This past summer, the folks behind the famous Fleisher’s butchery and school in upstate New York, released their first cookbook. Their book is chock full of tips, recipes and beautiful photos for selecting, preparing and cooking beef, lamb, poultry and more. We love this book!

Our pick for the best cookbook of the year is the beautiful Eleven Madison Park book. Eleven Madison Park is one of New York City’s most popular fine-dining establishments, and one of only a handful to receive four stars from the New York Times. Under the leadership of Executive Chef Daniel Humm and General Manager Will Guidara since 2006, the restaurant has soared to new heights and has become one of the premier dining destinations in the world. This book is the epitome of fine dining and food porn – it’s a beauty!

Located in a working-class neighborhood of Montreal, Joe Beef is at the center of Montreal’s growing reputation as a culinary destination. Often referred to as the Paris of North America, Montreal is the second-largest French-speaking city in the world, and like France, food is at the heart of its identity.

In The Art of Living According to Joe Beef, co-owners/chefs Frédéric Morin and David McMillan, along with writer and former Joe Beef staff member Meredith Erickson, present 135 unforgettable recipes showcasing Joe Beef’s unconventional approach to French market cuisine. Advocating the use of ingredients from local or family-owned producers whenever possible, this collection of hearty dishes delivers. The Strip Loin Steak comes complete with ten variations, Kale for a Hangover wisely advises the cook to eat and then go to bed, and the Marjolaine includes tips for welding your own cake mold. Joe Beef’s most popular dishes are also represented, such as Spaghetti Homard-Lobster, Foie Gras Breakfast Sandwich, Pork Fish Sticks, and Pojarsky de Veau (a big, moist meatball served on a bone). The coup de grâce is the Smorgasbord—Joe Beef’s version of a Scandinavian open-faced sandwich—with thirty different toppings.

This cookbook (of sorts) is packed with personal stories, Fred’s favorite train trips, Dave’s ode to French Burgundy, instructions for building a backyard smoker and making absinthe, a Montreal travel guide, and beaucoup plus. With nearly every recipe photographed in exquisite detail, this nostalgic yet utterly modern cookbook is a groundbreaking guide to living an outstanding culinary life.

Edited by Brooklyn Brewery’s brewmaster, Garrett Oliver, this massive book is perfect for anyone who loves beer. The first major reference work to investigate the history and vast scope of beer, The Oxford Companion to Beer features more than 1,100 A-Z entries written by 166 of the world’s most prominent beer experts. Attractively illustrated with over 140 images, the book covers everything from the agricultural makeup of various beers to the technical elements of the brewing process, local effects of brewing on regions around the world, and the social and political implications of sharing a beer. Entries not only define terms such as “dry hopping” and “cask conditioning” but give fascinating details about how these and other techniques affect a beer’s taste, texture, and popularity. Cultural entries shed light on such topics as pub games, food pairings and the development of beer styles. Readers will enjoy vivid accounts of how our drinking traditions have changed throughout history, and how these traditions vary in different parts of the world, from Japan to Mexico, New Zealand, and Brazil, among many other countries. The pioneers of beer-making are the subjects of biographical entries, and the legacies these pioneers have left behind, in the form of the world’s most popular beers and breweries, are recurrent themes throughout the book.

This killer non-stick heart pan will be an awesome addition to your kitchen – for Valentines Day and beyond! It measures 8″, but also comes in a mini version, too.

If you want to get your drink on and be sexy while doing so, grab champagne coupes! Legend has it the unique shape was molded after Marie Antoinettes breasts – pretty racy, no? Regardless, they are one of our all-time favorites here at Whisk.

Want to seduce a cocktail geek? Try these! Aphrodite Bitters are a unique, hand-crafted cocktail ingredient which take their name from the Greek goddess of sexuality and love. Aphrodisiacs are substances that are alleged to increase sexual desire and like many traditional bitters the botanicals selected for this bottling have been chosen for their alleged medicinal qualities, in this case as an aphrodisiac. The finest chocolate, cocoa nibs, ginger root, red chili, Arabica coffee and ginseng are compounded to create a complex flavor profile with each botanical playing off and enhancing one another.

Look at this saucy apron! We bet it would look extra awesome with a pair of heels (and maybe some fishnet thigh highs?)Screw restaurant reservations – cook dinner! And wear this. Seriously, wear this.

If you’re making a special sweet for your special sweet this year, check out our recipe of the week – Rosewater Creme Brulee! Oooh, it’s good. It’s REALLY good. Who needs flowers when there’s dessert?

Why not throw a fiesta this Sunday? Tacos, nachos, empanadas and frozen margaritas! This blender, by KitchenAid, makes blending cocktails quick work. It offers a  generous 56 ounce capacity pitcher which keeps crowds of thirsty fans happy!

It comes in Giants blue? Patriots Blue? and other colors, as well!

Are you making a big pot of chili for the hungry masses? This  slow cooker by Calphalon is the perfect receiver for your homemade chili or hot dips! Featuring a 4 or 8 quart capacity and a digital display, with a stainless steel body, this is hotter than Tom Brady’s wife.

Hot

hotter!

What goes better with football than beer? They’re a duet made in heaven, like peanut butter & jelly, or Hall and Oates! Sip your brews out of these 20 ounce big boy beer mugs by Anchor Hocking and you’ll be cheering at, well, anything.

Mmm.

Lastly, as you may or may not know, we have a crush on everything about our neighbors on  Bedford Avenue, The Meatball Shop. From cracking you up on Chelsea Lately, to modeling for J. Crew, these guys can do it all – and make delicious balls to boot! Their famous Buffalo Chicken Balls are making an appearance on our table this Sunday, and trust us – they are delicious! Click here for the recipe!

These balls are delicious!

And, just because it’s sooo funny and we are a NY store …

Tom Brady Crying!

WAAAAAH.

Instead of mourning our loss though, we’re going to celebrate BaconMarmalade. Please join us at Whisk this Wednesday, January 25th from 6-8PM for the final BaconMarmalade offering. Ross and Joanna will be here partying, so you can thank them in person for the blessed gift of BaconMarmalade. We’ll have the very last jars available for sale in addition to BaconMarmalade cupcakes! And – one last treat!- there will be a VERY limited number of jars of the famous and elusive SPICY BaconMarmalade for sale! You might have tried it on one of our favorite pizzas over at Paulie Gee’s in Greenpoint. It’s sooooo good. This is the last of  BaconMarmalade for us, or anyone else, so stock up!

We hope to see you out that night – it will be a blast. Finally, Ross & Joanna – Thank you!! We’ll miss you (and your little dog, too!) and wish you all the best. We love you. Adios, Amigos!

If you have no clue what BaconMarmalade is, check out this killer video by another dear friend, Miss Liza DeGuia of Food:Curated!

We will be opening on Broadway and 22nd street, in Manhattan, at 933 Broadway, in the former home of Gordon Novelty. Look how cool of a space it is!

We will have a bit more space in the new store than we have here in Williamsburg, so you know we’re going to work some Whisk magic in there! We’re hoping to add some heft to our bar and baking selections, in addition to bringing in more of the stuff you love.

We’re really excited for this new opportunity and we are grateful for all of our customers over the past 3 years for making this possible. We really appreciate and love all the support and love you’ve showed us. We love you. And, Williamsburgers – don’t fret – we’ll be staying put on Bedford Avenue for a long, long, long time.

If you are interested in job opportunties at our Whisk Flatiron location, please send us a resume at jobs@whisknyc.com.

We’re feeling a bit Jessie Spano over this … but we’re so excited! We hope you are, too.

We’re big fans of partying and drinking here at whisk (shock!) so you can bet we’re stocked up on everything you need to party like a rockstar. Shot glasses, champagne flutes & coupes, wine glasses, cocktail napkins, cocktail shakers, drink umbrellas – we got ‘em!

We will be closing at 6PM on December 31, taking the day off on  January 1, and we’ll be back at cha’ on January 2 from 10AM-8PM.

Go get your party on. We’ve got lots of exciting things in the works for 2012 so stay tuned!

I can't even deal with all the awesome.

We’ve got you covered with our holiday hours this year!

Saturday December 17, 10AM-9PM

Sunday December 18, 10AM-8PM

Thursday December 22 & Friday December 23, 10AM-9PM

Saturday December 24, 10AM-6PM

Sunday December 25 & Monday December 26 – CLOSED!

Saturday December 31, 10AM-6PM

Sunday January 1 – CLOSED!

actual photo of a whisk staff member with drunk santa - 1982

Tomorrow, December 3, from 6-8, we’re having an awesome event to close out our Fall Author Series. Brad Thomas Parsons, the author of Bitters: A Spirited History will be here signing discounted copies of his book. Additionally, so you can taste what’s happening right here in our neighborhood, we have Brooklyn Hemispherical Bitters doing a tasting of their handcrafted small-batch bitters. Finally, because you can’t have bitters without cocktails, Sother Teague, cocktail genius, will be here making cocktails with bitters!

The event is totally free, as usual, and is sure to be a blast. Come taste and learn about the latest cocktail trend and booze it up while holiday shopping!

Do you have what it takes to be one of us? The few, the proud, the whiskers? Well, it’s your lucky day! We are currently looking to hire someone with retail experience, with a culinary interest or background, for a part-time holiday position! Additionally, there is a very good possibility that this can turn into a non-holiday, non-part time position in 2012. If you fit the bill, please send us an email at info@whisknyc.com with a resume and tell us a little bit about yourself and your availability. Also, if you’d like to tell us what ice cream flavor you would be, if you were to be an ice cream flavor, that would be good too.

Merrill Stubbs is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in London. She has written for various publications, including the New York Times’ “T Living,” Edible Brooklyn, Body+Soul, and Culinate.com, and she was the food editor for the Herb Quarterly magazine.

Food52.com features more than 12,000 recipes and receives half a million visitors per month.

This cookbook is the perfect holiday gift for your favorite home cook!