Primer

Aside from the occasional lamb chop, how frequently are you eating lamb? Chances are, not terribly often. While lamb was big in the 1940s and 1950s, it's taken a nosedive thanks to the rise of other animal proteins. Currently, the average American consumes 85 pounds of beef annually; in contrast, Americans eat less than a pound of lamb each year.

Part of this decline, I suspect, is because many home chefs don't feel comfortable working with the meat; at its best, lamb is sweet and tender, with a distinctly exotic flavor, but it can also be ruined when the animal is old and gamey. But working with lamb is easy: all it takes is a simple understanding of seasonality, visual cues, and cuts. Master this, and you're virtually guaranteed to sit down to a succulent meal.

First Things First: What Is Lamb?

Technically, lamb refers to the meat of a sheep that is less than a year old. If you spot the term "hogget," that's the same animal at 1 to 2 years of age; anything older than this, and it's mutton. Unless you're a fan of a much stronger flavor, choose lamb, as sheep develop a gamier flavor as they age.

More — including the best season to buy lamb, what to look for, and popular cuts — when you read on.

We may start our morning off with a fermented kombucha drink, but back in the Middle Ages, the main source of hydration was ale. That's right: beer! Originating from the Old English world ealu, ale has been around for centuries and was a necessity during the Middle Ages, since the risks for contaminated water were great and the fermented beverage likely killed any harmful bacteria. While our consumption of ale has diminished greatly since then (as lagers seem to reign supreme in the beer industry), you may find yourself ordering a stout or a Belgian white and wonder, "Hmm, is this a lager or an ale?"

Here's the first and most noticeable way to recognize the difference: the taste and appearance. Compared to lagers, which tend to be crisp, clean-tasting, light-bodied, and served really cold, ale is bitter, fruity, full-bodied, and served only slightly cooler than room temperature. But to make things taste the way they do, it's all in the method of fermentation.

Do you consider yourself a big fan of cheese fondue? Then I'd be willing to bet that if you experienced the beauty that is raclette, you'd be bound to adopt it into your entertaining repertoire. Raclette is both the name of a raw, semisoft, earthy yet mild cow's-milk cheese and a Swiss communal dish that heavily relies on the cheese at hand.

In French, raclette means "to scrape" — fitting, as raclette is traditionally prepared by heating a large wedge of the cheese by the fire, scraping off melted bits as they soften.

Learn more about the art of serving it when you keep reading.

Has Grüner Veltliner's consonant-heavy name put off your interest in enjoying a bottle? Fret no more! Pronounced GROO-nur velt-LEE-ner, this Austrian gem is more than worth the enunciation effort, as is evident on the first sip of the mineral-rich white. Even better, thanks to its relatively limited prominence in the US market it's often a great bargain buy, with quality far surpassing its moderate price tag — many exceptional bottles are in the $15-$25 range. But before you snap up a bottle (or two) to try, let's delve briefly in the nitty-gritty of this superb varietal:

• While Grüner Veltliner is Austria's national grape — and commands the greatest acreage of any grape grown there — it's also grown (in much smaller quantities) in the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, and regions in Washington, Oregon, and California.
• Grüners are known for having a marked sense of terroir, making the region from which they hail a particular point of interest. Much of the crop comes from the rocky terraced river banks of the Danube river in the northern part of Austria, which lends a pronounced mineral note to the wine — something we can certainly get behind.

Keep reading for general tasting notes and our top pick to sip now.

Hearing words like "tannins" and "oxidation" may make you feel like you're back in chemistry class, but they're oh-so important to the wines we enjoy on the regular. Don't let them intimidate you, though — getting familiar with wine's most common terms can be as easy as pouring a glass of red at the end of a long day. Brush up on these words, and you'll be moving past "sweet" and "dry" in no time so that when you go wine tasting again, you'll be the pro with all the insider knowledge.

• Acidity: The bitter or sour flavors that a wine gives off.
• Aeration: The act of exposing wine to oxygen to let it "breathe" and mix with air. This is meant to open up the wine's aromas and soften up the flavor.
• Appellation: A specific geographic region where a wine comes from.

Keep reading for more glossary terms

From margaritas to body shots, tequila has played an unforgettable role in America's drinking history. But let's face it: how much do you really know about this spirit? I'll be the first one to admit: I knew nada.

Thankfully, Ryan Fitzgerald, tequila expert and bar manager at Beretta, led me through a crash course on tequila, complete with flight tastings and all. Two hours later, I felt equipped with all the knowledge I needed to dive right into tequila appreciation. The basics of tequila — where it comes from, the way it's made, and how to taste it — when you read more.

Photo: Camilla Salem

More a blueprint for experimentation than set-in-stone recipe, the classic bloody Mary plays nicely with a vast variety of flavors. Generally speaking, there are three ways to enliven the tried-and-true hangover-buster: swap out a standard ingredient for an exotic (or at least novel) one, add bloody good garnishes, or rim the glass with something unexpected. Just remember, as with any kitchen experiment, make sure to season to taste and use your best judgement when pairing flavors.

Novel Mix-Ins

• Change up the liquor: try vodka infused with jalapeño peppers or cucumbers or leave out the vodka entirely and turn to gin, sake, tequila (for a bloody Maria), or even beer.
• Heat things up: experiment with different hot sauces in lieu of Tabasco, like a homemade batch, Cholula, Frank's RedHot, or sriracha. Alternatively, try wasabi or red pepper flakes instead of horseradish or puree in a bit of kimchi.
• Make it vegan: while we rarely leave out a dash or two worcestershire sauce (it's just that good!), its not exactly vegetarian-friendly. Instead, try Bragg Liquid Aminos or a splash of soy sauce.
• Change the acid: likewise, don't even think of skipping something acidic to balance out the flavors. If you're bored by the standard spritz of lemon, try lime or vinegars like balsamic, sherry, or red wine.
• Add spice: savory spices like Chinese five-spice, garam masala, coriander, celery seed, jerk seasoning, and Old Bay are all solid options.

Keep reading for creative garnish ideas.

Recently, while savoring glass of excellent Champagne, I had a horrible realization that I know nothing about the way Champagne is produced. Sure, I could read the label, pair it with food, and select a decent bottle, but when it came to the hard-core technique that is the methode Champenoise (or methode traditionelle), I knew very little. Naturally, I decided to learn all about it and share the process with you.

1. It begins like any other winemaking procedure: the grapes (Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Chardonnay) are harvested, pressed, and the juice is placed in vats.
2. Next yeast is added. The yeast reacts with the sugar in the grapes, and this produces alcohol. This takes about six months. At this point, the wine is flat. Thus begins the second fermentation process that turns it into bubbly.

Keep reading for the rest of the Champagne-making method.

When it comes to makeup, we're always looking for products that do their job and then some. The latest collaboration between Sephora and Pantone Universe delivers a bevy of beauty products, but we're loving the Illuminating Face Primer ($13). A little bit of the gel-mousse formula turns our face into a perfect, smooth canvas for a flawless makeup application. But it goes a step further: it is light as air and contains illuminating particles to give your skin a healthy, dewy glow. And true to form, it keeps makeup put, so we don't have to touch up our New Year's Eve makeup midparty — one less thing to worry about. We'll take two.