The Brilliant Burger, above, is stuffed with
prosciutto. Photo courtesy BuiltBurger.com.

First we share, in alphabetical order, our favorite savory foods. Next week we’ll present the sweets.

Just click on the links to read the original reviews and why these foods have become our favorite gourmet gifts and treats.

• Big Papi En Fuego Hot Sauce, amazing hot sauce from the Boston Red Sox slugger
• Built Burger stuffed butgers, the best burgers we’ve ever had
• Kathryn’s Cottage Blue Cheese Salad Dressing, a secret recipe that’s better than anything else we can find or make
• Porchetta Primata, the most succulent pork we’ve ever tasted
• Terra Sonoma Verjus, an exciting, healthy, low-calorie and wine-friendly alternative to vinegar

Can’t wait for Part II, the sweet food winners? Here it is!

See all of the Top Picks from 2010 and prior years.

The top line: Wine is your friend, a wine spritzer is an even better friend. And some popular drinks are nobody’s friend because they’re packed with loads of calories and saturated fat.

• One cup of eggnog has 343 calories and a whopping 19 grams of fat (11 g saturated fat). Even a Starbucks non-alcoholic grande eggnog latte made with nonfat milk has 450 calories and 18 grams of fat (11 g saturated).
• A Long Island Iced Tea has more than 500 calories.
• A White Russian has 425 calories.

So, how do you party on without going overboard?

Flutes of Champagne are your best caloric
bet on New Year’s Eve. Flutes from Amazon.

2. Do drink a big glass or two of water prior to drinking anything alcoholic. A recent study published in the journal Obesity compared weight loss for two groups of dieters; the group that consumed two cups of water prior to meals dropped more pounds. Water not only makes you feel more full; it provides your body with the hydration that alcohol depletes.

3. Do choose wine instead of hard liquor cocktails. Wine has calories, but no fat; and it contains health-boosting antioxidants. A 4-ounce flute of Champagne has 78 calories, while a 5-ounce glass of red wine has 127 calories and contains the powerful antioxidant resveratrol. Just make sure you’re drinking a single four-ounce serving; some oversize wine glasses can hold 12 ounces or more (that’s 300 calories).

4. Do try a white wine spritzer (wine mixed with sparkling water), the lowest-calorie alcoholic beverage. You’ll cut the calories in half and still get some of beneficial antioxidants.

5. Do opt for sparkling water or club soda with a slice of lemon or lime if you need to have a drink in hand at the cocktail party. No one will know it’s not a gin and tonic! And it’s zero calories.

6. Do skip creamy drinks like eggnog, Piña Colada and Irish cream liqueurs. They are loaded with calories and fat.

7. Do allow yourself some fun indulgences. Just make sure you balance the excess calories with an additional walk or extra time at the gym.

[1] Make a BLT Bloody Mary with Bacon Vodka (photo © Bull And Bear Bar | Chicago [alas, now closed]).

[2] Make a BLT Bloody Mary with Bacon Vodka (photo © Bull And Bear Bar | Chicago [alas, now closed]).

Sure, there will be eggnog and Champagne on New Year’s Eve. But what about that sexy signature cocktail?

There’s still time for you to buy—or make—a bottle of bacon vodka and treat everyone to Bacon Bloody Marys. And we actually have two different recipes!

The first, which is a bit tricky (lettuce foam, for example), is a molecular gastronomy take on a B.L.T. Bloody Mary from the Hotel Jerome in Aspen.

The second recipe, which can be made by anyone who can cook bacon, is from Bloody Mary specialist Greg Tooke of MyBigFatBloodyMary.com.
 
 
BUYING BACON-FLAVORED VODKA

Different distillers make a bacon vodka. The one we’ve tried is Bakon Vodka, made in the U.S. from Pacific Northwest potatoes (photo #2).

As a potato vodka, it’s gluten free It has real bacon flavor, clean and crisp. You can drink it neat, because there’s no bad burn.

Either bottled or homemade, your Bacon Bloody Mary will be a blast!

Check out the history of the Bloody Mary.
 
 
BLOODY MARY RECIPES

It’s a great idea for January 1st, National Bloody Mary Day; for Sunday game time, or for cookouts: Bloody Marys may be the best cocktail with grilled foods.

Flavors include Apricot, Blackberry, Cranberry, Raspberry and Spiced. The line is certified kosher by Oregon Kosher and is available at TheNibbleGourmetMarket.com.

Two lucky winners will receive a honey crème trio gift set of three of the flavors.

Retail Value Of Prize: Approximately $18.99.

Spread this honey on just about anything.
Photo by River Soma | THE NIBBLE.

Get Up & Go! with Smucker’s Snack’n Waffles.

• THE PRIZE: One lucky winner will receive a Smucker’s Snack’n Waffles Get Up & Go! package that includes four Smucker’s Snack’n Waffles coupons, an alarm clock and an mp3 player to create a morning music playlist. Retail Value Of Prize: Approximately $100.00 for the Get Up & Go! Package and $3.00 for the product coupons.

Five additional winners will each receive a product coupon to try the delicious breakfast waffles.

• To Enter This Gourmet Giveaway: Go to the box at the bottom of our Waffle History Page and click to enter your email address for the prize drawing. This contest closes on Monday, January 3rd at noon, Eastern Time. Good luck!
• To learn more about Smucker’s, visit Smuckers.com.