By Margo True, Sunset Food Editor

I love to give layered gifts, and this one was prompted by Paula Wolfert's wonderful new book, Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking (Wiley; $34.95; in bookstores now to pick up for Christmas). Paula is famous for her scrupulous capture of a recipe, with all its context, and this book is practically alive with stories of this ancient form of cooking—and ambitious, interesting recipes that yield delicious food. It's also a very lyrical book. By the time you've read the introduction, you can't help but want to rush out and buy yourself some great clay pots and start in on, say, a daube of beef or a slow-simmered Turkish lamb guvec. 

Luckily for us, coinciding with the publication of this book comes the opening of a charming clay pot store, Bram, in Sonoma (which, bizarrely enough, happens to be where Paula Wolfert lives). The owners are happy to send overnight. Bram also carries Paula's book, by the way.

I've gone a bit overboard when visiting Bram and now have three gorgeous clay pots glistening on my shelf (one of them, a black Chamba pot, is displayed in the up-front gift-guide section of the December issue of Sunset). So here is another: a Vulcania casserole from Tuscany ($82).  

And then, to cook it in, beans from my favorite bean sellers: Rancho Gordo, in Napa. You can find their products in upscale grocery stores in the bay area and from their website (I love the Christmas limas).

Whoever gets this soulful trio will be simmering up a pot or two of fantastic beans--possibly Piemontese spareribs with beans (p. 38) or maybe Corsican minestra (p. 33).