TIP OF THE DAY: Winter Beer Styles

Today is the first full day of winter, which begins late this evening (11:48 p.m. EST). It’s the shortest day of the year, with the least amount of daylight. The good news is, starting tomorrow daylight hours will start getting longer. But there’s still plenty of time to celebrate winter with winter beers. They’re just…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Antipasto Platter With Cocktails

Contemplating what to serve during cocktail hour as guests arrive for Christmas or New Year’s Eve? There are dips, chips, crudités, cheese plates, hot and cold hors d’oeuvre and other possibilities to consider. But a recent email from Baldor Specialty Foods rang true: Let people pick what they want from an antipasto table. Just set…
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TIP OF THE DAY: What To Do With Your Panettone Or Pandoro

Some people don’t know the delights of panettone and pandoro, Italian Christmas breads that are now in stores nationwide from. In Italy they’re Christmas and New Year’s staples, given as holiday gifts. Some Americans have adopted the tradition. For years we had friends who’d receive them as gifts, then put them aside like so much…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Christmas-ize Your Food

As we close in on Christmas, we like to “Christmas-ize” our food, adding red and green garnishes to everything from scrambled eggs (green and red bell peppers or jalapeños) to desserts (mint leaves and raspberries). We have fun doing it, looking for a different red and green combination at every meal. For sandwiches, we plate…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Freeze Your Hot Appetizers

TOP PHOTO: Homemade cheese straws, made in advance, frozen and heated in the oven. Photo courtesy Cabot Cheese. BOTTOM PHOTO: Stuffed mushrooms. Photo courtesy GoodCook.com.   If you want to serve hot hors d’oeuvre on Christmas, New Year’s Eve or other party times, here’s a tip we learned years ago from our friend Carol’s mother,…
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