Holiday chocolates are given an interesting twist in some new assortments by Delysia Chocolatier in Austin, Texas. One is defined by the theme of the “Nutcracker,” with decorative images from the ballet and chocolate truffle flavors like rosemary-orange, Lebkuchen and plum pudding. “Winter Wonderland,” with snowy scenes on each piece, includes truffles seasoned with hot…
Julie Green, the artist who commemorated death row inmates’ last meal requests on 1,000 blue and white plates, died in October. While working on that “Last Supper” series, for the past three years, she was creating a companion piece, “First Meals,” requests by exonerated prisoners for what they wanted to eat when freed. She collaborated…
Is anyone on your gift list a tea lover? For the first time Sotheby’s will auction off rare Chinese teas and tea implements. The online auction will be held in Hong Kong from Wednesday through Dec. 16. The teas, more than 20 lots of them, are all puerh, a type of black or green tea…
Originally Italian, the Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner has a wider audience now. It makes for an interesting, if challenging, celebratory menu. The wholesale Fulton Fish Market has simplified assembling the essential ingredients, and you do not have to be a chef to gain access since the market has been selling to…
Last year was a tough one. Americans grappled with a global pandemic, the loss of loved ones, lockdowns that splintered social networks, stress, unemployment and depression. It is probably no surprise that the nation’s blood pressure shot up. On Monday, scientists reported that blood pressure measurements of nearly a half-million adults showed a significant rise…
Hell hath no fury like a social media mob that thinks it has identified a luxury scam. Or so it seemed this weekend, when a series of viral TikTok videos involving an $825 Chanel advent calendar and the disappointed customer who bought it went viral, inspiring a multitude of users to call foul on the…
While the pandemic halted or shuttered many restaurants and bars, soda shops were able to stay open and thrive during the first few months of the pandemic, largely because of their drive-through lanes. “It became a nice little escape from being stuck at home all the time,” Ms. Durfey said. As a nod to her…
In the Munich atelier of the jewelry house Hemmerle, diamonds are meticulously sorted according to color into a series of little boxes. The labels read: Flaschengrün, or bottle green; Benzin, or gasoline; Camouflage; Dark Golden; Grau I, II and III, which are three variations of gray; and Schlamm, or muddy. These names hardly conjure up…
According to the website Know Your Meme, which tracks viral internet phenomena, the earliest documented usage of “the feminine urge to …” was a Twitter post from 2009. But an official entry for the phrase was not added to the site until October of this year, when Owen Carry, who wrote the entry, noticed it…
When I’m cooking at home, I usually don’t have a recipe at hand. Often, I’m cooking by feel, like confidently noodling on the piano without sheet music. But, of course, you do need practice before you can ad-lib. This menu features dishes that can be prepared using that approach, although recipes are supplied. Many home…