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Pair of authors mix it up for home bartenders By Kim Davaz There is something innately festive about drinking sparkling wine. Maybe it’s the special glasses or those marvelous bubbles, but just looking at the bottle says special occasion. That occasion might be a graduation, a marriage proposal or wedding, the birth of a child or an I’m-so-glad-you’re-here moment, but sparkling wine also is nice on ordinary days. In “The Bubbly Bar: Champagne and Sparkling Wine Cocktails for Every Occasion,” Maria Hunt explains that true Champagne can come only from the Champagne region of France. Everything else is sparkling wine. All…

British baker contends bread should be made at home By Kim Davaz Bread. It’s a basic food that is at home at any meal. British master baker Andrew Whitley wants it to be on your table, made by your own hands, as often as possible. With this in mind, Whitley has written “Bread Matters: The State of Modern Bread and a Definitive Guide to Baking Your Own.” Full of tables and lists and schedules, this is a cookbook to make daily bread baking a reasonable possibility. Whitley’s opinion of modern bread is not high: He despairs of the sad loaves most…

Christine and Bingham’s wedding reception featured a surprise musical treat.

We buried Stella under a Magnolia stellata tree in the backyard, on the first day of the new year.

Nigella makes any size celebration spectacular Holiday cookbook covers dinner for two or a feast for the entire extended family By Kim Davaz “Nigella Christmas” by Nigella Lawson is a celebration between two covers, with everything necessary, kitchen-wise, for a spectacular Christmas. I should backtrack: While you can make a spectacular Christmas feast à la Lawson, she by no means limits your holiday festivities to the top of the “wow” meter. There is just as much attention paid to a quiet little dinner or brunch and cozy drinks as there is to the break-the-bank, 8 1/2 -pound standing rib roast beef…