10 Questions for Christine Muhlke

We asked one of our coolest friends who always has the best intel to share some tips for gifting, guesting, and Paris during the holidays.

I’ve known Christine, a fellow magazine-world refugee (Paper, T, Bon Appétit, to name a few), for a long time. She has always been that person who has a knack for finding the coolest… everything, before anyone else. When she rebooted her newsletter, xtine, in the fall, I knew we had to do something with her. And since she’s an authority in so many aspects of the entertaining/food/wine/travel/design worlds (she also co-wrote the book Wine Simple with renowned sommelier, Aldo Sohm), it seemed a good time to pick her brain on these topics, particularly as they pertain to the holidays. I hope you’ll do what I did and subscribe to her brilliant newsletter, which has the kind of intel that will make you feel like you’re deep in the IYKYK club. —Yolanda

A non-domestic sparkling wine that tastes/looks expensive, but isn’t? You can’t go wrong with a crémant: It’s essentially made in the same method as Champagne, it’s just not made in the Champagne region (or with the same grapes). Bottles are well under $40. I love them from the Jura, Alsace, Loire and Bourgogne regions. Try the Tissot crémant du Jura, Bruno Dangin crémant de Bourgogne or Domaine Barnes Buecher crémant d’Alsace.

You’re a guest at someone’s house—favorite easy cocktail recipe when you want to pitch in? Who doesn’t love a Champagne cocktail? Just put 4 to 6 drops of Angostura bitters on a sugar cube, drop it into a flute of sparkling wine or Champagne and, if you’d like, add a thin lemon twist. Or…

La Caravelle, RIP, used to serve the most dangerously delicious Champagne cocktail. My most memorable parties have started with these. As its creator says in this NYT article, you can never have two of them:

ALBERTO NO. 1

Adapted from Adalberto Alonso, La Caravelle. (Recipe from The New York Times.)

Juice of 1 lime
2 ounces vodka
10 mint leaves, rinsed
1 1/2 teaspoons extra-fine bar sugar
Champagne
Mint sprig for garnish

In a cocktail shaker, combine lime juice and vodka. Add mint leaves, and crush with a spoon. Add the sugar and a little ice. Shake vigorously, and pour into a tall stemmed glass. Add Champagne to fill. Garnish with a mint sprig if desired.

Yield: 1 drink.

Favorite transporting tea from faraway lands? Fortnum & Mason makes a smoky Earl Grey—think lapsang souchong crossed with Earl Grey—that I’m addicted to. You can only get it in the UK, so I’m always begging friends visiting from London or going out of my way to Soho to buy it during quick trips. Thankfully, you can now buy huge bags of it in the St. Pancras Station mall. In Kyoto, the matcha from Ryuoen is a deep cut.

Best gift for the know-it-all, well-equipped cook (but make it foreign!): A Japanese ginger grater, ideally a monogrammed copper one from Aritsugu in Kyoto.

Go-to host gift if you’re spending the weekend over the holidays? A polenta Pullman loaf from She Wolf Bakery (slice and freeze!), an improbably large chunk of Parmesan from Di Palo’s and a chestnut brioche from Lysée. Oh, and a bottle of crémant!

You want to send something that shows you’re thinking about them, but not a box of unseasonal fruit. Suggestions? If you’re springing for international shipping, a selection of praliné chocolates, almond dragées and chocolate bars from Alain Ducasse Chocolat would say it all. In the States, I love to send citrus from Friends Ranches, exceptional dates from Flying Disc Ranch, a gift basket from Gustiamo or a jerry can of olive oil from the unglamorously named Olive Oil Lovers. Oh, and a Rancho Gordo Bean Club subscription is truly the gift that keeps giving. (More below.)

If you were to spend the holidays in Paris…what reservations would you make? Paris for the holidays can be tricky, since so many places close between Christmas and New Year’s. I would aim for a classic long lunch at Chez Georges, a casually festive dinner with friends at La Poule au Pot or Soces, a tasting menu—maybe with the caviar supplement??—at Le Cheval d’Or and restorative udon at Kunitoraya. If my son was with me, I’d impress him with the dining room at Le Train Bleu in the Gare de Lyon. And if someone were treating me to a three-star restaurant, I would kill to try L’Ambroisie before chef Bernard Pacaud retires. A friend gave me his memoir, which is so inspiring. Or L’Arpège before Alain Passard gets cancelled… And then there’s one incredibly special, secret place that’s only open by reservation. It’s not in the Paris guide on my Substack, but founding members, who get one custom city itinerary per year, will get the number if I think they’ll appreciate its delightful strangeness.

Globally inspired holiday dish/tradition you swear by? Just before the pandemic, Ali Slagle gifted me a Rancho Gordo Bean Club subscription for Christmas. (Truly the best gift ever.) The first shipment contained cassoulet beans, so I ordered a cassoulet kit from D’Artagnan and served it for a black hole-themed New Year’s Eve party. I’ve been making it ever since.

Cookbook you’re giving this year, and one you hope you get? Sift: The Elements of Great Baking by the British pastry chef Nicola Lamb is a rare baking book that is deeply instructive—the scientific hows and whys of baking—as well as seductive and approachable. Those Earl Grey scones! I’m also giving The Four Horsemen, Richard Hart Bread and Ottolenghi Comfort. I’m really spoiled when it comes to new cookbooks, since I review them, but I would love a copy of Christmas Memories with Recipes, featuring Edna Lewis, Jacques Pépin, Julia Child, Craig Claiborne, Betty Fussell and more legends.

Favorite thing in your home you dragged back from overseas? Oof! So hard. I’ll stick to things I use every day: porcelain teacups from Yumiko Iihoshi in Tokyo and an insane matcha bowl from Robert Yellin Yakimono Gallery—always my first stop in Kyoto.