Look at that stack of cookbooks: It's for you! This is the latest installment in Glutton for Life's Grand Holiday Gift Extravaganza. Occasionally, I get review copies of cookbooks I have already bought or pre-ordered for myself, and sometimes my collection just grows to the point of needing a little weeding, though I can scarcely bear to part with any of my tomes. Knowing that these will go to a loving home gives me some relief. Interested? Just leave a comment below by midnight on Wednesday the 18th telling me about your favorite cookbook and you'll be in the running to win these 7 books. As for the winner of The Shizzle and accompanying Mirena Kim salt cellar? It's Diane Lindsay. Diane, send your mailing address to me at gluttonforlife@gmail.com.

The celebratory spirit is reaching a fever pitch, so I have to ak you, Are you having fun? I committed to way too much last week and I came down with the flu. Ugh. I sensed that things were beginning to veer out of control for me and yet I just couldn't slow down. The challenge now is to have compassion for myself rather than seething inside that I am not strong enough or healthy enough or something enough. I'm in my red flannel nightie with my Uggs, gazing forlornly out at the fresh snow, where I wish to be frolicking on snowshoes. For now, I'm trying to focus on visions of dancing sugarplums.
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Fast away the old year passes. The excitement with which we welcome the new is resoundingly optimistic. What is it about stepping into the future that fills us with such hope? Meanwhile, the older I get the quicker the time goes. It's like it has a new momentum, a special determination to slip away from me. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream. I will not be daunted. I will grab each moment and ride it, bucking and swaying, into the golden sunset. I can scarcely believe that it's been two years since I launched this blog, a true labor of love. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support. As I humbly say, without you, I'm nothing. For 2012, I am resolving to remain curious. To keep learning and evolving. To welcome new people, places and things. To eat, drink and be merry. To stay fit. To cultivate strength, resilience and endurance. To cherish what I have. To be patient and kind (with myself and others). And, to echo one of Woody Guthrie's 1942 resolutions, to "dream good."I hope this weekend brings you further opportunity to chill, space out, hang and unwind. Here are some links to help you while away a few idle hours. I wish you a celebratory New Year's Eve and a very delicious 2012.
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When you're a cook, cookbooks spur you on, inspire you, guide you, educate you. They can introduce you to exotic flavors, school you in new cuisines, generally rock your world. Within the pages of a new cookbook lies a whole odyssey. This is why they pile up on my bedside table; cooking from them is actually optional. Sometimes I just read them and what I've learned seeps gradually into my everyday cooking. But I definitely use them in the kitchen as well. That's the beauty of cooking: if you can read, you can do it. That said, I have compiled a large list of some excellent tomes that came out this year, some of which I have cooked from but all of which I will get to at some point. For all the reasons above, I think they make great gifts for cooks and dreamers alike.
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I'm going to go way out on a limb and assume that, if you're reading this blog, you like to cook; or at least you like reading about cooking. Or maybe you just know someone else who does. At any rate, in a continuation of yesterday's gifting post, I've pulled together some suggestions for wonderful cookbooks—some new, some long beloved—that would make wonderful presents to the accomplished and aspiring chefs in your life (including yourself). I like nothing better than sitting down with something delicious to eat and whatever cookbook I've randomly plucked from my shelf. There are always stacks of cookbooks by my bed. Reading them is vicarious pleasure, inspiration, armchair travel, fantasy and practical preparation. Here's a compendium of some of my favorites, all highly recommended.
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