Julie speaks
Julie Powell, author of “Julie & Julia,” will sign her new book, “Cleaving: A Story of Meat, Marriage and Obsession,” at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Tattered Cover LoDo, 1628 16th St. Visit for info.
Stocking issues, solved
Fifty bucks gets you a stack of 52 $10 gift cards to some of Denver’s best restaurants. The cards are good anytime in 2010 (except during Denver Restaurant Week), and proceeds go to Food Bank of the Rockies and the Denver Independent Network of Restaurants (DINR). Bonus: Deck fits beautifully into a food-lover’s stocking. Visit for more info.
Gluten-free pear crisp
I was delighted to see a recipe in your section (from “The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook,” by Elana Amsterdam) made with gluten-free ingredients. I immediately saw that the recipe called for vanilla extract without calling for gluten-free vanilla extract (generally an alcohol-free version). While some people believe that gluten does not make it into the final version of grain alcohol (or vinegar), many people with gluten intolerance are advised to completely avoid grain alcohol. Kelly Sales
