We don’t know how it happened, but all of a sudden we noticed gnarly coffee and tea stains in our coffee cups.

Scrubbing with Comet and many runs through the dishwasher did not help. So we turned to the Internet for advice, and found tips from HowToCleanStuff.com, a highly informative site.

So if you share our problem, struggle no more: Here’s how to remove stubborn coffee and tea stains from your cups.

1. WASH the cup, using some elbow grease and a brush to remove any surface stains that may be present.

2. MIX a paste from these options:

 
3. WET the stained areas of the cup and apply the paste with a soft cloth.

4. SCRUB the surface until the stain is removed.

DENTURE CLEANER OPTION

Instead of a paste, pick up some denture cleaner like Polident. Simply fill the cup with water and add a cleaning tablet. Soak until the stains disappear. If your cups are badly stained, you may need to take a second pass.

We also use Polident to lift red wine stains from the bottom of decanters.

BAR KEEPERS FRIEND

Bar Keepers Friend is available in powder, like Comet and Ajax, or pre-mixed into a tube of paste.

1. COVER the stained area with the paste. Wait about five minutes, but do not let the paste dry on the cup.

2. SCRUB vigorously with a cloth scouring pad (not metal). Add more Bar Keepers Friend directly to stains as needed.

3. RINSE well under water. Discard the scouring pad.

4. WASH the cup with your regular dish soap or run it through the dishwasher.
 
Our cups are sparkling white again! Problem solved!
  

Chai & Mighty is one of four flavored hot
chocolates from gourmet producer Lake
Champlain Chocolates. Photo by Elvira
Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

For Hannuakh, Christmas or other occasion, gourmet hot chocolate is a delightful gift during the chillier months.

What makes hot chocolate “gourmet?”

Higher quality ingredients, for starters: the cocoa powder or chocolate shavings are better to start with.

Second, gourmet hot chocolate comes in delicious flavors that make the gift extra special. We tried these, from Lake Champlain Chocolates, a fine producer of chocolates and confections:

If you don’t want flavors, try:

 
If you don’t want sugar, try:

 
Buy them online at LakeChamplainChocolate.com.

Purchase three or more tins by December 9th and enjoy a 15% discount.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COCOA & HOT CHOCOLATE

Yes, there is a difference: Here it is, along with related terms such as Swiss hot chocolate.

Chocolate and red wine pair well together. So the inspired producers of ChocolatRouge wines have created a line of dessert wines that blends rich chocolate flavors into quality red wine. Instead of the traditional dessert wine technique, which uses late harvest, sugar-laden grapes, ChocolatRouge infuses chocolate flavors into dry red wine.

We tried two of the three bottlings. We enjoyed both; one in particular has made it onto our personal holiday gift list.

Dark Red Blend: We’ll use the vintner’s description, “reminiscent of chocolate-dipped red berries with a soft velvety finish.” The chocolate notes are subtle; if you didn’t know the chocolate was there, you might think it was a conventional red dessert wine.

While Dark Red Blend is charming, our favorite is Milk Chocolate Flavors: We ordered a case for holiday gifting

Milk Chocolate Flavors: Looking like chocolate milk in a wine bottle, this treat is a chocolatey, creamy and rich. It reminds us of a chocolate shake blended with some red dessert wine…

While Milk Chocolate Flavors is also a dessert wine, it’s an anytime chocolate treat.

We didn’t have the third variety, Sweet Red Blend; but based on our satisfaction with its two siblings. we’ll certainly pick up a bottle when we come across it.

The ChocolateRouge website has recipes for lovely winetails (wine-based cocktails): Café, Cherry Cordial, Julep, Milky Way, Orangette, Red Velvet, Spiced and Winter Sangria. But we enjoyed drinking both bottles chilled, straight up.

There’s a store locator on the website.

You can also order it on Amazon.com for $12.99/bottle.
  

Need buttermilk for a recipe? Check out the
substitution below. Photo courtesy Wisconsin
Milk Marketing Board.

Don’t panic: A perfectly good ingredient substitution is as close as your browser. Just look up “ingredient substitution” and the item for which you need a substitute.

In many cases, you’ll never notice a flavor change. In others, the flavor will be a bit different but just as good (for example, a basil accent instead of parsley).

No saffron? Use turmeric. No soy sauce? Use Worcestershire. No beer? Use chicken broth.

Here are some of the most common ingredients you may need to substitute:

COOKING INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS

 
Do you have a favorite go-to ingredient substitution? Let us know.

It’s the concept of a guest book ported to a bottle. With the gold ink, date an unopened bottle of Champagne and record the occasion (e.g., Christmas Party, 12.9.12).

Next, have party guests or the members of your family gathering sign the bottle of Champagne. Then:

 
We use the gold (and silver) metallic ink marker pens from Sakura, available in stationery stores or online.

WHAT TO DO WITH THE AUTOGRAPHED BOTTLE

What to do with the bottle after you’ve drunk the Champagne? We scoured the Internet for ideas:

 
Or, simply recycle the bottle and enjoy the memories.

WRITE YOUR MESSAGE ON GIFT BOTTLES

Use the gold pen to write any message on a bottle, from Congratulations! to Happy Birthday to Wishing You Health And Good Cheer in 2013.