[1] Feeding America provides bags of nutritious groceries to hungry families (photo courtesy Feeding America).

[2] Food Forward distributes produce that would be left on the ground to rot, to needy communities (photo FoodForward.org).

Before the year ends, you can share the spirit of the holidays by helping the hungry. Make a donation to a charity that feeds them.

You don’t have to make a big donation: Just $10 makes a difference.

We recently wrote about Heifer International and World Vision, which provide livestock, wells and other life-saving items to impoverished Third World peoples.

We donate livestock as holiday gifts to friends and family who don’t need anything for themselves. The gift to them, in turn gives needy families food and other items (eggs, milk, wool) to the families and provides extra to sell for income.
 
 
TOP U.S. FOOD CHARITIES

In the U.S., many organizations fight to feed the hungry. Forty million Americans struggle with hunger, including more than 12 million children. Here are a few nationally recognized organizations that work to minimize hunger.

FEEDING AMERICA. Feeding America (photo #1) provides bags of groceries to the hungry. It’s the nation’s leading domestic hunger relief charity. It operates through a nationwide network of member food banks in needy communities. FeedingAmerica.org.

FOOD FORWARD. Food Forward (photo #2) fights hunger and prevents food waste by rescuing fresh surplus produce that we would consider “ugly,” too small, misshapen and otherwise unsaleable, connecting this perfectly good food with people in need. Each year, some six billion pounds of produce that go largely unharvested to rot in the fields. Retailers won’t accept “scarred” fruits and vegetables because consumers won’t buy them [source]. FoodForward.org

NO KID HUNGRY. No Kid Hungry helps provide in-school meals and has programs that teach families to shop smarter and cook healthier. NoKidHungry.org

On a local level, contribute to your local food kitchen or food bank. Just check on line for the organizations near you.

In New York City, for example, Citymeals-On-Wheels brings meals to homebound elderly.
 
 
JOIN THE CROWD

By the way, December 31st is the biggest “giving” day of the year for Americans, because it’s the last day to make a tax-deductible charitable contribution.

According to The New York Times, charities raised 22.5 times more money on December 31st than any other average day last year. The entire last week of the year is a great week for giving, with the average gift size being 57% larger than the weekly average during the prior 51 weeks.*

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*New York Times, December 17, 2009. Here are 2018 charitable giving statistics.

Some dishes have been around for a hundred years or more, in pretty much their original version.

Baked Alaska is one of these. Invented at the beginning of the 19th century (here’s the Baked Alaska history), it has pretty much been the same dessert, but for flavor variations in:

 
Whatever the shape, it is then coated with meringue, which acts as an insulator so the ice cream can be baked without melting. These days, the meringue is torched to brown it.

It is often plated with a fruit coulis: passionfruit, raspberry, strawberry.

Sometimes, especially at trendier restaurants, favors have been updated, such as:

 
But those are just modernized flavors. The expansion of the original concept is more in shape: Baked Alaska cupcakes, Baked Alaska layer cakes, Baked Alaska nestled in empty orange or grapefruit halves or shaped into a shih-tzu or a sofa.

[1] Komodo’s deconstructed Baked Alaska (photo courtesy Komodo Restaurant | Miami).

[2] Classic Baked Alaska at The Oceanaire in Dallas.

Komodo restaurant in Miami has deconstructed Baked Alaska, assembled in individual portions (not a cake): photo #1.

The recipe—seemingly targeted to the youth palate—includes:

 
The Baked Alaska is ignited at tableside, drawing oohs and ahhs (or perhaps, “Epic!”).

It’s easy to create your own deconstructed Baked Alaska, a.k.a. ice cream on a slice of cake with a meringue topping.

Just pick your cake and ice cream flavors. Garnish optional; we prefer, simply, a very browned meringue and a fruit purée or coulis (coulis [COO-lee) is a strained purée).

We combined a slice of carrot cake loaf with salted caramel ice cream, homemade meringue (although we suppose you could substitute meringue cookies), and raisins marinated in Grand Marnier as the sauce.

The important thing: Have fun with it.

[1] Coquito in a shot glass.

[2] Coquito for those who want more.

[3] Not just any spiced rum: Don Q is barrel-aged for three years (all photos courtesy Don Q Rum).

December 21st marks the first year of National Coquito Day. The day was established by Don Q Rum.

It’s also the first day of winter: You owe yourself a wintery drink.

Coquito, “little coconut” in Spanish, is Puerto Rico’s version of eggnog, a Christmas and New Year’s Eve drink. But it can be served any time of the year.

Lighter than eggnog, with coconut flavor, Coquito is made with coconut cream, coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk and rum, and seasoned with cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg.

Other Caribbean countries make variations:

 
Coquito is often served in shot glasses as an after dinner drink; or fill the pitcher or punch bowl for a party.

Think of it as Tres Leches Cake in a glass; and if you’ve got a sweet tooth, serve it with Tres Leches Cake.

This recipe, from Supercall, makes a pitcherfull for a party.
 
 
RECIPE: COQUITO FOR CHRISTMAS

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE all ingredients except the garnish spices in a blender. Blend on high until the mixture is well combined, about one or two minutes.

2. POUR the Coquito into a pitcher and refrigerate to chill. Before serving…

3. STIR well to combine. Pour into punch cups or small wine glasses and garnish with fresh ground cinnamon and/or nutmeg.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF COQUITO

No one knows the origin of Coquito, but one intrepid writer, Suset Laboy, decided to do some sleuthing.

The two common suggestions are that Coquito was a derivation of Ponche Navideño, a Spanish Christmas punch, or American eggnog.

The actuality may be more native-to-Puerto-Rico than that. Laboy set out to trace its history, starting with Coquito’s main ingredients: sugar, coconut milk and rum, all plentiful in Puerto Rico.

 
While other islands made rum as well, Puerto Rico’s rum industry did not fully emerge until the 19th century, when sugarcane production began on a large scale. So our baseline is the 19th century.

A spirit mixed with sugar creates a basic cocktail. With the island’s supply of coconut milk and evaporated milk, it’s not a leap to see someone enhancing the cocktail with it, and making a luscious creamy cocktail in the process.

Until someone finds a smoking gun (a dated old family recipe), that’s what we know!

Éclairs typical don’t show up on a list of holiday desserts.

But when they’re as cute as these, they’re irresistible.

Made by Art Éclair, these designs are just a few of a treasure trove of magnificently decorated éclairs.

See the collection on the Art Éclair website and on Pinterest.

Regrettably for éclair lovers, this bakery is in Kiev, Ukraine.

We’ll have to settle for a Bûche de Noël.

If you enjoy cake decorating, purchase éclairs and try your hand. All you need to make the reindeer are:

 
 
RECIPE: CHOCOLATE MARZIPAN

Thanks to Santa Barbara Chocolate Company for this easy recipe for chocolate marzipan.

Here’s the original recipe so you can follow each step in photos.
 
Ingredients

[2] It’s easy to make chocolate marzipan (photo and recipe courtesy Santa Barbara Chocolate Company).

 
Preparation

1. CHOP the peeled almonds and pulse in a food processor until they achieve an almond flour texture. You don’t want any chunks left; if you can’t pulse them all away, sieve the powder before using.

2. COMBINE the almond flour, cocoa powder and powdered sugar in a saucepan. Mix together. Add the egg and place the pot over low heat.

3. STIR continuously until all the ingredients are combined. Keep stirring for another 5 minutes, then remove the pot from the heat. Place it in the refrigerator and let the marzipan chill for 15 minutes or longer.

4. Roll the marzipan into a tube shape the width of the face, 1″ or smaller depending on the width of the éclair. Chill until firm enough to slice. Slice thinly; you’re ready to assemble. When you’re done with the faces, cut ears.

5. If you have leftover marzipan, you can re-shape it into a wider tube and cut marzipan coins to serve separately. Roll them in sprinkles or nuts, as in photo #2.
 

[2] An heirloom variety, tiger zucchini. It tastes like supermarket zucchini, but is nicer to look at—especially raw, in crudités or salads. You can get the seeds from Burpee.

Serve this omelet for brunch, lunch or dinner with a side salad.

The recipe was sent to us by Fruit & Veggies More Matters, the consumer website of the Better Health Foundation. We made it last night, and look forward to a repeat appearance soon.

You don’t have to be a skilled omelet-flipper: This omelet is baked in a pan in the oven. In our book, that’s a bonus.

 
RECIPE: CORN & ZUCCHINI OMELET

Ingredients For 2 Servings*

 
As an option, you can add a half cup of diced ham or sausage.

Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 375°F. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and zucchini; sauté for 5-7 minutes.

2. STIR in the corn and continue to cook until the zucchini is fully softened, around 2 minutes more‡. Remove from the heat and drain the excess liquid. Let cool.

4. LINE an 8-inch pie pan with parchment paper and transfer the mixture to pan, arranging the top so the zucchini slices lay in single, flat layer. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.

5. REMOVE the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes until top is browned. Let stand for 10-15 minutes before cutting into wedges.

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*We like a larger portion for dinner, so we created a 6-egg omelet for two.

†Save the corn liquid and drink it: It’s delicious.

‡We don’t like very soft zucchini, even in an omelet. Since the omelet will be baked for 10 minutes, we omitted this instruction.