Lorie Hutson

Betty Jo Angell of Sandpoint wrote to us asking for a recipe for pull-aparts. This gooey bread is a tradition in many homes and a sure crowd-pleaser when served warm. It is often called Monkey Bread. Kids can help shake the bread pieces in sugar and cinnamon and layer them in the pan.

Long before the family started Arbor Crest Wine Cellars, Mielkes had been dreaming for years about grapevines in the Spokane Valley. "My grandfather was a farmer and he had a lot of cherry orchards … but he had a passion for grapes, vineyards," says Kristina Mielke-van Löben Sels, Arbor Crest winemaker. "Cleaning out a lot of stuff here I found some correspondence he had with UC Davis asking, 'Can we grow grapes here?' That was in the '40s."

We all have them: Bottles of wine that we're saving for a special occasion. Sometimes it's the bottle given to us as a wedding gift, or discovered during a trip to Europe. It's the bottle we paid too much for and simply can't open for anything less than a momentous event. And yet, no occasion seems special enough to warrant cracking it open. It's the reason Wall Street Journal Tastings column writers Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher started Open That Bottle Night.

If you need to reinvigorate those healthy eating goals you made for the new year, you might try the new "Healthy in a Hurry," cookbook from the editors of EatingWell magazine. The book focuses on fresh, wholesome meals that can be on the table in 45 minutes or less. There are 150 recipes in the book, along with cheat sheets for sauces, sides and desserts in a hurry, a guide to quick cooking 20 vegetables, a grain cooking time table and handy ingredient and pantry notes.

Normally, any offering from Tillamook might have the food panel tasters asking for more. The ice cream, butter, cheese, yogurt and sour cream from the farmer-owned Oregon cooperative have always been known for their creamy goodness. But Tillamook's latest offering left The Spokesman-Review reader food panel disappointed. Almost everyone who tasted the new yogurt smoothies thought they were chalky.

One of the delights of dining at Luna has always been its fresh-baked bread. That delicious tradition is now Bouzies Bakery. Owners Marcia and William Bond have converted a home next to Luna on South Perry into a bakery. They had to remove a wall to make way for the four-deck French steam oven, and recently began selling the artisan breads at local stores.

First Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross showed us how to get out of the kitchen fast with "Desperation Dinners!" and "Desperation Entertaining!" Now, they've got some great ideas for eating delicious dinners at home and saving some dough in the process. They help you plan better, throw away less food, eat well and save money to boot.

Dear Cook's Notebook: I inadvertently discarded my copy of the paper that included Clinkerdagger's recipe for a green pea salad. It is my sister's favorite, and her birthday is coming up soon. Could you please send me a copy of it? Madelyn, of Spokane Dear Madelyn: We've probably missed your sister's birthday, but here's the recipe for the popular salad from Clinkerdagger nonetheless.

Dede Wilson knows a thing or two about sweets. She's the author of cookbooks on Christmas cookies and wedding cakes and a contributing editor to Bon Appetit (to name a few). Novice candymakers will find this book especially handy. The 75 recipes are arranged by holiday and there's a luscious photo with each candy. "Field notes" let you know if it's kid-friendly, quick-to-fix and whether it stores well. Surprise your sweetheart with the elegant Liqueur-Enhanced Chocolate Truffles from the book. If you don't have a sweetheart, make them for yourself. The recipe is inside today's Food section.

It looks like sugar, tastes like sugar and even cooks like sugar. If you look at it under a microscope, it's hard to tell it's not the sweet stuff itself. Tagatose, sold under the brand name Naturlose, has just a third of the calories of sugar, doesn't decay teeth and is safe for diabetics. And unlike most sugar substitutes, it's a natural product.

First she tackled everyday Thai cuisine, now cooking teacher Nancie McDermott is bringing Vietnamese cuisine to home cooks. If you're new to the cuisine you'll love her glossary and pantry notes. The first dish I'm making is the Lemongrass Beef (Bo Nuong X). No, wait ... make that Chicken Simmered in Caramel Sauce (Thit Ga Kho Gung). Look inside today's section for the recipe.

Dear Cook's Notebook: My husband is a chocolate lover. He loves Costco's chocolate muffins. I would like to make my own. Can you help? – Betty, Worley, Idaho Dear Betty: We love chocolate at our house, too. So, we gladly set to work testing recipes for your request.

There's good cookie news for diabetics. Pepperidge Farm is baking sugar-free versions of its beloved Milano cookie and most people on The Spokesman-Review's reader food panel liked the no-sugar version of Milano and Mint Milano cookies as well as they liked the originals.

Planning to scarf down a few hot wings at a Super Bowl party on Sunday? You'll have to put away quite a few to top Terri "Two Dozen" Rushfeldt who will be defending his wing-eating title at the Northern Quest Casino.

Martha Stewart shops in Spokane. OK, it wasn't Martha herself – it was an editor for her magazine Martha Stewart Living and they were shopping online – but the owners of a local baking Web site were still thrilled when they could supply the Ateco pastry tip they were looking for at www.ultimatebaker.com, says Douglas Rose, co-owner of the business. Martha Stewart editors used the large petal shaped tip (Ateco #180, which sells for $3.74) to put ribbons of white chocolate mousse atop the Poppy Seed Grapefruit Torte in December's issue of the magazine. They gave the Web site a small mention in the process. Look inside today's Food section for the recipe.

Grab a morning cup of Joe around here and, chances are, the beans for your drink came out of a roaster fired by electricity or natural gas. Not at On Sacred Grounds. Most of the coffees served at this little shop in the Steam Plant Square in downtown Spokane are two days out of a wood-fired roaster. Owner Elaine Rising sells drinks infused with shots of Wood-Fire Roasted Coffees made by former Spokanite Tim Curry.

Here's a last-minute gift idea for cooks that will help others, too. The Second Harvest Food Bank is offering a holiday special for its new book of recipes, "Our Cookbook." For $100, you can buy seven copies of the book – give six to your friends, family or colleagues and keep one for yourself.

Chocolate has always been my drug of choice. Now, there's a local shop designed for people with the same… uh, affliction. The Chocolate Apothecary, which opened yesterday in the Flour Mill, is designed to be a place for someone to go and just experience chocolate. Owner Susan Davis has collected chocolates from around the world to serve and sell. Davis was studying pharmacy at Eastern Washington University when the idea for the store came into focus.

The turkey is thawed and the fridge is packed with the rest of your Thanksgiving dinner but how do you juggle everything that is going to need oven time before this feast is finished. Safeway grocery stores and Sunset magazine kitchens have a solution … their exclusive 2-hour turkey.

If you're looking for a local wine to serve with your holiday dinners or you just need a good excuse to check out the wineries in Spokane, consider this your invitation. Friday, Saturday and Sunday the 10wineries in and around Spokane will open their doors from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the annual Holiday Wine Fest. Sip the wares of local winemakers and get a jump on holiday shopping.

Take your coffee break Friday with tradition. For just $3 you can enjoy a kaffe stua, a traditional Scandinavian coffee hour at the Central Lutheran Church. Waiters and waitresses in old-fashioned dress will serve coffee and five scrumptious Scandinavian treats from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Local frozen pizza maker A.C. LaRocco is getting some more love. Dr. Stephen Pratt, author of "SuperFoods Rx: Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life," has selected the whole-wheat crust, organic vegetarian pizzas to be the only frozen pies to carry his SuperFoods logo.