The holiday countdown is underway, and with it comes much anticipation of making the perfect turkey, whipping up the right sides and finding a great culinary gift.

Amy Traverso, senior food editor of Yankee Magazine, said the magazine’s annual Food Awards list is a good place to start for foodie gifts. The list spotlights local restaurants, chefs and even locally made treats, like the chocolate jewels from ChocAllure in Wellesley and the golden turmeric tea from Mola Foods in Nashua.

“It’s like a powdered tea that you can mix into hot water, even cold water,” Traverso said. “And it’s so delicious. It’s really warming. It has sort of that kind of chai warming vibe. So it’s just such a nice thing to get you through the cold season.”

Food-centered gifts hitting social feeds this holiday season also include Advent calendars for all ages, with items like Bonne Maman jam and German holiday cookies called lebkuchen. Jonathon Alsop, founder and executive director of the Boston Wine School, said there are even whiskey and wine-centric Advent calendars.

“If you ask most people, 'Hey, who wants to celebrate Advent?’ Most people would say, ‘What else you got?’” Alsop joked. “But if you say, ‘Hey, do you want to celebrate Advent with 30 glasses of wine?’ 'With 30 different whiskeys?’ ... I’m not a particularly religious man. But I would do this.”

When it comes to Thanksgiving, Campbell’s recently released its third annual “ State of the Sides” report, detailing turkey-trends like the popularity of Friendsgiving celebrations and which side dish reigns supreme. This year, stuffing or dressing toppled last year’s number-one pick: mashed potatoes.

And to help struggling home chefs, Butterball has created a shortcut: a new “cook from frozen” turkey.

“It’s pre-seasoned in a way that when it goes from frozen to quickly thawing and cooking, it doesn’t dry the meat out,” Traverso said.

Alsop said when considering wine pairings this holiday season, skip the red and go for a light white wine. He says he prefers riesling for Thanksgiving dinner, as it offers options for every guest.

“You can get dry riesling for people who love dry wine. You can get very sweet riesling for people who love sweet wine. And you can get everything in between,” Alsop said.

All that and more on this week’s food and wine roundtable!

Guests:

  • Amy Traverso, senior food editor at Yankee Magazine, co-host of GBH’s “Weekends with Yankee,” author of “The Apple Lover’s Cookbook” 
  • Jonathon Alsop, founder and executive director of the Boston Wine School and author of “The Wine Lover’s Devotional”