Food & Wine February 2022

2017 COLLI DI LAPIO ROMANO CLELIA VIGNA ANDREA TAURASI ($45) Need a red to tame any kind of winter stew? Taurasi, from Italy’s Campania region, is made with the powerful Aglianico grape. Too often, the wines are overwhelmingly tannic; this one, though, is perfectly balanced, its gamy intensity playing against gorgeous, dark plum fruit. 2020 TIEFENBRUNNER PINOT GRIGIO ($19) A breath of springtime in the middle of winter, this vivacious white from northern Italy has a pretty nose of spiced pears and mint and more substance than you often find in Pinot Grigios at this price. It will make you forget that it’s still frozen outside; it would be excellent with a similarly springy green salad. 2019 BLACK STALLION NAPA VALLEY CABERNET SAUVIGNON ($28) I tasted this on a recent trip to Napa Valley with…

Home Team HOW HAS YOUR IDEA OF HOME changed in the past two years? For me, home will continue to double as my part-time office, one with the fringe benefit of a well-stocked snack drawer. For my daughters, junior Siskel and Ebert for the Netflix Kids set, home is a movie theater several nights a week, one equipped with a wood-burning fireplace. In this annual Home Issue, we tackle the evolving meanings of home now that winter is upon us. For the Mahendro family, the restaurateurs behind Badmaash, a modern Indian concept in Los Angeles, the lines between home and work blur. As Restaurant Editor Khushbu Shah reports, the Mahendros, who operate three restaurants and a catering kitchen in Los Angeles, make cooking together in their off hours a priority. That’s when, away…

DRIED FLOWER ARRANGEMENTS, a big decor trend of the 1970s that quietly petered out into bowls of potpourri, have made a colorful comeback across homes, weddings, and events in a movement that’s both beautiful and sustainable. For florists across the country, preserved arrangements of pampas grass, eucalyptus, and safflowers are a different way to delight customers who already trust their talent for sourcing the best fresh blooms—while maximizing the use of each flower. “We find that we can get all of the textures and colors of fresh flowers without the heartbreak of having to throw them out in a week or two,” says Carla Wingett, who owns California-based Idlewild Floral with her husband, Michael. They began experimenting with drying flowers in 2020, during the early months of the pandemic, when…

GROWING UP IN A TURKISH HOUSEHOLD, my days were naturally punctuated by having a cup of tea, whether I was concluding a hastily enjoyed breakfast before school or a never-ending family dinner. I can hardly contain my excitement, then, about discovering these offerings from first-generation Americans whose families hail from the tea-treasuring countries of India, Japan, China, Vietnam, and beyond. Each has turned their beloved cultural rituals into beautifully branded direct-to-consumer businesses. —OSET BABÜR-WINTER ALAYA TEA “Back in 2016, I had the opportunity to visit tea estates in Darjeeling,” says Alaya Tea cofounder Esha Chhabra, who was born in Delhi. “These growers are going through a lot with the changing rain patterns.” She and her cofounder, Smita Satiani, source their offerings from women in Darjeeling, who hand-roll the leaves. (alayatea.co) US TWO TEA From stress-relieving…

CHEF AND RESTAURATEUR Camilla Marcus and her husband, Josh Siegel, have been collecting menus together since they were in college. The collection has grown throughout the years and is now displayed in their Los Angeles home. “For us, it’s the perfect encapsulation of food experiences, memories, travel, and people that we love, all in one place,” Marcus says. The menu that started it all is from Dell’anima in New York City—Marcus’ first restaurant job. A recent addition is from Bell’s in Los Alamos, California, where the couple traveled in February 2020. Everything in between reflects Marcus and Siegel’s shared passion for food and restaurants. “People spend so much time and effort crafting how a menu is going to look and what it’s going to communicate to the guest. I think…

GROWING UP IN CAMEROON, chef Carine Ottou and her family did most of their cooking outside. Though she’s adapted to a European lifestyle over years of moving around the continent, she still prefers to make her food while immersed in greenery—even in her London home. When Ottou’s culinary businesses (including a global cuisine supper club, pickling workshops, and a line of sauces called Marie’s Little Jar) outgrew the cramped kitchen in her Victorian terrace house, she knew its renovation would have to include an open-air cook space seamlessly connected to the interior. “I wanted people to be able to see me cook. I wanted to be able to talk to them about what I’m doing and really make that essential to the experience,” she says. Ottou’s vision featured an earthy color palette…