Here are some variations on Kings Cake from around the world:

• A Spanish Magic Kings Cake
• A French Gallete des Rois
• A Mexican Rosca de Reyes
• And of course the New Orleans’ version

Did you make anything to celebrate?

Woke up still feeling sick today and saw this recipe in my Twitter feed, from Sandy of Eat Real (follow her @eat_real) - perfect treat to brighten our morning. The toddler helped me mix the batter and then devoured quite a few of these wonderfully tasty and fluffy pancakes.

(Note: minor alterations to Sandy’s recipe, used 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour and brown sugar in place of regular.)

… Grandmom D.’s Snowball Cookies. These are hardly unique, but it’s the only recipe I have passed down from my English grandmother, and it just wouldn’t be Christmas without them. The toddler was quite happy to help by sprinkling “sugar snow” on them.

… a flashback to Hanukkah latkes. Yum!

… the world’s tastiest gingerbread cookies, though not entirely structurally sound (made them too thick, nice and cakey, but a little too crumbly for the toddler).

10 …Sesame Beef Stir-Fry

9 … Watermelon Gazpacho

8 … Creamy Apple Celery Soup

7 … Rainier Cherry Glazed Pork Chops

6 … Organic Spiced Cranberry Sauce

5 … Zesty Green Beans Almondine

4 … Zucchini Tagliatelle Alfredo

3 … Pork Chops with Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce

2 … Cranberry Baked Brie

and #1 …

Squash Blossoms Rellena de Oyamel
(Thank you, Chef Raffa!)

Want to swap favorite recipes? Look me up on StumbleUpon.

This one is bittersweet as it is the final batch of cider from Distillery Lane Ciderworks, provided through our milk delivery service from October through December. It’s the only juice we regularly drink, and the toddler is quite infatuated with his “appy cidey.” This version is for the grown-ups only, though of course you can simply omit the rum for your little ones!

Recipe: Gingered Apple Cider

Ingredients:

• 1 quart fresh apple cider
• 1/2 cup ginger simple syrup (or a peeled chunk of fresh ginger)
• 2 clementines, zest and juice
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• Rum

Instructions: Combine ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain and pour into mugs. Add rum if desired, and enjoy!

… and ready for New Year’s Eve! Recipe over at Cheese & Champagne.

Spice-crusted ham and maple-mustard sauce from Gourmet; Hoosier corn pudding (below).

Recipe: Hoosier Corn Pudding
This recipe comes from a former coworker’s grandmother from Indiana, hence the name. It is the ultimate fast comfort food side dish, but the Jiffy mix is its dirty little secret. We never buy canned corn (to my husband’s chagrin), so this is an extra special holiday treat.

Ingredients:

• 1 box Jiffy corn bread mix
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 1 15-ounce can corn, drained
• 1 15-ounce can creamed corn, with liquid
• 8 ounces sour cream
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• pinch salt

Instructions: Lightly oil a 9×13-inch baking dish. Mix together first 3 ingredients until well combined, then add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Pour into baking dish and bake for 1 hour, until puffy, fully set and golden on top. Enjoy!

adapted from Ina Garten’s coconut marshmallows, topped with crushed, organic candy canes.