Egg nog French toast. Photo courtesy
The Blackberry Patch.

As long as there are bread, egg nog and eggs in the house, whip up a batch of seasonal French Toast. It’s an even richer version of one of our favorite breakfast and brunch foods.

Just substitute egg nog for the milk in your recipe. Here’s a variation of the recipe we published recently.

1. In a shallow bowl, beat 4 eggs with 1 cup of egg nog and optional spices: 1 teaspoon of cinnamon or nutmeg, or a combination of both. The egg nog should have a bit of rum extract flavor, but you can add another half teaspoon.

2. Soak slices of bread 30 seconds on each side in the mixture.

4. Serve immediately, garnished with berries, bananas or almonds.

Now, we’re promised a good-for-you solution: a cherry cocktail not only packed with antioxidants, but with anti-hangover properties.

According to nutritionist Dr. Christine Greene, tart cherry juice “contains a special class of antioxidants called anthocyanins, which happen to function in the body as an anti-inflammatory, similar to ibuprofen.” Thus, a cocktail made with cherry juice is “less likely to cause headaches associated with hangovers.”

• Find out more and get the recipe for a delicious Cherry Martini.
• Pump up your cherry knowledge with these cherry facts.
• What are antioxidants? Check out our Antioxidant Glossary.

An antioxidant-filled Cherrytini. Photo
courtesy Cheribundi tart cherry juice.

White chocolate snowmen filled with
dark chocolate ganache. Photo courtesy
L.A. Burdick.

We’ve been in love with Larry Burdick’s handmade chocolate mice and penguins for years. With centers of the finest chocolate ganache, they are a special little gems that melt in your mouth.

In the case of the snowmen, the ganache has the added seasonal flavor of clementines. Each snowman’s head contains a roasted hazelnut.

The keepsake wood box is stamped with a silver snowflake wax seal and tied with a beautiful ribbon. This gift is a memorable chocolate treasure for adults who appreciate the finest, and for lucky kids (if they get their own box, that is—we wouldn’t part with a single snowman).

• See all of our favorite chocolate gift ideas for Holiday 2010.
• See all 14 lists of holiday gift ideas (100+ gifts!).