Dana is the creative force behind Dana’s Bakery, specializing in macarons. Her macarons rock—even more than other good macarons, because she’s quite the flavor artist as well as a designer, creating beautiful “painted” custom macarons.

This is the second career for the honors graduate of the Pastry and Baking program at New York’s Institute of Culinary Education. Photography’s loss is macaron lovers’ gain. (If you want learn how to bake your own, Dana gives classes in her northern New Jersey bakery.)

While many macaron specialists stick with the classics—chocolate, coffee, lemon, pistachio, raspberry and vanilla—Dana takes a page from the cookbook of Parisian macaron masters Ladurée and Pierre Hermé, who continue to bring forth new flavors to tempt foodie palates. A Dana’s Bakery bonus: Her macarons are certified kosher (and all macarons are gluten-free, made with almond flour).

Dana’s vision was to create an artisanal line of American flavor-inspired macarons. No raspberry and vanilla for her; instead, think of all your favorite sweet flavors, from Banana Split and Key Lime to Strawberry Shortcake and Watermelon.
 
There are seasonal flavors, too: Imagine Caramel Apple or Candy Corn Macarons for Halloween, the latter with a kernel of candy corn on top of the ganache. (“I could eat these every day of my life, literally,” says Dana.)

HOLIDAY FLAVORS

For the holidays, there are Gingerbread Man, White Peppermint Bark and Chocolate Molten Mac.

In addition to the holiday flavors, the current lineup includes Birthday Cake, Cookie Dough, Cup of Joe, Peanut Butter & Jelly, Fruity Cereal, Red Velvet, Thin Mint, S’mores.
 
CUSTOM MACARONS

Dana’s impressive macarons have attracted such prestigious corporate clients as Chanel, Martha Stewart Weddings and Vogue, where she creates custom designs from leopard-spotted macarons to gold or silver beauties. Your corporate logo can grace the top of the macarons.

Need a wedding favor? Silver macs with Champagne ganache sounds good to us!

TIME FOR A TREAT

What can we say about these melt-in-your-mouth bites of heaven except GET YOURS TODAY. Head to DanasBakery.com.

 
All macarons are gluten-free, made with almond flour, egg whites, sugar and flavors; the line is certified kosher by KOF-K.
 

MORE ON MACARONS

The history of macaroons and the difference between macaroons and macarons.
  

Nuts.com is a third-generation purveyor of nuts, dried fruits, chocolates and other sweets. They offer some 3,000 items sold by the pound, but will also package the wares into snack packs, 3.2 ounce bags sold in packs of 12. The 12-packs range from approximately $18 to $24, creating an inexpensive stocking stuffer that has a higher-value appearance.

We love the snack packs as stocking stuffers or party favors, the cheery green bags hinting at the goodies inside. There are hundreds of sweet options, that you can search by category (or however you like):

 
There are also Gummy Sugar Plums for gifting or as a garnish for cakes, cupcakes or other desserts.

Check out all the options (well, maybe not all 3,000) at Nuts.com.

In this recipe, a medium watermelon and two small ones create two bowls and a head for the snowman—as well as supplying plenty of melon balls for a fruit salad. You can use the Watermelon Snowman Fruit Bowl in different ways:

 
The Snowman Fruit Bowl was designed by the National Watermelon Promotion Board, which has plenty of interesting recipes and watermelon carvings—everything from Angry Birds and Minions to a seasonal penguin.

RECIPE: WATERMELON SNOWMAN

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. HALVE the large melon and one of the small melons. Scoop melon balls and reserve.

2. CLEAN the leftover melon scraps from the two halves, leaving the white portion of the rind.

3. FILL with fruit salad or other ingredients; make the face.

4. MOVE to the serving table and add arms, hat and scarf.

RECIPE: SASHIMI TARTARE CHRISTMAS TREES

Ingredients

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. BLEND together olive oil, wasabi, sesame seeds, pepper and salt. Add fish and toss until evenly coated.

2. ADJUST seasoning as desired with additional wasabi powder, pepper and/or salt.

3. ASSEMBLE on cucumber and potato chip bases as shown in photo.

The photo shows a non-edible scarf and hat. We’ve substituted edible versions in our recipe.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

You can assemble a standing snowman by slightly flattening the bottom piece, or simply arrange it flat on a dark colored plate (for contrast with the white rice).

1. CREATE the face on the top piece: eyes, nose and mouth. Use the bit of carrot as an optional nose.

2. STACK three California roll pieces. For a standing snowman, use toothpicks to join the pieces.

3. ADD toothpicks as arms.

4. ADD optional “clothing”: red scarf and hat. For a hat, affix two crackers in a perpendicular fashion with cream cheese. If using a green onion scarf, blanch it in boiling water to make it easier to tie.
 
Check out all the different types of sushi in our beautiful Sushi Glossary.
  

[2] A glass of lager (photo © Wallenpaupack Brewing Company).

Enjoy a cold one as you read through these lager facts, compiled by the brewers at Samuel Adams.

1. History. Alhough beer has been made for more than seven millennia, the first lager wasn’t brewed until the 16th century. America’s first lager was brewed in 1838, when Bavarian brewmaster John Wagner brought lager yeast across the pond from Europe.

2. Science. Lager yeast, as opposed to ale yeast, ferments (eats sugar to produce carbonation and alcohol) at cooler temperatures. When the fermentation is finished, lager yeast settles to the bottom of the fermentation tank while ale yeast remains on top. Lager yeast also takes a longer time to condition the beer than ale yeast.

3. Character. Due in part to their clean, crisp character, lagers are labeled by some as plain or boring. That might be so with some mass-marketed beers, but craft lagers are flavorful and complex. There are also different styles of lager: Baltic Porter; Bock, Double Bock and Wheat Bock; Oktoberfest; Rauchbier and Vienna Lager, among many others, as you’ll see below.

4. Cold. Before modern refrigeration, brewers needed a way to keep their lagers cool during the brewing process. Before the advent of modern cooling tanks, German lager brewers often cooled their beer in Alpine caves or in cellars dug deeply into hillsides (the latter technique used by immigrants German-American beer makers).

5. Meaning. In German, Czech and Polish, to lager means to store, keep, preserve or keep safe.

The different types of lager follow, but first:

> The history of beer.

> The history of craft beer.

> The different types of beer: an photo glossary.

> The year’s 40+ beer holidays.

Amber Lager, loosely based on Vienna lager (see below), can range from amber to copper in hue. It is generally more fully flavored than a standard pale lager, with caramel malt flavors. While hop levels vary considerably among breweries, amber logers tend to be hoppier than Vienna lagers. Samuel Adams Boston Lager is an amber lager.

Baltic Porter is a very high alcohol, sweet, robust porter that originated in the Baltic states. It melds both the character of original British Porters and the sweeter, highly alcoholic Russian Imperial Stouts.

Bock Beer is a strong lager first brewed in the 14th century in the German town of Einbeck. The style was adopted by Munich brewers in the 17th century using the new lager style of brewing. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced “Einbeck” as “ein Bock” (a billy goat). The style became known as bock and, as a visual pun, the bottle labels often feature a goat.

Doppelbock or Double Bock Beer is a dark, malty brew, rich in body and high in alcohol. It was first brewed in the Italian Alps around 1650 by the monks in the monastery of St. Francis of Paula, for sustenance throughout the Lenten season. A fun note: The monks felt that such a delicious brew might be too much of an indulgence for Lent, so they sent a cask to be judged by the Holy Father in Rome. Tossed and turned during transport across the Alps and then heated under the Italian sun, the beer turned sour. When the Holy Father tasted it, he found it vile and declared it was probably beneficial for the souls of the Munich monks to make and drink as much of it as they could.

Märzen or Oktoberfest Beer gets its name from the last month in which the beer was traditionally brewed, March (März in German). Before refrigeration, March was the last month in which beers could be “lagered,” or put into cold storage. The beers would age over the summer, to be enjoyed during the fall harvest, Oktoberfest. Märzen lagers have a deep, amber color and a malt-heavy flavor.

Rauchbier (Smoked Beer). Rauchbier is made using malted barley dried over an open flame, which imparts smoky flavors. They can range from a light smokiness to an intense—and some say acrid—level.

Vienna Lager, a cousin of Märzen, is a crisp and refreshing style characterized by its medium body, malty taste and amber color. Vienna lager is actually more popular in Mexico than in Austria. It was brought there in 1864 by Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph of Austria, who was installed by the French as Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico. He was overthrown and executed by republican forces in 1867; but the Mexicans did like his beer, and continued to make the style. Dos Equis and Modelo Especial are examples.

Winter Lager. A dark bock beer, winter lager is a style rich in maltiness for a hearty, full body, and low in bitterness. Holiday spices (ginger and cinnamon) can be added.
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.