California Cookbook

This holiday season, get from givers

Holiday entertaining is in full swing and party-goers have a festive opportunity to reconnect with family and friends. As giving a bottle of wine is a popular hostess gift, this is a timely subject. Taking it a step further, it is appropriate to recommend wines from merchants who have a giving nature and actively support not-for-profit organizations in our community.

Wines as hostess gifts

Wine continues to grow in popularity in this country and is now produced in all 50 states, giving this beverage universal appeal. Wine can be one of the simple pleasures in life that you share with family and friends. Its popularity makes it an ideal hostess gift and it can be an expression of your friendship. Here are several tips for selecting wine as a hostess gift:

• Bring a wine that complements the menu.
• If a wine lover is hosting, bring their favorite varietal.
• If the host is a new acquaintance, bring a bottle you enjoy and use this as an ice breaker.
• Champagne/sparklers are always festive.
• Canadian ice wines are trendy and attractively packaged.

Wine merchants

When we opened up My Chef Catering in Naperville 21 years ago, we knew we were joining a progressive, vibrant community. While our assumptions were accurate, we also learned that Naperville and the surrounding communities have the most incredible spirit of volunteerism of any place we have ever lived (we know this view is shared by many people).

We have also found that the business community recognizes its responsibility to give back to the community. While this is a vast topic with countless acts of humanitarianism, I will focus on several (wine) merchants who actively give back to local not-for-profit organizations. Here are some examples of companies with a mission to make a difference:

Binny’s conducts wine tastings and designates tasting fees as a fundraiser for not-for-profits. In early December, they hold their annual Champagne Gala to benefit Little Friends. They also hold tastings to benefit The Naperville Area Humane Society. Their holiday hostess gift suggestions with suggested retail prices include:

• Gloria Ferrer California Brut Sparkler (90 pts. Wine Spectator) $16
• Graham’s Six Grapes (Ruby) Port Wine $19
• Jackson-Triggs Canadian Ice Wine (89 pts. Wine Spectator) $20

Costco donates product to not-for-profits to help with fundraisers and feeding people in need. Some of the organizations that support include the United Way, NCO, the Children’s Miracle Network and Loaves & Fishes. Their holiday hostess gift suggestions with suggested retail prices include:

• Dr. Loosen Beerenauslese (BA) Riesling Gift Box $16
• Warres 10 year Tawny Port (90 pts. Wine Spectator) $20
• Kirkland Signature Brut (French) Champagne (90 pts. Wine Spectator) $22

Trader Joe’s donates food to not-for-profit organizations including Loaves & Fishes, DuPage PADS and the Power Connection in Bolingbrook. Their recommendations with suggested retail prices are:

• Martellozo Prosecco Italian Sparkler $7
• Trader Joe’s Reserve California Cabernet Sauvignon $10

Whole Foods donates food to not-for-profits including Naperville CARES, District 203 and Loaves & Fishes. As an example, to help promote the sale of Loaves & Fishes’ new community cookbook titled “Culinary Comforts,” Whole Foods recently donated food to four area restaurant chefs who prepared their recipes featured in the cookbook. The restaurants then sampled their dishes at the Whole Foods store in Naperville. Holiday hostess gift suggestions with suggested retail prices include:

• Presto Prosecco Italian Sparkler $11
• Glunz’s Vin-Glogg (Scandinavian mulled spice wine — serve warm) $12

So if you’re looking for wine as a hostess gift this holiday season, give one of these wines a try and at the same time, support a merchant that supports our community. It’s a win-win to give back to those that give. Happy holidays everyone!

About the Author

Bill Garlough is a Level 1 Master Sommelier and an owner of My Chef Catering in Naperville, IL, the winner of the U.S. Chamber\’s 2007 Small Business of the Year award. Bill can be reached at My Chef or bgarlough@mychef.com

Moog Cookbook Hotel California Mash-Up (and popcorn)

Hawkins Classic Aluminum Pressure Cookers This is an aluminum 15 litre pressure cooker with a whistling pressure regulator…

Blanched Almond Meal Flour, 5 lb. $35.99 Honeyville’s Blanched Almond Flour, or Blanched Almond Meal, is a great way to cook with limited carbohydrate intake. With a fraction of the carbs of wheat flour, almond flour provides a hearty flavor and consistency without adding all of those empty calories. Chock full of protein and dietary fiber, almond flour works well in a wide array of recipes. Made from blanched almonds, pressed into fine …

Sushi Gift Kit With Sushi Book – Unique Japanese Food Gift Basket $75.00 Japanese Sushi Gift Box This is one of our most popular gifts. It comes with a book in color on how to make sushi. A great gift of Japanese Sushi for those who have a yen for Japanese food. Included in our Japanese Sushi Basket is: Rice/ Nishiki Sushi Rice Miso Soup Seaweed also called Sushi Nori Soy Sauce/ Soy Sauce Sushi Ginger Sushi Vinegar Wasabi Mat for preparing Sushi/ Sushi Mat …

Worldwide Ward Secret Recipes $15.99 Every family has at least one secret. A secret recipe, that is! With more than 300 sensational new recipes, Secret Recipes throws open the doors of hundreds of kitchens around the world and lets you in on delicious family secrets that are not only full of flavor, but also rich with family lore. More than a cookbook, this collection of family-tested recipes developed by LDS cooks from New Zealand t…

The Green Diet $112.99 Reconnect with the earth as you enjoy a lush diet from nature’s treasure trove. Lose weight, increase energy, and stop disease dead in its tracks while eating a rainbow of fresh foods. The Green Diet is the key to a healthy mind, body, and earth. Eco-friendly and heart-friendly, The Green Diet centers on the bounty of Mother Nature–whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, oils, and nuts. You wi…

Skinny Bitch $3.15 Not your typical boring diet book, this is a tart-tongued, no-holds-barred wakeup call to all women who want to be thin. With such blunt advice as, “Soda is liquid Satan” and “You are a total moron if you think the Atkins Diet will make you thin,” it’s a rallying cry for all savvy women to start eating healthy and looking radiant. Unlike standard diet books, it actually makes the reader laugh out …

Weeknights with Giada: Quick and Simple Recipes to Revamp Dinner $14.50 Featured Recipe: Sweet Corn and Basil Lasagna No-boil noodles and a food processor are what make this lasagna a weeknight-dinner friend. Both help to put a super-creamy, provolone-cheesy, comforting, and downright amazing pasta dish on the table for the family. One tip to minimize clean-up and avoid hand-grating the cheese: use the shredding attachment of the food p…

Weber’s Way to Grill: The Step-by-Step Guide to Expert Grilling (Sunset Books) $6.05 A comprehensive guide offers indispensable tips and insights for improving grilling techniques every step of the way, featuring triple-tested, confidence-building recipes; variations on grilling methods, seasonings, and sauces; and detailed step-by-step pTitle: Weber’s Way To GrillAuthor: Purviance, Jamie/ Turner, Tim (PHT)Publisher: Little Brown & CoPublication Date: 2009/03/03Number of Pages: 32…