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Get an education while you bake up a storm Step-by-step photographs and detailed directions give cooks everything they need to know about baking By Kim Davaz “Baking: 350 Recipes and Techniques, 1,500 Photographs, One Baking Education.” There you have it. Just about everything you need to know to start baking or raising your personal baking bar, all in one place. Author James Peterson, whose 14 other cookbooks include two James Beard Award winners (“Sauces” and “Cooking”), is a cooking instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York. “Baking” is indeed an education. Peterson explains every little detail of every…

Stella’s Magnolia stellata tree bloomed at Dartmoor on Saturday.

Linger over ‘Venezia,’ then fire up the stove The book is a work of art; and the recipes aren’t bad, either By Kim Davaz Tessa Kiros opens her newest cookbook with a love letter to the city of Venice, in particular, its food. When you think of the food of Venice, think fresh, fresh, fresh, especially when it comes to fish; and local, including a celebratory glass of bright sparkling Prosecco to begin any meal. “Venezia” is Kiros’ third cookbook published by Andrews McMeel, following the same format and size as “Apples for Jam” and “Falling Cloudberries” (a Gourmet magazine cookbook…

Farm Chicks take readers beyond the kitchen By Kim Davaz Teri Edwards and Serena Thompson are The Farm Chicks, stay-at-home moms whose annual antique show (plus crafts and food) near Spokane caught the eye of Country Living magazine. This led to the women becoming contributing editors of Country Living, developing a line of products and now publishing a cookbook, “The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen: Live Well, Laugh Often, Cook Much.” The book starts with a tear-out stencil of an apron. Make the apron and use it when decorating baked goods or craft projects - this is both a cookbook and…

Pair of authors mix it up for home bartenders By Kim Davaz There is something innately festive about drinking sparkling wine. Maybe it’s the special glasses or those marvelous bubbles, but just looking at the bottle says special occasion. That occasion might be a graduation, a marriage proposal or wedding, the birth of a child or an I’m-so-glad-you’re-here moment, but sparkling wine also is nice on ordinary days. In “The Bubbly Bar: Champagne and Sparkling Wine Cocktails for Every Occasion,” Maria Hunt explains that true Champagne can come only from the Champagne region of France. Everything else is sparkling wine. All…

A collection of baby hats and other knitting projects by Kim Davaz over the last few years.

British baker contends bread should be made at home By Kim Davaz Bread. It’s a basic food that is at home at any meal. British master baker Andrew Whitley wants it to be on your table, made by your own hands, as often as possible. With this in mind, Whitley has written “Bread Matters: The State of Modern Bread and a Definitive Guide to Baking Your Own.” Full of tables and lists and schedules, this is a cookbook to make daily bread baking a reasonable possibility. Whitley’s opinion of modern bread is not high: He despairs of the sad loaves most…

Christine and Bingham’s wedding reception featured a surprise musical treat.

We buried Stella under a Magnolia stellata tree in the backyard, on the first day of the new year.

Nigella makes any size celebration spectacular Holiday cookbook covers dinner for two or a feast for the entire extended family By Kim Davaz “Nigella Christmas” by Nigella Lawson is a celebration between two covers, with everything necessary, kitchen-wise, for a spectacular Christmas. I should backtrack: While you can make a spectacular Christmas feast à la Lawson, she by no means limits your holiday festivities to the top of the “wow” meter. There is just as much attention paid to a quiet little dinner or brunch and cozy drinks as there is to the break-the-bank, 8 1/2 -pound standing rib roast beef…

Olivia was spectacular Sunday morning swimming at the Sheldon High School pool.

Stella Davaz died today, Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009. She was 13-and-a-half years old.  

‘Grand Central’ makes baking a breeze By Kim Davaz Although we are knee-deep in prime baking season, let’s try to spread the butter and sugar wealth around. Start now, but keep up the good work throughout the year. You will be thanked richly. The Grand Central Bakery in Portland was named one of the top 10 bakeries in the country by Bon Appétit magazine. Co-owner Piper Davis learned to cook from her mother, Gwyneth Bassetti, founder of the bakery. In “The Grand Central Baking Book” written with chef and food writer Ellen Jackson, Davis shares the recipes and techniques that won…

Table for one By Kim Davaz While in college, I once worked with a young woman who had majored in home economics. Every night, she told me, she made a complete meal that she ate sitting at a nicely set table. All by herself. I was very impressed that she considered such niceties to be essential. Fifty-one percent of the people living in New York City live alone, according to Judith Jones in her latest cookbook, “The Pleasures of Cooking for One.” Cooking for one is not a chore, Jones insists, but a pleasure. In addition to cooking meals on ordinary…

Authors spice up everyday dishes By Kim Davaz Sara Engram and Katie Luber love spices and herbs. They use the term spices to mean both spices and herbs. Some chefs consider the seeds and bark of plants to be spices and the leaves and stems to be herbs. Let’s not quibble. Call them all spices and use them often. Engram and Luber love spices so much, they started a company that makes little one-teaspoon packets sold online at tspspices .com and through stores such as Smart Spice. (You can find them in Portland at Zupan’s Market.) All are organic. To encourage…