, from Western to Pulaski. read more+++