The Apple Lover's Cookbook Signing and Sampling

Local Brookline author, Amy Traverso, signed copies of her book and gave samples to customers of Brookline Booksmith.

Brookline Booksmith hosted author Amy Traverso on Saturday, as she signed copies of her first book, "The Apple Lover's Cookbook." Traverso, who is a Brookline local, also treated patrons to samples from her book including apple butter and apple streusel coffee cake. Traverso spent four years working on her cookbook, which included extensive research on apple varieties and recipe building. "The Apple Lover's Cookbook" was released in September.

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Support Your Favorite Small Business With a Patch Shout-Out

As today is Small Business Saturday, you can help drive feet—and wallets—to your favorite independent business through Brookline Patch!

You might be the type who finds sleeping on a freezing sidewalk for the best Black Friday deals exciting. Or perhaps you've already started working out your mouse-clicking finger for Cyber Monday. But if neither scenario appeals to you, there is an alternative: Small Business Saturday. Small Business Saturday, conceived by American Express to help spotlight the efforts of local small businesses, comes at the beginning of the big holiday shopping sprint—Today—and encourages shoppers not to bypass Main Street (or Harvard Street) for the Atrium Mall, the Mall at Chestnut Hill. Brookline Patch would love to hear which small businesses you can't live without in Brookline. Tell us in the comments section of this article which independently owned…

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Bites Nearby

Stoli Bar and Restaurant: From Russia, With Love

Brookline Village restaurant offers an authentic Russian dining experience, complete with accordion

I still remember my first Russian meal in Brookline; a bunch of us slurping down bowls of borscht over lace tablecloths, while a fellow diner warbled Tchaikovsky over the tinny notes of an upright piano in the corner. That place has since closed, and Stoli Bar and Restaurant is decidedly more posh than that restaurant of my memories. Stoli is a tiny place, with red leather booths and a TV looping rap performances over a bar that’s well-stocked with vodka. The housemade infused vodkas at Stoli, like black currant, cranberry, and mint, are smooth, juicy, and perfect for sipping. We loved the honey vodka, which was soft and sweet, but I’ve also heard that the horseradish vodka makes a killer bloody mary. Start with an appetizer like Samsa ($7…

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Secrets of a Professional Christmas Tree Decorator

Tips for making your tree the best it can be this holiday season.

Rule No. 1 for decorating a Christmas tree: Anything goes. Sandy Baldwin has served as the Christmas buyer at Russell's Garden Center in Wayland for the past 17 years. Understandably, she knows a thing or two about decking the halls. "The biggest mistake is biting off more than you can chew," Baldwin said. She doesn't believe that a room with a cathedral ceiling must have a cathedral-ceiling height tree. If a 6-foot tree is all you're willing to decorate, Baldwin said, than a 6-foot tree is the right height for you. Here are some additional tips when it comes to decorating your own tree. Keep in mind, these are general rules of thumb. It's really all about what you like, Baldwin said. Lighting - Estimate using 100 lights per linear foot. …

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New England Mobile Book Fair Announces New Ownership

Tom Lyons, a Brookline resident, will "continue the legacy" at the Book Fair.

One year after the iconic Needham Street Book Store revealed it was looking for a new owner, the New England Mobile Book Fair announced today it has found someone to "continue the legacy." According to a press release issued Tuesday morning, Brookline resident Tom Lyons has "realized a dream" and purchased the Book Fair from the Strymish family, who has owned the store since it first opened 54 years ago. Lyons, a longtime Book Fair patron, has worked in the insurance industry and as an independent management consultant. With his background, Lyons will be able to handle the large retail operation while focusing on the future, the press release said.  "I want [the Book Fair] to be a cultural center for Newton and the surrounding area. I want…

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Viewfinder

Viewfinder: 1st Light Festival 2011 (VIDEO)

On November 17, Brookline celebrated its 1st Light Festival. Here are some shots of the night and the performance by the Coolidge Corner Community Choir.

For the 1st Light Festival, Brookline stores joined the community in celebrating the upcoming holidays. Organized by the Brookline Economic Development Department, the Light Festival aims at promoted local stores for holiday shopping. At least 60 businesses participated in the festivities. Giveaways, food, and entertainment were provided. The younger participants could also partake in a town-wide scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt officially ends on December 3.

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Bites Nearby

In Brookline, a Visit to the Cook's Illustrated Kitchen

Remember the scientific method from high school? Cook's Illustrated recipes are kind of like that.

Cook's Illustrated magazine founder Christopher Kimball likes to recount an anecdote about one reader who wrote in to complain about a recipe for chicken breasts, only to finally disclose a substitution of shrimp for the chicken. “So of course the recipe didn't work!” Kimball chuckles. As the driving force behind the magazine's characteristic preciseness, Kimball would gladly expound at length upon the reasons why that shrimp substitution failed.  From 1980, when it showed up on the racks in its original form as Cook's Magazine, and later in 1993 when it relaunched as Cook's Illustrated, this test kitchen empire has churned out precise yet approachable recipes, the kind that readers dub 'foolproof.' Remember those high school science …

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Bites Nearby

Super Fusion Cuisine: A Perfect Balance of Quality and Value

Finally, a great sushi restaurant that I can afford, right in Washington Square.

It's not hard to find good sushi in Boston, this oceanfront seafood mecca, this polestar for fishermen and pescatarians alike.  But after dinner, I often find that I spent more than I intended on those perfect little strips of protein, and I still come away hungry.  It's a perpetual balancing act between fresh, good quality sushi and great value. Super Fusion Cuisine has that balancing act figured out.  I've driven past this closet-sized restaurant underneath its gaudy red awning dozens of times, wondering with every pass what the appeal could be.  Is it bigger inside than it looks?  What could set this place apart from the many sushi places in Brookine?  And what exactly is “super fusion” sushi, anyway? The answer to the first question is…

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Top Ten Movies

Brookline's Top Ten Movies: Oct 31 - November 6

The top ten movies rented from Brookline MovieWorks in the last week. What was your favorite flick this week?

Wondering what's out and what's hot in movies this week? Here are the top ten great flicks Brookline's rented from MovieWorks in the last week. New with a bullet: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II Staff Pick: Tabloid: Erroll Morris (Fog of War) directs this documentary about Joyce McKinney, who either rescued/romanced or kidnapped/raped her love interest, a Mormon missionary. Like other great documentaries (Crumb, Marwencol) that explore the fine lines dividing sane/insane and socially acceptable/unacceptable  behaviors. New this wk: Harry Potter & Deathly Hallows Pt 2 (on Nov. 11).

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Boston Magazine Names La Morra A Best Restaurant

Boston Magazine's top 50 eateries includes Brookline favorite La Morra.

The following is a press release from Boston Magazine:  A Brookline restaurant has made it in to Boston Magazine’s respected list of best eateries in Boston in their November issue. Boston magazine’s expert staff visited hundreds of restaurants in and around Boston to present readers with the a list of the absolute best restaurants the Boston area has to offer, be it high-end, casual, veteran or upstart dining. Brookline’s own La Morra was included in this year’s list. For reliable Italian in welcoming digs, head here. Chef Josh Ziskin’s in the back; his wife, Jen, is out front. And the homemade tagliatelle on your plate will be gone before you know it.  For more than a half-million monthly readers, Boston magazine is the voice that …

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