December 2011

Recipes: Arancini (Italian Rice Balls)

A holiday favorite, here’s our Italian rice ball recipe, courtesy of Hudson Valley Creative Director, Bob Supina

Best Shopping Deals in Ulster County This Week: New Year’s Day Sales at Nectar Imports in High Falls and DIG Boutique in Saugerties, NY

This week’s best shopping deals (Dec. 29-Jan. 4): Get 20% off at Nectar Imports in High Falls, NY and 40% off at DIG Boutique in Saugerties, NY

By Jessica Friedlander

Best Shopping Deals in Rockland County This Week: Thrift Store Holiday Savings Sale & Pet Grab Bag at Hudson Valley Humane Society in Pomona, NY

This week’s best shopping deal (Dec. 22-28): Get a free pet toy and 10% off your entire purchase of clothing, household items, accessories, electronics, and more at the Thrift Store at Hudson...

By Jessica Friedlander

Best Shopping Deals in Dutchess County This Week: Holiday Sale at Cesaré and Lili Boutique in Rhinebeck, NY

This week’s best shopping deal (Dec. 15-21): Get up to 50% off holidays dresses, sweaters, gloves, and accessories at Cesaré + Lili in Rhinebeck, NY

By Jessica Friedlander

Best Shopping Deals in Orange County This Week: BOGO Sale at Jasmine Gift Gallery in Southfields (Near Tuxedo), NY

This week’s best shopping deal (Dec. 8-14): Buy one, get one 50% off all designer handbags, jewelry, and home décor at Jasmine Gift Gallery in Southfields (near Tuxedo), NY

By Jessica Friedlander

Best Shopping Deals in Orange County This Week: Pottery Sale at Hudson Valley Hand Made for the Holidays in Pine Bush, NY

This week’s best shopping deal (Dec. 1-7): 15% off hand-made pottery at Hudson Valley Hand Made for the Holidays in Pine Bush, NY

By Jessica Friedlander

Best New Restaurants in the Hudson Valley 2011

Think you have to travel to the Big Apple to sample Cuban pernil, traditional Italian bolognese, wild-game charcuterie, hand-cut steak tartare? Think again. Top-shelf cuisine is just around the...

Lynn Hazlewood

Hudson Valley Holiday Shopping Gift Guide 2011

Forget the neckties and bottles of cologne — fill the space under your tree with unique gifts that your family and friends will be thrilled to use all year long. From hand-drawn greeting cards...

By Melissa Esposito and Jessica Friedlander

Despite Slow Economy, Hudson Valley Features 8 Best New Restaurants in 2011 (Editor’s Letter)

A word from Hudson Valley Editor in Chief, Olivia J. Abel

By Olivia J. Abel

Letters to the Editor in December 2011

Read our letters to the editor for December 2011

Chatter

A New Paltz writer’s new novel stars a stay-at-home dad, and locals get cozy with quilt-making PLUS: Reading Room, Where in the Hudson Valley Contest, and On the Town

The Grace Murder Case of Walden, NY: A History of Orange County’s Own Lizzie Borden Murder Trial

A 1912 murder in the Orange County village of Walden shocked the Valley — not least because of its eerie similarities to the infamous trial of Lizzie Borden 20 years earlier. This adaptation...

Global Goodies: International Holiday Desserts and Recipes

Spice up your holiday table with an international dessert

By Jennifer Leba and Sara Greenberg

Hudson Valley American and Mediterranean Food Restaurant Recommendation: Creo’ Restaurant in Albany, NY

American and Mediterranean dining at Creo’ Restaurant in Albany, Capital Region, NY

Woodstock, NY, Writer Martha Frankel Learns to Take Facebook “Friends” at Face Value

Face(book) value: Online friends come through in a crisis — and beyond

By Martha Frankel