Some people think of Kahlúa as one single type of coffee liqueur, to be used in Black Russians, White Russians, Espresso Martinis and Mudslides.

The brand is actually a delicious family of coffee liqueurs, including Kahlúa Especial, Kahlúa French Vanilla, Kahlúa Mocha and Kahlúa Hazelnut, among other flavors.

There have been limited holiday additions such as Gingerbread Kahlúa and Peppermint Mocha Kahlúa. Last year we loved the debut of Kahlúa Cinnamon Spice, and gave it as holiday gifts.

This year, Kahlúa Midnight is on our gifts-to-give-to-coffee-lovers list.

A combination of 70 proof rum and black coffee, Kahlúa Midnight was designed to be served as a chilled shot. But Kahlúa and other liqueurs are much more than a liqueur or cocktail ingredient. We’re been enjoying Kahlúa Midnight:

 
Last night we finished dinner with the ice cream approach: Kahlúa Midnight over a melange of vanilla, chocolate and coffee ice cream.

How’s that for a very special—and very easy—dessert!

Kahlúa Midnight is available at retailers nationwide.

Find more of our favorite liqueurs in our Cocktails & Spirits Section.

This delicious cheesecake is part goat
cheese, part cream cheese. Photo by Elvira
Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

So we’re coasting into the holiday season, giving luscious goat cheese cheesecakes to our favorite cheesecake lovers.

Cheesecake is one of those foods that either excites people or doesn’t interest them in the least. We’re part of the excited group, and are especially excited to have discovered Belle Chevre Goat Cheese Cheesecake.

A mixture of goat cheese and cream cheese, there’s nothing “goaty” about it: just smooth, creamy cheesecake splendor.

A six-inch diameter cake is $29.95.

Cheesecake trivia: Cheesecake isn’t cake: It’s a cheese-flavored custard-like pie.

Read the full review.

Find more of our favorite cheesecakes and cheesecake recipes in our Gourmet Cakes Section.

Regular old cheese popcorn is seasoned with Cheddar or Parmesan cheese powder, made by removing the moisture from the cheese.

But you can use Adapted from a recipe by Giada de Laurentiis for the Asiago P.D.O. Cheese Consortium.

RECIPE: PARMESAN POPCORN WITH HERBES DE PROVENCE

Ingredients

Use popcorn as a soup or salad garnish. Recipe and photo courtesy BettyCrocker.com.

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the butter, garlic and herbes de Provence in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat until the butter melts. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let stand while making the popcorn.

2. COMBINE the oil and popcorn in a heavy large pot. Cover and cook over medium-high heat until almost all the kernels pop. Transfer the popcorn to a large bowl.

3. REMOVE the garlic cloves from the butter and discard, if desired.

4. ADD the salt, cheese and butter mixture to the popcorn. Toss until the popcorn is coated. Serve immediately.

MORE WAYS TO USE PARMESAN POPCORN (OR ANY POPCORN)

  
Find more of our favorite popcorn recipes and brand reviews.
  

Today we present the other drink of holiday song, the wassail bowl (pronounced WOSS-ul).

Wassail is an Anglo-Saxon term meaning “good health.” During the holiday season in merrie olde [medieval] England, a host would invite friends over for a celebratory drink. The festivities began when the host held up the bowl and exclaimed, “Wassail!”

Punch was drunk, songs were sung. The tradition began in the 14th century in southern England, where the apple groves produced a lot of cider. The first wassail bowls contained hot mulled cider.

But your wassail bowl can contain whatever type of punch you like, hot or chilled.

While wassail is a spirited drink, you can make a non-alcoholic versions as well.

Here’s a video recipe for wassail.

This non-alcoholic version of a wassail recipe combines apple cider and pineapple juice: certain to be popular with the kids.

Start wassailing!

Bavarian cream. Photo by Massimiliano
Pieraccini | IST.

November 27th is National Bavarian Cream Pie Day.

Bavarian cream is a 19th century creation that seems to have gone with the wind that closed out the 20th. We rarely see it on a menu or in a bake shop.

Invention of the cold molded, gelatin-based dessert—a custard, not a pie—is credited to the great chef Marie-Antoine Carême (1784-1833) in the first part of the 1800s. One of the first recipes in the U.S. appeared in the Boston Cooking School of 1884.

The connection with Bavaria is obscure; although Carême cooked for the rich and famous and it is conceivable that he may have created this dish for a guest of honor from Bavaria.

The original Bavarian cream, or crème bavarois, was created in a fluted mold, chilled, umolded and sliced. In these more informal days, the dessert can be scooped from the bowl like mousse.

Sometimes the mold is first coated with a fruit gelatin, which “glazed” the Bavarian cream. Sometimes it is flavored with chocolate, coffee, fruit or liqueur.

The mold can be first lined with ladyfingers first, creating a charlotte.

Individual servings can be garnished with whipped cream (Chantilly) or fruit purée. Here’s a recipe for Bavarian cream from Chef Michael Symon.
Bavarian cream is similar to pastry cream but lightened with whipped cream and thickened with gelatin instead of flour or cornstarch. Check out the different types of custard.

Now for the holiday:

For Bavarian Cream Pie, get a pie crust: Bavarian cream in a pie crust is simply a different type of custard pie. And note: Real Bavarian cream does not pipe smoothly because of its gelatin. In the U.S., products called “Bavarian cream” pie (and doughnuts) are actually filled with a version of a crème pâtissière (pastry cream)—so they’re “faux” Bavarian Cream Pie.