Now we have something in common with hip hoppers Snoop Dogg and E-40—they drink the same Landy Cognac we received as a gift. Yes, packaging is part of the impact of this lovely bottle of XO Cognac, with its noble, gold-plated greyhound-topped cork; but the Cognac is equally noteworthy.

The Cognac in our Greyhound Decanter is aged to super-smoothness for 35 years. By comparison, a VSOP is aged for at least 4.5 years, although there’s no limit on how long it can be aged; Landy’s VSOP is aged 12 years. For sure, when the last drop of Cognac is finished, we’ll be repurposing this beautiful decanter.

And the XO Cognac? The nose yields plum, leather, sandalwood and tobacco; on the palate the plummy fruit has accents of spice along with the leather and sandlewood, and a touch of tobacco. The Cognac has the balance and long finish that you’d expect from an X.O. The list price is $119.95, but we found it online for $99.99 at WineGlobe.com (and at highly-inflated prices on some gift sites).

Landy’s Greyhound Decanter, filled with
smooth and luscious 35-year-old cognac.
Photo courtesy Landy Cognac.

We sure hope the economy improves in 2010, or we’ll be refilling our Greyhound Decanter with the VSOP.

Panettone photo by Gabriel T. / SXC.

Panettone, a medieval Italian Christmas yeast bread dotted with candied lemon peel, orange peel and raisins, is the Italian version of fruitcake—a popular Christmas gift. Panettone is tall, dome-shaped and airy (some say fluffy), in contrast to the other famous Christmas bread, panforte, which is is short and dense.

The classic Panettone accompaniment is a sweet hot beverage or a sweet wine such as spumante or moscato, but any dessert wine will do. Some Italians add a side of crema di mascarpone, a cream made from mascarpone cheese, eggs, and amaretto (or substitute zabaglione).

If you have more panettone than you can enjoy, cut it into slices and freeze it: After seconds in the microwave, it’s deliciously warm and fluffy again.

We enjoy panettone toasted and buttered for breakfast, or made into a luxurious piece of French toast. Or for dessert at dinner, top toasted panettone with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

• Read more about panettone and panforte. And have a delicious day of feasting with family and friends.

All you need are cubes of cheese (the tree in the photo uses different flavors of Cabot Cheddar), grape tomatoes and some fresh thyme. The star on the top of the tree is a carved mushroom cap.

If you don’t have the ingredients, keep this cheese tree recipe for next year. It’s a crowd pleaser.

Merry Christmas from all of us at THE NIBBLE.

Eat this Christmas tree. Photo courtesy
Cabot Cheese.