Like many, we support artisans of all types, never more so than this year and for the holidays.

Here are some items on our radar right now, call these Priscilla’s picks:

Narragansett Creamery

Narragansett Creamery is a new discovery for me. It makes a silky ricotta to which I an now addicted.  Cannoli bakers take note.

Finding Home Farms Barrel-Aged Maple Syrup

Last year, a colleague introduced me to Finding Home Farms’ New York State maple syrup.  What delicious syrup with the rich undertones of the rye barrels in which it was aged. I bought it for all of our friends. In September, their Rye Barrel Aged Maple Syrup won the SOFI award presented by the Specialty Food Association, the Oscars of fine foods. Bet someone in your family would welcome this as a gift.

Divina Cucina Tuscan Cooking Classes for the Armchair Traveler

For more than 30 years, Judy Witts Francini has lived and worked in Tuscany. Her market tours in Florence are legendary. With no tourists, Judy has shifted to online teaching. She offers online cooking classes of the kind of earthy Tuscan cooking you’d find when traveling with her in and around Florence, Sienna and the Tuscan Hills. I took a class on Tuscan lasagna last month. (You can see Judy in a screenshot below.) The addition of warm spices more associated with baking than savories created an unmistakable flavor in her Tuscan ragú. I’ll be back for more.

Nose Dive by Harold McGee

Harold McGee has explained food science to millions of people, professionals and amateurs alike.  (His On Science and Cooking is a must-read and a classic.) Finally he’s turned his attention to my beat, flavor.  In his latest, Nose Dive, he explores the human sense of smell. Since eighty percent of our perception of flavor comes from smell, you know his work will be tasty.