For those living north of the Equator, today* is the the winter solstice, shortest day of the year.

Since antiquity, man has celebrated the winter solstice with feasting, gifts, visiting, drinking and more of the pleasures that counter the daily hardships of life.

So treat yourself to something special. We recommend a candy cane hot chocolate.

Start by making a seasonal cocoa cup rimmer with crushed candy canes or other peppermint candies.

Here’s a recipe for an easy batch of “peppermint dust” from Ziploc. Use it to turn goodies into festive treats all winter long.

To rim a cup of cocoa, dip the rim in water about 1/4 inch deep. Place the peppermint dust on a plate or in shallow bowl and twist the wet rim in it until it adheres.

1. PLACE candy canes or other red and white peppermint candies in a Ziploc bag. Gently crush the candies with a rolling pin. Use less pressure for tiny chunks, and more pressure for a fine dust.

2. STORE the peppermint dust in a a Ziploc bag or other airtight container for easy access.

3. SPRINKLE on frosted, brownies, donuts, cupcakes. See these and other recipes at LifeLessons.Ziploc.com.

Hot chocolate is made by mixing shaved, ground or other form of actual chocolate like beads or pellets (pistoles). The chocolate is mixed with water or milk, plus a sweetener. If you were to eat the chocolate, it would taste just like chocolate from a chocolate bar.

Cocoa is made with cocoa powder. Many products made from cocoa powder are called “hot chocolate,” but there is a difference. As chocolate contains far more cocoa butter than cocoa powder, hot chocolate will be smoother and richer than hot cocoa, all things being equal (if both products are made with the same type of liquid—milk, half and half, water, etc.) .

Check out the different types of cocoa and hot chocolate.
 
EASY PEPPERMINT BARK

For an over-the-top treat, have some peppermint bark with your candy cane cocoa.

Peppermint bark is super easy to make. Simply:

2. CHILL in the refrigerator for an hour and break into chunks. Voilà: a special treat with little effort.
 
*Using the Gregorian calendar, the December solstice occurs between December 20th and December 23rd. Based on the rotation of Earth, the North Pole is tilted furthest away from the sun at the winter solstice (and closest to the sun at the vernal equinox in June). The Gregorian calendar is used in most western countries: 365 days in a year, 366 days in a leap year.
  

It was created by Laila Ghambari, U.S. 2014 Barista Champion, director of coffee at Cherry Street Coffee House, a Seattle mini-chain, and a spokesperson for De’Longhi premium coffee machines.

She recently developed this easy-to-make Nutella Latte recipe, and De’Longhi shared it with us.

RECIPE: NUTELLA LATTE

Ingredients For One 8-10-Ounce Drink

1. ADD 1 tablespoon of Nutella to the bottom of the cup. Combine with prepared espresso and stir, then top with foamed milk.

2. TOP with whipped cream and garnish with chocolate powder or chopped toasted nuts.

If you’re one of those people who doesn’t like Nutella, here’s another recipe Laila created. There are no chestnuts or pecans (the typical nut for praline) in this drink, but she created it to evoke those flavors.

RECIPE: MOCK CHESTNUT PRALINE LATTE

Ingredients For One 8-10-Ounce Drink

 
Preparation

1. WARM up the peanut butter and sweetener. Combine with the prepared espresso then top with foamed milk.
2. TOP with whipped cream and garnish with chocolate or chopped toasted nuts.

Mock Chestnut Praline Latte. Photo courtesy Cherry Street Coffeehouse | DeLonghi.

It was developed by a Dallas-area caterer, and became a big hit locally.

A bag arrived: a mix of sweet and salty flavors with a bit of heat. A blend of caramelized tortilla chips (a fun idea!), Chex cereal pieces, dried cranberries, almonds and peanuts, it’s a variation on a Chex Mix.

It’s tasty, to be sure, but no more awesome than some other Chex Mixes we’ve made. We will acknowledge, though, that compared to the boxed Chex Mixes on the market, the ingredients are more pure (you can taste the higher quality).

So why are we writing about it?

First, you might need something freakin’ awesome as a stocking stuffer or party favor. The name is sure to delight. “It’s Freakin’ Awesome” may be hyperbolic, but it is fun.

Second, a portion of every purchase goes to Carry The Load, a charity started by a former Navy Seal to support the families of fallen heroes from the military, law enforcement, firefighters and rescue personnel.

We love food with a mission!

December 20th is National Sangria Day. The word derives from the Spanish word for bloodletting, and refers to the red wine that was used as a base for the punch.

While many of us think of sangria as a summer cooler, red sangria is the perfect color to celebrate the holidays.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF SANGRIA

Sangria’s ancestors are a Roman drink called “hippocras” (wine, sugar, spices and other ingredients).

Around 200 B.C.E., the conquering Romans arrived in Spain and planted vineyards.

They soon discovered that red grape varietals produced the best wine in the local soils.

The locals created fruit punches from the wines, and called these drinks sangria after the color.

While sangria was drunk in Spain for more than 1,000 years, it didn’t arrive in the U.S. until the 1964 World’s Fair in New York City.

It was served at the Spanish Pavilion, and quickly made its way into American homes and restaurants.

Sangria is available in bottles, ready to drink. Since January 2014, the use of the word “sangria” on bottle labels is restricted by the European Union. Only sangria made in Spain and Portugal can be sold under that name.

Here’s more about sangria
 
 
HOW TO MAKE SANGRIA

Sangria is made with wine, a spirit or liqueur, club soda, ginger ale, or another sparkling element (including sparkling wine), fruit, and sometimes, a sweetener.

In Spain, sangria is typically made with Rioja or another local red wine.

 
The wine is typically blended in a pitcher or a punch bowl with chopped fruit, fruit juices, or a sweetener (honey, sugar, syrup, lemon-lime soda instead of the club soda), soda water, and sometimes brandy.

While some people feel that the cheapest wine will suffice because the flavor gets blended with these other ingredients, we recommend using a good (not great) quality wine. Let “quality” refer to anything you’d be happy to drink straight from the glass.

Ideally, the sangria—without the soda water—should be allowed to chill overnight for the flavors to meld. The chilled soda water or other sparkling beverage should be added right before serving.

To serve, pour the sangria into a pitcher filled with ice cubes and garnish with more fresh fruit.

 
 
SANGRIA TRIVIA

 
 
15 SANGRIA RECIPES

[1] This version adds Port to the red wine (photo © Sandemans).

[2] You can also make sangria with red or white wine (photo © La Marina | NYC [now closed]).

[3] While traditionally made with red wine, white wine sangrias are also popular. You can make them with sparkling wine, too (photo © U.S. Apple Association).

[4] Rosé Sangria With Peaches (photo © Sun Basket).

[5] Unless you’re expecting a punchbowl-size crowd, it’s easier to make sangria in a pitcher (photo © Anna Tukhfatullina | Pexels).

The device enables you to create bite size, multi-layered gourmet appetizers using everyday ingredients. Yes, even peanut butter and jelly or egg salad seems “gourmet” when made in this format!

The manufacturer claims that this can be done in “just five minutes,” but that’s just for simple layering, slicing and plating. You need to add a bit of time for any prep work—making crab salad, slicing olives and pimentos, chopping nuts, whatever. But what you end up with is worth it: fancy and fun appetizers or dessert bites that can become a signature offering at your home.

If you have great knife skills, you don’t need this gadget. Just build a loaf of layers and slice your own.

If, however, you’d never get even slices without help, this is your gadget for triple- or quadruple-layer appetizer or dessert bites that delight adults and kids alike. The instructions are easy to follow and deliver perfectly proportioned pieces. The device is fool-proof: Anyone can turn out impressive, professional looking appetizers with inexpensive ingredients (or, feel free to load in the pricey ones).

Stacked layers of crab salad, garnished with crème fraîche and celery. Feel free to add more complexity to your stacks: some watercress atop one of the crab layers or some pimento strips, for example. Photo courtesy Architec.

You layer the ingredients in the plastic mold (see the photo below), then use the slots in the mold to cut the loaf into even pieces.

You start and ending the stacked loaf with bread or another base. The base can be polenta, tortillas or even sushi rice.

The fillings can be anything that’s a bit moist or creamy—the ingredients need to be “flexible” since the mold presses them into bites that hold their shape. So avoid a hunk of iceberg lettuce (but arugula, cress, mesclun or baby spinach work) or roast turkey. But if there’s something you really want, you may be able to figure out how to make it work. (Shred the lettuce and dice the turkey into mini cubes in a layer with moist stuffing, for example.)

The layers are pressed to your desired thickness, and you can keep adding layers until the body of the mold is full. Then slice. When you remove the mold, the appetizers can be served from the plastic bottom tray. But for impressing your guests, you’ll probably want to re-plate them.

And of course, you can garnish them with whatever you like, from crème fraîche to caviar, or whipped cream for dessert stacks.

WHAT TO MAKE

Kids will enjoy peanut butter, jelly and banana bites; ham and cheese; bacon and egg stacks on a toast or waffle base; and mini pizza stacks.

Foodies will enjoy crab salad, smoked salmon, goat cheese, chicken mousse, and a garnish of caviar.

For everyone else: you know what your friends and family like (onions? pickle relish?), and where your own creativity will lead you.

For desserts, you can layer angel or pound cake with jam, fruit compote or pudding; make zebras from brownies, cheesecake and perhaps some jam; and otherwise layer your fantasy dessert ingredients.

The fun of the Stackable Appetizer Maker is playing around with different ingredients to find what works for you. Do your experimenting right before lunch, so you can eat your experiments.

The Stackable Appetizer Maker is $19.99, available on Amazon or from the manufacturer, Architec, in your choice of black, blue or red.

Customers have posted a lot of good comments on Amazon—that the cutting tool isn’t effective (use your own bread knife), that the recipe booklet is a mess (you’ll have no problem putting together your own combinations).

There are also great tips not provided by the manufacturer, including:

 
You can watch the video and download the recipe book for free on the Architec website (the video link leads to YouTube).