THE WORLD THROUGH A LENS
Cultivating Olives on the Slopes of Mount Etna
For millenniums, farmers and vintners in northeastern Sicily have benefited from the area’s mineral-rich soil, a result of volcanic eruptions.
By MARTA GIACCONE

The Best Cookbooks of 2021
A deep dive into the world of grains, a collection of new cookie classics, unforgettable recipes from Shanghai and more, as tested by New York Cooking and the Food desk.
By THE NEW YORK TIMES

EAT
What Stone Soup Means to a Seasoned Chef
For Gabrielle Hamilton’s final Eat column, she considers what it takes to feed a village.
By GABRIELLE HAMILTON

A GOOD APPETITE
This Whole Duck Recipe Is Perfectly Imperfect
Roasting a duck isn’t much harder than preparing a chicken, and makes for a festive holiday meal.

A golden-skinned roasted duck is an impressive main course for a special meal.
By Melissa Clark

FRONT BURNER
Seasoned Cheddars That Turn Heads
Beehive Cheese from Utah cleaned up at the 2021 World Cheese Awards with subtly seasoned Cheddars.

Beehive Cheeses, $15.99 to $19.49 for 12 ounces, beehivecheese.com.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

FRONT BURNER
This Delicious Graphic Novel Gets to the Heart of Desserts
With a food sprite as its guide, “Yummy” by Victoria Grace Elliott tells the histories behind some of the world’s best treats.

“Yummy: A History of Desserts” by Victoria Grace Elliott (Random House Graphic, $19.99)
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

12 Easy, One-Bowl Cookies for a Simply Sweet Season
If you have a hankering for a treat, but don’t have time for the cleanup, these recipes are for you.

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Salted pistachio shortbread from Alison Roman.
By Margaux Laskey

Mikio Shinagawa, Who Ran a Fashionable SoHo Haunt, Dies at 66
His earthy Japanese restaurant, Omen, became a downtown canteen for well-known patrons like Patti Smith, Yoko Ono and Richard Gere.

Mikio Shinagawa in an undated photo outside his SoHo restaurant, Omen. As fashionable haunts in New York go, it was an unlikely candidate.
By ALEX VADUKUL