Blog Posts by Zester Daily

Gift-wrapped Filipino candy, called yemas, are lime-scented candy-coated milk balls.
Zester.Daily.com contributors from all over the world introduce you to their best holiday desserts, including: Gift-wrapped Filipino Holiday Candy; Greek Christmas Breads and Butter-Free Cookies; English Christmas Plum Pudding; and Chinese-American Triple Coconut Sorbet (with a surprise kick!).

1. Gift-Wrapped Filipino Holiday Candy: Food and travel writer Robyn Eckhardt and photographer David Hagerman are based in Asia, where they have discovered authentic recipes through firsthand interviews. Robyn writes: "One morning, midway between breakfast and lunch, Damiana, a spry silver-haired woman wearing a shy grin and a turquoise flowered housecoat, stepped through the kitchen door carrying a bowl of strangely soft-shelled fresh eggs and three dalayap (a local lime similar to key limes). It was time to make yemas, candy-coated milk balls scented with lime. Prepared with just four ingredients -- including sweetened condensed milk, which was probably introduced to the Philippines during

By Louisa Kasdon

I blame it all on the brisket. Without the recipe, I wouldn't have gone into the restaurant business, I wouldn't have started writing about food, and I'd still be a happy corporate type with a regular paycheck and a mythical creature called a pension plan. Actually, I blame it all on my former husband. The brisket recipe started with him. And the annual fair at my kids' school.

At first it was manageable. We made brisket occasionally, like normal people. It was our holiday staple. We seared it on the stove, chopped the vegetables, slathered on the "secret" sauce and put it in the oven with a bottle or two of dark beer. We brought it to every potluck and family gathering.

Tip 1: How do you keep the brisket juicy?

Then my husband, king of the next-day-sandwich-is-better club, noticed that a brisket sandwich would be a great addition to the annual fundraiser at the kids' school. We'd set it up next to the mom who made spring rolls and not too

custardBy David Latt

Europeans do it better. Not the wine, beer and cheese, which are all great, but the holidays and vacations.

A holiday in Europe occupies at least two weeks. Summer vacation is six to eight weeks. With that much time off from work, one's internal clock resets. Mind and body slow down to take in the pleasures of the moment.

In America, "hurry" is always the new "black." Racing between appointments, checking what's on sale before we buy, and dropping kids off at soccer, school or play dates keeps most people's nerves frayed. Then when it's time for the holidays, with only a few days off from work, it's difficult to shift gears.

Try a treasured family recipe coffeecake featuring a raspberry jam filling.

Jellyroll -- A classic Christmas cake that really rolls with it.

Need a gluten-free dessert recipe for holiday guests? Try this easy pie crust.

Whip up some old-school spiked cream for a special Christmas treat.

Even though we look forward to

orange-cream cheese spiral cookiesBy Zester Daily Staff

Zester Daily contributor Lauren Chattman wrote the book on cookie swaps, literally. From her new release, "Cookie Swap!" Chattman recommends this perfect recipe for your holiday cookie exchange.

The recipe for orange-cream cheese spiral cookies, which combines just a few ingredients.

"I usually don't even have to go shopping to make them," Chattman said.

This is an icebox recipe, which means the dough logs can be prepared two weeks in advance of a cookie exchange and baked off the day of, for freshness, and produces extremely rich and tender cookies.

Orange Cream Cheese Spiral Cookies

Makes 36 cookies

Ingredients

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

10 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon salt

8 ounces (1 package) chilled cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 16 pieces

⅔ cup orange marmalade

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Combine the flour, ¼ cup

By Clifford A. Wright

For years many foodies (even before there were "foodies") thought of fondue, that classic dish of melted cheese for dipping, as gastronomically corny. This was especially so between 1975 and 1995, when fondue was so dated that the only fondue set most people had was the one in the attic leftover from their parents' 1950s parties. For Alpine denizens, especially those of us who lived in Switzerland, fondue is simply one of the greatest preparations ever invented.

What's in a cheese's name? Money.

Are those mountains just made of cheese? The Alps celebrate great dairy creations.

Looking for the perfect savory pie filling? Try cheese.

Want to go gourmet with a comfort food dinner? Try 'faux gras' mac and cheese.

Fondue is a typical meal of the vignerons, the vineyard workers in the Berneralpen, Switzerland. Fondue is always prepared with the help of guests, never beforehand. The guests are assigned various tasks such as cutting the bread, dicing

By Kathy Hunt

Growing up in a blustery steel town on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, I had more than my fair share of days with Jack Frost nipping at my nose. But chestnuts roasting on an open fire? I just assumed that these were fanciful treats dreamed up by Nat King Cole, along with Mel Tormé and Bob Wells, the writers of "The Christmas Song."

Zester Daily wine picks for the holiday season.By Zester Daily staff

Faced with a holiday party or a big family Christmas dinner, most hosts struggle with which wine to serve. Our Zester Daily wine writers serve up their picks for the perfect wines to go with that big, complex holiday feast.

Set the classic Kwanzaa table for seven nights of feasting.

Indulge in an authentic Mexican Christmas dinner (hold the tamales.)

Serve up a Christmas dinner fit for a medieval king with old-world holiday classics

Grenache

When it comes to marrying the meal with wine, the holidays are never easy. A mashup of bitter and sweet, sour and salty, rich and richer, dishes of varying weights and textures are thrown together like the gaudiest of holiday wardrobes.

We can't think of a single wine that can get you from start to finish. But there is, we think, a single variety, which, in all its global variants, might be up to the task. A grape so versatile that it may serve as your go-to variety for the meal of all meals.

Fresh Brussels sprouts shake off their hard-boiled reputation.
By Terra Brockman

With all the heaviness on the holiday table, now's the time to try Brussels sprouts in a light new way: raw and shaved into a fluffy cloud.

Brussels sprouts may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of holiday fare, but they have had an honored place in Britain for centuries, alongside the roast goose or game. Perhaps it was the British tendency to cook vegetables to death that have given Brussels sprouts a raw deal. The solution, naturally, is to eat them raw.

• What was Julia Child's food peeve?
• Kids won't eat Brussels sprouts? Try a great griddled broccoli.
• Are healthy food geeks happier?

Once they're shaved whisper-thin, simply toss with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Or get more festive by mixing and matching with toasted nuts (pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts), fruit (dried cranberries, fresh apples or pomegranate), and cheese (shaved Parmesan, cheddar, or even fresh ricotta for a creamy, slaw