Open the bottle and pour some oil into the spoon. What amazing color you will see! A luscious deep rich green color is a wow moment!

The first whiff and it smells just like you want it to! The richness of olives with a hint of tang. Pour a little into a snifter, swirl it around and draw in the aroma! Wow! Lovely!

There really is nothing like an oil that's pressed and bottled during the annual olive harvest.

It's the blend of olives in varying states of ripeness, in this case Tonda Iblea olives from a winery estate in Sicily.

The first sip of oil off a spoon is full of rich, buttery, olive flavor. You'll notice hints of green tomatoes and artichoke, which give it a lightly bitter edge. It will tickle and kick the back of your throat with light, peppery notes that are vibrant but never overly aggressive.

Savor it with a swirl in your mouth and enjoy the fresh grassiness. Be surprised at the lack of an oily slick.

It's so refreshing that you look forward to another spoonful as your mind travels to how perfectly wonderful this would be on a simple plate of spaghetti! Add a few capers and Parmigiano-Reggiano to dress it up if you must. The oil is perfection for a simple meal. I could eat this combination for days and never get bored.

If you have a fresh loaf of ciabatta, sprinkle a slice or a hunk with large flakes of salt, like Maldon, and drizzle heavily with Olio Nuovo. You'll be surprised how heavenly something so simple can be.

This is the oil that will start the holiday season well!

Shop now for Spedalotto Tonda Iblea Sicilian Olive Oil - Nuovo!

Click Here To See Everything Featured in This Newsletter!

One of our favorite ways to celebrate the new harvest is to take a freshly toasted open-cell bread, drizzle it with Olio Nuovo, and then sprinkle it with a nice flaky sea salt. It's a joyous moment that happens this time of year!

See the Croutons with Olio Nuovo and Sea Salt Recipe here!

A small handful of Antica Torroneria Piemontese Hazelnut Pralines eaten one at a time is just about right.

These hazelnut pralines are wicked good! Let's face it, take fabulous nuts, these hazelnuts, boil them in sugar until crisp and brown and how could you go wrong?

Though, I am thinking why make them when Antica Torroneria Piemontese does it better!

Pour them out and enjoy!

Shop now for Antica Torroneria Piemontese Praline Hazelnuts!

In 1907, Theodosia's travels to Egypt while fighting off the Serpents of Chaos, returning the Emerald Tablet and discovering long lost temples with her archeologist mother of the British Museum of Antiquities, was certainly a major undertaking, to say the least.

And it is clearly understandable that perhaps one of the most important finds of this 11-year-old wunderkind was forgotten.

As you know, Theodosia spent much time "on digs" in the dusty and dry desert. But did you know that marshmallow, as in the white puffy thing that we roast over the open fire, started as medicinal candy for young children in ancient Egypt?

By combining honey and a sticky, gooey plant called mallow, which is found in the salt marshes near large bodies of water, this meringue like candy was made to soothe a child's dry, sore throat.

It was Miss Throckmorten's adventures and subsequent extended exposure to dust and minimal water intake that brought her to seek an edible salve. With Gadji's help, Theodosia was able to cure her ailments with the medicinal marsh-mallow and return to home in good health.

These cubes of melt-in-your-mouth joy from France are perhaps the most wonderful soft treat on the planet. At least this time of year, them and Panettone, that is.

The mallow is long gone, as is the honey, but the mental satisfaction remains and reminds us of childhoods past and childlike futures.

The best marshmallows!!
"These may be the best marshmallows we've ever tasted. The texture is perfect - soft & fluffy - not gummy & tough. The flavors are delicious and natural tasting, and of course they are sweet (they ARE marshmallows), but they are not OVERLY sweet. After we tried them, we bought boxes for our friends!"
-- teri

Shop now for L'Atelier des Douceurs Traditional Guimauves - marshmallows!

Hand-bent to look like a shepherd's staff, the candy cane has a history reaching back hundreds of years.

Popular belief is that white sugar sticks were transformed for children who would get restless during the long-winded holiday sermons. And before we had too many gifts under the tree, candy canes hung as gifts for children.

They were truly a treat. Today's wimpy striped sticks are just a peppermint candy stretched to resemble a cane.

Our sturdy Swedish candy canes are nothing like the commercial ones you see at the Five and Dime. They're plump, beautifully bent peppermint sticks, well-worth eating after you've enjoyed them hanging on the tree.

These candy canes are approximately 5.5" tall, from the top of the curve to the bottom of the stem. The days of giving away candy-colored cars for Christmas are over.

Why not give the next best thing, a candy cane! Don't buy just one - buy half a dozen!

Shop now for Swedish Peppermint Candy Cane!

These beautifully shaped chocolates look fabulous and they taste even better than they looook!

They look like spoons, albeit in need of a polish. Think the ultimate in adding chocolate to your coffee or hot milk, just with the dip and swirl of your spoon!

Or consider a nice chocolate or vanilla pudding eaten with a spoon of chocolate. What a simple luxurious delight!!

I can't decide whether to keep them around because they are so much fun to look at or to just eat 'em?

Shop now for Slitti Chocolate Spoons!

Like a mini-panettone, this cake is made with the same "bread base" as Flamigni's Panettone and Colomba, it's just smaller and with a more bread-like texture. This cake is studded with candied Ciaculli Mandarines and glazed with hail sugar. It's a candied fruit Panettone for one!

Shop now for Flamigni il Dolce Frutta Mandarino Cake here!

This is a love story. Not a Hallmark one where the boy gets the girl (or the girl gets the boy) in the end. It is more about the story of friends, who once were close and came together a lifetime later, not to reminisce, but to catch up and fulfill a curiosity.

It all started like all budding relationships, hours and hours of conversations about nothing and everything. Growing and learning about life and at the same time building a friendship that would last a lifetime. And then college, life, jobs and they lost contact.

She, ended up pursuing the arts, painting and then opening a gallery in Paris. He, ending up working for a "Museum" in D.C. His work involved a lot of travel, including Paris. And on two of those trips they had dinner and though the spark was still there, it was rough and uncomfortable.

His real job, though he never told her, was being a spy. And that had kept them separate. Now that he was "retired" he was slowly contacting old friends to see where their lives had taken them.

She was his focus now that November and her birthday had arrived. The weather had shifted and the temperatures had dropped allowing him to wear a trench-coat and hat. He loved Paris, but it was an international city and you never knew who you might run into.

He had contacted her and she had agreed, with trepidation, to meet at a quiet Cafe near her gallery in eyesight of the Eiffel Tower.

It was a grey day with the chill coming down from the north and threatening rain. He arrived early, the place was quiet with just a few patrons. He chose a table where they could speak without being overheard. As customary he chose a table with his back to a wall and where he could see the entrance.

He fidgeted, tapping his toes, with the worry that he might not recognize her. And then walking in, as always, looking taller than her actual frame, she looked the same as if she was still in her teens. His heart stopped and restarted a couple of times. She held back her smile, but for only a moment and as she sat, she passed a blue box with a red stripe. She explained it was an amazing chocolate filled with Cherry and Armagnac from a place called Margaux, south of Paris about 600 klicks.

She explained, as he opened the box, to put the whole cherry with the bumps on your tongue, and bite down so all the liquid, cherry and chocolate combine into one heavenly bite. She quietly said it reminded her of him.

He had brought her a Panettone (for her Italian husband) and a small jar of Hey Boo Coconut Caramel Sauce for her.

They talked for hours about what they had been doing, about family, kids and how life was today. He (and she) were pleased with the ease for which they had been able to step back into a comfortable space. They said goodbye, with the bonds from so long ago still intact.

Shop now for Chocolate Covered Cherries w/ Armagnac here!

This Coconut Caramel is a combination that has come together perfectly in a jar. Combine creamy, delicious coconut milk into the caramel-making process, and you have a spoon-ready, spreadable dessert that has a twist that is delish!

Smooth and silky, as soon as you dip your spoon (or finger) into the glossy "sauce," your visual mind immediately goes to spiraling it over your favorite vanilla ice cream. To the taste, that first taste is truly an anticipatory moment of curiosity and pleasure!

The smoothness and the stickiness melt away into flavors of questions (think of the coconut), sweetness, and smokiness of sugars. It seems simple to one taste bud and to the other bud, complex and fascinating.

The fabulously "butteriness" flavor is dairy-free, with coconut milk being the first ingredient. Next, cane sugar (no corn here), organic agave syrup, inverted sugar, salt from the sea, and cream of tartar. The result is, as you might be able to tell, heaven on a spoon.

Let us start with breakfast (who doesn't wish for sweetness early in the morning): pancakes, waffles & toast. Granola, Dutch baby, or mix it into your cream cheese. Stir caramel sauce into your coffee with a cinnamon stick or bake your bacon with a brushing of coconut caramel sauce!

If breakfast is not your thing (just get a spoonful on the way out the door), then add it to your popcorn, mustard sauce, cookies, applesauce, top the freshest fruit you can find, or mix it with bourbon and mix it into a banana smoothie! For nighttime, add to hot chocolate, chai lattes, or a dollop to your hot toddy tonight! Cheers!

Shop now for Hey Boo Coconut Caramel Sauce here!

See all the options for Mademoiselle de Margaux here! Wonderful Raspberry, Orange, and Mint twigs. And chocolate covered cherries enrobed in Kirsch and Armagnac.

Shop now for Mademoiselle De Margaux Chocolate!

Who wouldn't like pearls as a gift? Show you care with a jar of pearls! Skip the string and give a spoonful!

Perfect for topping small bites of cream cheese and crackers. Or, break in the new year with a great diet of deviled eggs topped with pearls of balsamic.

Filled with the passion and age of a great balsamico, these little round balls bring a contained taste. Not too much, just right. These popping little feats of modernity and tradition make for pure culinary joy!

Balsamic pearls from Leonardi 1871 in Modena, Italy. Molecular gastronomy let loose on amazing balsamic vinegar and the result is little spheres of balsamic whose flavor bursts in your mouth.

Perfect for a cheese platter, or atop smoked salmon to add an exciting touch of sweetness and texture. Or, just eat them out of the jar.

Shop now for Balsamic Pearls!

In honor of their 30th anniversary, balsamic vinegar makers La Vecchia Dispensa created this commemorative gem: rich, thick balsamic ideal for drizzling.

For this vinegar, the grape must is cooked down longer than usual and aged in small, new wood barrels before being transferred to open barrels to finish fermentation and aging.

This vinegar has been a favorite of ours and many of our fellow eaters for almost 20 years! Those that love this one especially don't mess around and they go for the 500ml bottle!

This delicious balsamic may be appreciated on the full-on flakes of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, on strawberries, on steak, or on ice cream. The 30th-anniversary balsamic is full-bodied and particularly good with venison, as well as duck and other game birds.

Shop now for La Vecchia Dispensa 30-Anniv Balsamic!

When we were looking for fruitcake recipes, I wanted one that was jam-packed with dried and candied fruit—like the Trappist Monks make in Oregon. This is the closest I could find.

See the Traditional Dark Fruitcake Recipe!

The Willamette Valley in Oregon is home to 200 wineries and 10,000 acres of wine grapes. The beautiful rolling hills of the McMinnville/Lafayette area are striped with rows and rows of grapevines, where cool-climate grape varieties flourish. When David Lett's local Pinot Noir won top honors in the 1979 Gault-Millau French Wine Olympiad, the valley's position as a viable wine-making region was validated.

But there's more here than wine. In 1965, when hopeful vintners were planting their first Pinot Noir grapes, the Trappist monks of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Abbey had already been in the valley for ten years. They too came for the soil and the climate, relocating from New Mexico in search of land more hospitable to farming than what they found in the Southwest. Today, the Abbey and the ever-growing wine industry continue to live peacefully side by side, both communities nurtured and inspired by the beauty and bounty of the landscape.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is a community of 32 monks, most of whom have spent their adult lives at this Abbey. Their days are filled with prayer, work, spiritual study and contemplation. Trappists are committed to self-sufficiency, and strive to live solely by the work of their own hands. To this end, Our Lady of Guadalupe is home to several small industries: they harvest 900 acres of Douglas Fir, operate a small bookbinding shop and a large wine warehouse serving their neighbors and they bake an amazing fruitcake.

We visited the Abbey on a cool, rainy day in late September. As we drove along the quiet road leading to the monastery, it was easy to imagine spending many quiet hours among these hills and scattered stands of fir trees. Our host was Father Richard, the Abbey's business manager, who took us through the cluster of buildings on our way to the bakery. In the bookbindery, monks work silently at their tasks, hand-binding theses, periodicals and monographs. In the wine warehouse, the feeling is more contemporary, as several loud forklifts move through a maze of cases of wine stacked almost to the ceiling.

The monastery's decision to begin making fruitcake in the early 1980s was a purely pragmatic one. Their business building church pews and office furniture was dwindling, and they needed another source of income from an activity that would accommodate their aging population. At the suggestion of a monk who had run a similar business, they began to experiment with various fruitcake recipes—the monks themselves were the official taste-testers.

In 1982, the Abbey began to bake and sell Trappist Abbey Fruitcake. In the early days, one monk, Brother Eugene, did all the baking. Now, three monks, all well into their seventies or beyond, work in the bakery each morning from the end of January until the beginning of October, and they bake more than 20,000 fruitcakes each year. The Trappist Abbey recipe is old-fashioned and straightforward—no scary, shiny green cherries here—and includes a three-month aging process after the cakes are soaked in brandy.

Father Peter and Father Paul alternate the job of mixing and pouring the cake batter, and Brother Eugene helps when his health allows. After the batter is mixed and poured into the pans, the monks carefully top each loaf with their signature pattern of nuts and cherries, and then the fruitcakes bake at a low temperature for just under three hours. The monks work in silence, but Father Peter is quick to smile warmly and happy to answer our questions.

Father Richard has been the monastery's business manager since 1983. He is friendly and energetic; he's dressed in blue jeans, boots, and a fleece vest, and he seems very much a man of the 21st century. In fact, he's one of the only monks who has any regular contact with the outside world, and despite his clothing, his cell phone, and his modern office, Father Richard has spent most of the last 30 years within the confines of the abbey.

Trappist monks belong to the monastic family following Christ according to the Rule of Saint Benedict. The name "Trappist" comes from a reform movement that began in the 17th century at a French monastery, La Trappe, in Normandy. There are now 100 communities of Trappist monks, and 69 communities of Trappistine nuns around the world. Our Lady of Guadalupe has a retreat facility where retreatants—men and women of all denominations—are welcomed for short stays in the four cottages. The simple buildings surround a lovely, peaceful pond, and 800 acres of woodland offer unlimited opportunity for contemplative walks and hikes.

After a morning of observing work and prayer at Our Lady of Guadalupe, we're invited to stay for lunch at the retreat center. The monks are vegetarians and eat simply, and we enjoy a lovely meal with Father Richard before heading back to the "real world."

Shop now for Fruitcake from Trappist Abbey - 1 pound!

Peeling the apples is the hardest task there is in this easy recipe.

See the easy Oven Baked Apple Slices Recipe here!