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.

_________

*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.
  

Soups from the can, even when they’re good, can be made even better with a few added ingredients.

In this tip, we’ll show you how we enhanced one of our favorites, and inspire you to do the same.

We adore Thai chicken coconut soup (tom kha gai, translated as chicken galangal soup—photo #1).

It’s a hot and sour soup flavored with classic Thai ingredients: basil, chile paste, cilantro, coconut milk, fish sauce, galangal* (photo #3), kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, lime juice, straw mushrooms (or shiitake) and Thai chiles, plus chicken.

It’s made creamy with coconut milk, and crispy fried chiles are sometimes added for garnish.

We’ve been getting take-out from our neighborhood Thai restaurant, but at a base of $7 for a small bowl—plus extra for proteins like chicken or shrimp—it gets pricey.

So, we searched around, and found cans of Amy’s Thai Coconut Soup. It isn’t as chock-full and rich as the restaurant version, but we adapted a recipe from Amy’s Kitchen.

Add some extra veggies, fresh herbs and protein, and serve with jasmine rice to make a complete meal.

Since most of us don’t live near an Asian grocer, this recipe with easy-to-find ingredients.
 
 
RECIPE: THAI COCONUT SOUP, TOM KHA GAI

Ingredients

 
NOTE: While tofu adds protein to the soup, we like to add more flavorful protein such as chicken or shrimp (scallops, mussels and fish fillets work, too). You can add a little or a lot, including a “mixed grill” of proteins, as you prefer.
 
Preparation

1. POUR the soup into a medium saucepan. Add the lime juice and mushrooms.

2. WARM the soup over medium heat for 20 minutes, reducing the broth to concentrate the flavors. While the soup is warming…

3. PLACE the tofu and tamari in a small, shallow bowl and toss well. Marinate for 10 minutes. Add the tofu, basil, cilantro, tomatoes and optional coconut milk to the soup.

4. SERVE immediately with a side of rice.
 
 
YOUR HOMEWORK

Take one of your favorite soups and build on it, as we’ve done here. You can add:

[2] It starts with this can of soup (both photos courtesy Amy’s Kitchen).

[3] Galangal, looking similar to its cousin, ginger (photo Wikipedia).

[4] Add unsweetened whole coconut milk for extra creaminess (photo courtesy Thai Kitchen).

Galangal is a rhizome, an underground shoot that is a member of the ginger family (along with turmeric and cardamom). It’s popular in Thai, Indonesian and Malaysian cooking.

Galangal has an earthy, citrusy, almost piney flavor. It is much stronger than ginger, which is pungent and spicy, with a hint of sweetness.

Galangal is also known as Thai ginger or Siamese ginger, because it resembles ginger root (photo #3). The skin is smoother and lighter than ginger and the flesh is much harder (so it can’t be grated like ginger).
 
 
THE DIFFERENT TOM (SOUPS)

The soups you’re most likely to find at Thai restaurants in the U.S. are:

 
There are many other Thai soups, of course. Scroll down here to see some of them.

[2] Even organic romaine isn’t immune to E. coli. See why below (photo courtesy Good Eggs).

Recently, Santa Barbara County recalled romaine harvested between November 27th through 30th due to an E. coli outbreak.

Almost instantly, every leaf of romaine disappeared [hopefully] from store shelves and restaurant menus.

The public was warned not to purchase or consume romaine lettuce if its growing locale was unknown.

Into the bin went whole heads, hearts of romaine, and bags of pre-cut lettuce and salad mixes that contain romaine, including baby romaine, spring mix and Caesar salad.

Further instructions were to wash and sanitize drawers or shelves in refrigerators where romaine was stored. (Here’s how to clean your fridge after a food recall.)
 
 
WHAT IS E. COLI?

E. coli (Escherichia coli) are bacteria that live in the intestines of healthy humans and animals. Most varieties are harmless or cause relatively brief diarrhea.

There are some particularly harmful strains that can cause severe abdominal cramps, bloody diarrhea and vomiting.

People may be exposed to E. coli from contaminated water or food. Raw vegetables and undercooked ground beef are two of the most impacted foods.

Healthy adults usually recover from E. coli within a week, but young children and older adults have a greater risk of developing a life-threatening form of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome.
 
 
HOW DO PRODUCE & BEEF GET E. COLI?

Produce and water get E. coli from manure; most typically, from dairy cow manure.

That’s because in some agricultural areas, dairy farms exist in the same region as produce fields.

The November outbreak occurred in three identified counties of the Central Coastal growing regions of northern and central California.

Romaine grown elsewhere was not affected. “Safe” romaine includes the desert growing region near Yuma, Arizona; the California desert growing region near Imperial County and Riverside County; the state of Florida; and Mexico.

For beef, the problem occurs in the processing plant. Microscopic amounts of E. coli from the intestines of cattle carcasses can come into contact with beef that is then ground.

When beef is cooked, the heat kills any bacteria on the outsides of the meat. Ground beef is different, in that it has many interior surfaces that may have had exposure to bacteria, but are not exposed to the flame that kills any E. coli.

That’s we are urged to cook ground beef to medium. It’s also why we should use separate cutting boards and utensils for raw beef and other meats.

Note: Don’t rinse off meat prior to cooking. It just spreads bacteria over the sink and anything in the sink.
 
 
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF

We had consumed a romaine salad—one of our typical lunch choices—the day before the November outbreak was announced. It was also announced that our place of residence, the state of New York, was one of the top E. coli locations. Thankfully, we were not affected.

But after the most recent outbreak, some romaine lettuce products are now labeled with a harvest region. At least then, if an outbreak is called in Santa Barbara, romaine from other areas can be safely consumed.

We hope that all growers will do this. It will save consumers an unpleasant illness, and will also save millions of dollars of discarded produce.
  

Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house we go!

These sleighs are made from sweet rolls and mini gingerbread men, with candy cane runners.

We discovered it on the Facebook page of St. Pierre bakery. We recommended their product line earlier this fall.

It’s fun to make, and even more fun to eat as a sweet snack.
 
 
RECIPE: GINGERBREAD MEN SLEIGH

Ingredients Per Sleigh

 
RECIPE: ROYAL ICING

Ingredients

 
Note that this makes enough icing for 4 sleighs, but not enough to ice a batch of cookies.
 
Preparation

1. CUT wide slots in the top of the roll with a sharp knife. Insert the gingerbread men.

2. MAKE the royal icing. Mix the ingredients until the icing stiffens. If it appears too stiff, add more water, a bit at a time.

3. PLACE the roll on wax paper or parchment. Use a small knife or spreader to coat one side of the candy canes with icing. Press into the roll and let dry.

[2] St. Pierre’s brioche rolls (both photos courtesy St. Pierre).