Stylish settings and fun gifts keep friends and family in their seats.
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I once knew a woman whose personal battle in life was to keep her husband and two sons around the table for longer than the five minutes they usually took to scarf down whatever she put before them. To this end, she established traditions and special meals that were specifically designed to keep them at the table, talking and, well, being a family. The night before Christmas Eve, she always staged a time-consuming make-your-own burrito operation; on Christmas Eve, they had fondue. Because these days, food is more often than not consumed in haste without consideration for where it came from and what it took to get it to the plate, I thought of her when putting together this list of gifts that might inspire your friends and family to slow down and be conscious of their meal, the setting, and each other. LAURA CASSIDY
Farmers market goodie bags
Distinctive holiday gifts overflow the tables at local farmers markets, offering spankin' fresh produce (yep, even at this time of year), delicious baked goods, regional seafood, and, at the Broadway market, jars of raw creamed honey from Eagleman Farms. The honey is sinfully tasty, thickly textured, and was purchased from an eccentric vendor whose pet rabbit was licking his neck as I stood by. Who can resist a holiday gift that comes with a story about the character that made it? (Unfortunately, that particular market is now closed until May.) Neighborhood markets are ripe with opportunities to locate unique presents, and the Ballard farmers market (Sundays 11 a.m.–3 p.m.) and the ever-dependable Pike Place Market are open year-round. The U District and West Seattle farmers markets end Sunday, Dec. 18, although both reopen later this winter. Visiting relatives out of town? Port Angeles has two year-round markets on Saturdays, and the Olympia farmers market operates Thursday through Sunday until Christmas Eve. (For details about Puget Sound Area farmers markets, visit dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/farms/farmers_markets.htm.) HEATHER LOGUE
Handmade tableware
Each Sunday at the Ballard farmers market, Port Orchard–based Hannah's Stoneware (877-323-1468 or e-mail hstoneware@gbis.com) offers a variety of pottery bowls, pitchers, and other serving dishes glazed in jewel tones—sulphur yellow, muted fuchsia, teal green, cobalt blue—that are cheerful yet somehow old-fashioned, as if the items were inherited from some high-spirited great-aunt. The pieces are modestly priced, with much of the collection in the $20 to $30 range, and moderately sized: large enough to be useful but small enough to be easily passed from hand to hand around the table. SARAH DEWEERDT
Newbie wine primer
For the twentysomething in your life who's transitioning away from the keg and toward the cellar, consider Thirsty Work: Love Wine Drink Better (Running Press, $24.95), by Jamie Oliver's pal and wine guru Matt Skinner. Swirling and sipping complex reds certainly engenders more table time and contemplative talk than chugging Rainier does, and Skinner makes the complexities of wine approachable. He also makes some pretty terrible jokes and can be a little too "street," and consequently, too simple—"Grapes rock!" Still, utilizing snowboarding metaphors and Aussie slang to illustrate viticulture history and food- pairing concepts, Skinner writes about wine with under-30 lingo that's accessible and easy to comprehend. Plus, the text's outside-the-box layout and format and large, glossy pictures make it modern and cool. Your neighborhood bookseller should be able to order this for you if they don't keep it in stock; Amazon.com will ship a copy within 24 hours. LAURA CASSIDY
Yulekaka
Fruitcake may be a holiday cliché—and one that people dubiously indulge in—but this year your guests might like to try Great Harvest Bread Company's Yulekaka (or "yule cake"), a Scandinavian sweet bread traditionally served at Christmas. Old-time recipes call for cardamom, candied fruit, and raisins; this version is stuffed with currants and candied citron. A frosting pack comes with the round loaf so you can glaze it at home, delighting guests with the scent of warm icing—and maybe starting a new tradition. The loaves, which weigh between 1 and a half pounds and 2 pounds ($5.25 each), will be available on select days throughout December at Great Harvest's locations in Ballard (2218 N.W. Market St., 206-706-3434), Sand Point Village (5408 Sand Point Way N.E., 206-524-4873), and Lake Forest Park Towne Centre (17171 Bothell Way N.E., Lake Forest Park, 206-365-4778).RACHEL SHIMP
Culinary pornography
Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid are not just cookbook authors (Hot Sour Salty Sweet) but compelling writers, reverent students of culture, and gifted photographers. Their latest work, Mangoes & Curry Leaves: Culinary Travels Through the Great Subcontinent ($45, Artisan), is gorgeous and significant. Clear the table after dessert and, as you sip tea and coffee, flip through pictures of tiny brown babies in bangle bracelets strapped to their mothers' hips at markets in southern Orissa, and read about the rivers and oceans that supply exotic fish to the people of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Oversized and almost 400 pages long, Mangoes & Curry Leaves is part National Geographic, part postcard from nirvana, and part foodie porn. Oh yeah, there are recipes, too. Your neighborhood bookseller should be able to order this for you if they don't keep it in stock; Amazon.com will ship a copy within 24 hours. LAURA CASSIDY
