We asked some of our favorite food bloggers to share a holiday treat with us over our holiday break. Here's a special treat for our readers from New Zealand and Australia from Jules Clancy of stonesoup. She writes about how it feels to always have Christmas in the summer! She also shares a lovely recipe for baked salmon — a festive yet summer-friendly dish for those of you celebrating the holidays in warmer climes.

Growing up in Australia, Christmas was always a slightly odd holiday. Sure, I loved all the presents and the celebrations and food. But something didn't quite seem right. Like why were so many Christmas songs about riding sleighs through snow? And why did Santa always wear a fur lined suit? But the thing that really didn't add up for me was Christmas lunch. More

We asked some of our favorite food bloggers to share a holiday treat with us over our holiday break. I've been a big fan of librarian Lisa Campbell's food writing ever since her first blog, Pittsburgh Needs Eated. Now she lives in Alabama and blogs at Baking With Lisa, which carries on her dry wit and dramatic photos. Stop by Lisa's blog, and enjoy this post from her — a recipe near and dear to my own heart: fruit cake.

Most of my friends hate fruit cakes. They joke about using them as door stops. They joke about re-gifting them to enemies. I get the impression that if I sent someone a fruit cake, they would most likely write me a thank-you note, then catapult it.

I’m mystified by fruit cake haters. To me, homemade fruit cakes represent abundance and generosity. They’re made with ingredients that, in recent history, would have been considered rare and exotic. They can also get incredibly expensive, which might be why we don’t receive fruit cakes more often. More

I asked some of my own personal favorite food bloggers to share a holiday treat with us over our holiday break. I am especially glad to have this post from Madalene, who lives in England and writes the lovely blog the British Larder. It's a treat, and always worth a visit.

Wow…I had so much fun making these perfectly pretty but rustic festive ginger Christmas cookies. The worst thing was that I was all on my own so it would have been perfect and even more fun if I had been joined by some friends. I must confess that I had edible glitter and pink Royal icing all over the kitchen, in my hair, stuck to my face… just about everywhere. More

I was recently in Lisbon, Portugal (a wonderful city!) and I had the opportunity to meet Susana Gomes, a blogger friend. Susana is a simply delightful person, and a great cook, too. Here is one of her own favorite cookie recipes, fresh and spicy, and perfect for Christmas time. - Faith

I like the fragrant smell of this fruit. I like the size, and I like the juice and flavor. I like to be reminded to admire the tangerine, which turns the orchard into a splendid garden. More

Yesterday we reviewed D.I.Y. Delicious: Simple Food from Scratch by Vanessa Barrington. Here's a story from Vanessa of how she found her way into the world of culturing (and, ultimately, writing a book!) through just one dairy product: Yogurt.

I didn’t really set out to write a book. I was really just trying to teach myself how to make more of the ingredients I use in my cooking from scratch, rather than buying them packaged.

It all started with yogurt. More

Last week we gave you a cocktail recipe for The Jack-O-Lantern from Jason Dobrowner of Thirsty Scientist, a Los Angeles-based bar/mixology service. Here's one more spooky cocktail from Jason — a grownup drink for a grownup Halloween.

Halloween is my favorite time of year. It’s the official start to holiday season and fall harvest brings a plethora of delicious ingredients to create some beautiful seasonal cocktails. This drink, the evil stepsister a classic Cosmopolitan, is sure to make your Halloween party a killer night. More

Food writer Jennifer Bartoli lives in Montreal, where apples are a centerpiece of fall cooking. She sent us a few of her favorite recipes for fall, and here they all are — a collection of delicious apple dishes. Time to get picking!

Fall has always been my favorite time of the year. There’s just something so soothing about things quieting down after a warm summer and scarf weather slowly making its way in. Fall, in the Quebec region, means watching the trees slowly rid themselves of their green foliage and making way for canvas-like shades of crimson, amber, orange and yellow. Apple-picking is definitely one of the best food-related activities to enjoy during these months. More

When Jason Dobrowner of Thirsty Scientist, a Los Angeles-based bar/mixology service, contacted us with two inventive Halloween cocktails, we jumped at the chance to share them with you! Here's the first — stay tuned for another spooky cocktail from Jason next week!

Kick start the holiday season with the Jack-O-Lantern, a Manhattan with hints of pumpkin, apples, and fall spices. With the blend of spiced apple cider, pumpkin puree, and Jack Daniels, the Jack-O-Lantern is great for either cozying up next to a fire or starting your wild Halloween night. More

Where did this elaborate dish originate, even if we can’t pin down an exact original recipe? Historians believe that this artisanal dish was created 200 years ago by nuns in Puebla, Mexico, as a patriotic dish for Viceroy Agustin de Iturbide.

Since then, the dish has continued to be a classic. It boasts the colors of the Mexican flag and thus is prepared every September when the chiles poblanos are their greenest, the pomegranates a ripe juicy red and the walnuts freshly plucked from the trees, just in time for independence day celebrations. More

Quick: close your eyes, and picture your favorite Jewish foods. What do you see? Brisket, latkes, matzoh ball soup, kugel… What, no cakes or tarts? No scones, pies, or brownies? But take heart. Paula Shoyer, a lawyer-turned-pastry chef trained in Europe, recently came out with a new cookbook, The Kosher Baker (Brandeis University Press, 2010), just in time for Rosh Hashanah. More