Adriana Janovich

Quick look: There’s a little bit of a lot of worldly things in this spiral-bound cookbook, a collection of recipes from local Master Chef Steve Geving and a fundraiser for Mammas on a Mission. Formed in 2009, the small group raises money for organizations and projects that benefit children in the Blanchard community, particularly students at Idaho Hill Elementary School. What’s inside: Some of the recipes sound fancy: chicken liver pâté, catfish with almond and pecan dust and spicy rémoulade, or escargot with pepper bacon, wild mushrooms and glace de viande. But Geving writes in the introduction that he aims to provide user-friendly recipes that make it easy to switch out meats or herbs as desired. There are appetizers, sides, mains, desserts and a “This & That” chapter featuring three items: stuffed French toast with maple bourbon peach syrup, Peking scallion pancakes with soy sauce and pickled jalapeño, and “Redneck Eggs” on biscuits with bacon and sausage gravy.

It might be a one-man show. But baritone Aaron St. Clair Nicholson will be performing with some “old friends” Saturday night. They’re classical and contemporary, a mix of popular opera arias and Americana, a few of his favorites, songs to which he always returns.

When my 20-something cousin brought this holiday spread to Christmas dinner a few years back, no one could stop eating it. The mixture was so simple – dried cranberries, diced jalapeno peppers and cilantro atop a mound of cream cheese – and, at the same time, so memorable.

Karen Jean Matsko Hood has never been to the Old Country. But she carries on its culinary traditions at Christmas, baking sweet poppy seed rolls and walnut rolls like her mother and aunts, who learned from their mother, an immigrant from Slovenia.

Mashed potatoes are creamy and comforting. So are whipped sweet potatoes topped with a velvety crust of toasted marshmallows. This time of year, the root vegetables are readily available. In fact, you might even have some in your pantry right now. They can easily be turned into simple yet satisfying sides, if you’re still in need of another dish to round out your holiday dinner.

Cozy up to the counter at The Onion Bar and Grill on an ice-cold evening, ask the lead bartender for a winter warmer, and he’ll probably recommend two particular cups of holiday cheer: one with coffee, one with cocoa, both with a little kick. The Oatmeal Cookie – a mix of butterscotch schnapps, Baileys Irish Cream, Jägermeister, Goldschläger and hot cocoa topped with whipped cream and cinnamon – is rich, decadent and one of the downtown restaurant’s most popular holiday drinks.

Nectar’s New Food Flights Nectar Tasting Room has debuted an expanded menu.

“And I had but one penny in the world, thou shouldst have it to buy gingerbread.” – William Shakespeare, “Love’s Labour’s Lost,” 1598 Getting gingerbread just right can be difficult, especially if you want to build a gingerbread house.

Poached pears make for an elegant, subtly sweet and simple dessert. The gentle flavor of the aromatic tree fruit combines with the spices and poaching solution for a light and uncomplicated – yet sophisticated – indulgence.

Family-owned Latah Creek Wine Cellars, founded in 1982 in Spokane Valley, debuted Conway’s newest cookbook during this year’s Holiday Wine Festival. I recently made the book’s Roasted Beet Salad with Tarragon Vinaigrette for a holiday dinner, where it went over well. I wanted to emphasize the fresh herbs, so I doubled the amount of tarragon and included whole leaves of the fresh herb. For extra color, texture and flavor, I topped the salad with goat cheese crumbles.