Newsflash...it'sofficially getting colder. As the frigid temperatures settle in for the season, you may have to dress in layers and keep up with those runaway gloves, but the cold weather isn't all bad; it also brings delicious drinks that are great for warming the body and the spirit. One such beverage is Kinderpunsch, (also called "children's punch") and it is a Christmas tradition in Germany.

Easter is a ham's time to shine, but Thanksgiving or Christmas—fuggedaboutit! "No more!" says the pig. Tired of being the other meat, your ham is claiming center stage this holiday season. Move over turkey! Chef Jaimie Oliver adds a Caribbean spin to pork with this recipe for Spicy Jerk Ham. 

A few years I got the opportunity to interview Patrick and Gina Neely of the Food Network and we talked about a variety of things.  Among the recipes mentioned, was creamed collard greens.  I tried this recipe and it has been a winner for me. It puts a spin on the classic African American preparation of collards and gives a robust earthy taste to what would be the typical creamed spinach.

MCCN's Erika Holmes shared with us as a  Puerto Rican you can expect to find Arroz Con Dulce on the Christmas Table Spread. We found this recipe on the great web site El Boricua, which should be on list for all things Puerto Rican.

You can do things the easy and buy your flavored Masa or you can do what Emeril Lagasse says when he is cooking, "Kick it up a notch." Having prepared tamales and eaten the fruits of my labor, I suggest this recipe which call for some flavors that will certain enhance tamales and make them show stoppers.

On Christmas Eve, I stumbled upon a listing of recipes which help to comprise an Italian Christmas Eve Dinner.  Among the traditional dishes served is fried eel.  Visit mangiabenepasta.com for a complete menu of recipes for Christmas Eve.  Here is the fried eel recipe: 

While Americans usually feature Egg Nog as a holiday drink, in Trinidad and Tobago there are several beverages that are consumed during the Christmas season. Among them is sorrel, puncha cream and ginger beer. My favorite is ginger beer because I love ginger — it aids in digestion. It also reminds me of the variation of the drink that I grew up with in Sierra Leone, West Africa. The ginger would steep for at least one day so the output was quite a pungent drink that had quite a punch!  - by Jeneba Ghatt

Family, food, and travels are synonymous with the holiday season. As leaves begin to change colors and winter coats make their way out of the back of the closet, visions of pumpkin pies, turkeys, and sorrel fill our dreams. Did I lose you somewhere? If you’re a lover of Caribbean cuisine I didn’t. Sorrel is a drink that is a holiday favorite in the Caribbean and many American homes.

Flan is a favorite of our logo designer Leo Cortez.  It is an ultimate comfort dessert.  This goes out to all the flan lovers out there.

There are two matzo ball camps: those that like them heavy and leaden at the bottom of a bowl and those that like them light and fluffy–these are the latter, and in my mind, the better ones.

If you can’t find matzo meal, pulse a few pieces of matzo in your food processor until it is a coarse powder. If you can’t find matzo, well, you obviously do not live in New York City.

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
1 (9 inch) deep dish pie crust
6 apples – peeled, cored and chopped
1 (12 ounce) package fresh cranberries, roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/3 cup quick-cooking tapioca
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter
1 egg, lightly beaten

The initial thought of a a chicken stuffed in a duck which is then stuffed in a turkey is a little hard to comprehend. It just seems like too much! However, when you find out that this specialty called turducken is said to have been created in Louisiana; it somehow all makes sense.

This is a great alternative to marshmallow topped sweet potatoes. Cutting the sweet potatoes into slices of even thickness is important in getting them to cook at the same rate. A potato masher will yield slightly lumpy sweet potatoes; a food mill will make a perfectly smooth puree.  You can also skip the cookie topping and just serve the sweet potatoes on their own.

Show Producer Fatima Fofana hails from Sierra Leone.  We have known each other so long that we have grown up together having been roommates in college.   One of the best things for me culturally as far as the world of food was having a roommate from Guyana and West Africa.  There in our humble apartment in Baltimore, I watched her cook Cassava leaf stew.  The Cassava leaf soup is also very popular in Liberia but the recipe differs a bit.  Cassava leaf stew is a wonderful dish to consider preparing for the holidays.- Crystal Johnson, MCCN Editor

After much deliberation, I have chosen to give in to naming this recipe “Love at First Pie”. One day I was walking by with this golden pie in hand and noticed someone was following me.  I turned around.  He was sort of cute and he asked, “What do you have there?” Perplexed by this moment I simply answered, “Eggnog custard pie”. With hearts in our eyes, it would become

Let’s face it, some of the best recipes are stumbled upon and that is exactly what happened in the creation of this cranberry sauce recipe one Thanksgiving.  As I prepared my traditional recipe while cooking at my cousinn’s home I saw an opened bottle of White Zinfandel by the stove and I imagined the possibilities.  The feedback from everyone at dinner proved to be tremendously favorable. - by Crystal Johnson

Mulled wine, (Gluhwein), is a popular Christmas drink in Austria, Switzerland and Germany. It contains red wine, fruit, cloves and cinnamon and is served hot by street vendors at Christmas Fairs, (Weihnachtmarkt). It is also sold during the ski season on the slopes of many European resorts. 

Boxed Cake doesn't have to be a dirty word, there a few things you can do to give it that homemade flavor.  Flour to taste is something you will have learn to feel out.  Add either a quarter cup or half cup of flour to you boxed cake recipe.  A quarter cup of oil or one of the packaged cup of apple sauce will help with balancing moisture.