When I was little, my mother used to make dough ornaments each year by baking cookies" out of a simple flour, water, and salt dough, decorating them with food coloring, and hanging them with ribbon from the tree. They had an adorable, homespun look, but my younger brother, still a toddler, couldn't quite understand that they weren't meant to be eaten—every year at some point during Christmas we'd find him, face stained by food coloring, in a corner gnawing on a decoration he'd snagged. Being not much older, I was confused by the fact that my mother kept telling me that the ornaments weren't good to eat, and yet my brother so clearly wanted to eat them. One year when I was about five I decided to see what all the fuss was about. I grabbed one of the cookies" and took a bite. It was extremely disappointing—so hard I couldn't even get my teeth in, no sweetness at all, just a salty, floury flavor. At that point I decided that, in the future when my mother said something wasn't good to eat, I'd believe her.

But I never fully gave up on the idea of a dough ornament that was actually edible. I can see the value of my mom's salty creations—they baked up firm enough to withstand several years on the tree, at least when hidden from curious toddlers. But I love the thought of a decoration that beautifies the tree and then—mmm...—does double duty as a tasty treat. What kid wouldn't love to come down Christmas morning and see that Santa had left a colorful confection hanging above the pile of presents, just waiting to be gobbled up.

It turns out, you can actually make many types of cookies into ornaments. Just pick sturdy, dry varieties that won't crumble or go bad and make a ribbon hole in them before baking. These stained glass cookies (pictured above), with a "window" of melted hard candies, would look beautiful twinkling in front of one of the tree's lights. And this recipe tells you how to fit two cookies together to make a three-dimensional decoration.

If you're not saving the cookies as a surprise, making them would be a fun Christmas Eve project to do with children. You could even pipe each child's name on their ornament so they can proudly admire their handiwork when it's on display.

And if you're looking for last-minute ideas for Christmas main courses, desserts, or other recipes, see our complete Christmas Package.

I always seem to make the mistake of flying without any decent food. I'm usually too rushed to pack something before leaving my house, and I'm just not into the subpar selections at the airport. Airport food tends to be on the unhealthy side, and the thought of eating anything greasy when flying makes me cringe, mostly because I know that once on board, my movement will be limited and will consist of me trying to find a comfortable position in the infant-sized plane seat (impossible by the way). Besides, this time of year is for indulging in cookies, and pastries and pies (oh my!), not overpriced pizza and fries.

On Saturday I was set to get on a 7pm flight home to London for the holidays. I was happy with my departure time, because it meant I would be on an overnight flight and would arrive early the next morning. But what would dinner be? How about breakfast? I had not had the chance to make anything, but when my flight was delayed by a day I took it as a sign and spent an hour making myself a nice little meal for my flight the next day. I knew I would want something satisfying, but also light and healthy. I had recently tested out this Barley Stew with Leeks, Mushrooms and Greens recipe, and had been craving it ever since. Even though the recipe asks for barley I opted for quinoa, mainly because I already had it at home, and brought the delectable dish on the plane with me. I was not able to heat it up, but to be honest I actually like food at room temperature (same goes for drinks). For me it was the perfect solution. It took no time, and it didn't weigh me down during my seven hour flight. For breakfast I packed a banana and a peanut butter sandwich.

What do you eat when you fly? Do you buy food at the airport or bring something from home?

When I imagine a Christmas goose, I picture a Dickens character bundled up against the elements, trudging through deep snow with the huge bird slung over his shoulder, whistling Christmas carols and tipping his hat to the folks he meets along the way.

We always had turkey for Christmas dinner in my family. Goose sounds intimidating. Those birds always have more personality than chickens do in cartoons, so perhaps I'm afraid they'll wisecrack their way out of the pot. Or it might just be that they look so damn big.

I did wonder about going for goose this year. There's a delicious recipe in our Dinner Rush menu planner for this week, and a slew of other goose recipes in our database, too.

I was almost convinced until I read Jam_n's experience with goose in our Kitchen Counsel forum. The 14-pound bird she cooked was "bony, greasy, and fed only 7 people." 

Have you cooked goose?  Any tips? Should I be afraid? And where's the best source for buying the bird?

Just pretend this is a picture of a gingerbread castle and not a haunted house.

So it's the holiday season, and most of us are going to follow a script for the next couple of days that goes something like this:

1. Fly/drive/take a train to a relative's house.

2. Catch up with everyone.

3. Half or more of the group retires to the den/living room/wherever to hang out with various low-energy activities (watching the game, drinking eggnog, playing with the kids, etc.). A select group goes into the kitchen.

And that's where the trouble starts.

Call me a masochist. My annual physical is always scheduled for Christmas week and I remind my doctor that most of the year I'm pretty restrained but come Thanksgiving through Christmas, I do allow myself to eat what I want. The result this time? Five extra pounds. Ugh. So, I'm going to rein it back in, except for Christmas day, follow our healthy holiday eating guide, and make these low cal, low fat comfort food recipes. What about you? Are you like most Americans, and packing a few over the holidays or do you watch what you eat even during the holidays?

The "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" Web video series is part of the USDA's program to try to help consumers get in better touch with where the meals on their dinner tables actually come from.

On Wednesday, White House chef Sam Kass made the latest in a number of recent high-profile media appearances in the latest installment of "Know Your Farmer," where he and a group of volunteers set up a series of miniature greenhouses to extend the growing season for the crops on the South Lawn of the executive mansion. (The hoop houses, by the way, are something the USDA announced it will help farmers build to remain productive during the cold season.)

On the menu this winter: spinach, lettuce, carrots, mustard greens, chard and cabbage. Kass calls winter spinach so sweet that it "tastes almost like candy."

So what's the reaction from the public so far?

Well, let's just say muted. Only one person has commented on the video, and it went goes like this: "for this, we are taxed at every turn."

My suggestion: Get a voiceover person who doesn't sound like the guy from movies like "Death on the Highway."

When it comes to holiday spirit, I think I make Scrooge look like Father Christmas. This year we're not even sending cards (mostly for time reasons, though, not because of hostility). The downside is that I miss out on the fun of baking edible gifts; there's something to be said for blithely unwrapping stick after stick of butter and never considering the consequences (this is the season to be oblivious). The upside is that I can make anything mentally and enjoy the fantasy with no shopping, slaving or cleanup. One economical possibility comes to mind constantly: candied citrus peel. I love orange, especially dipped in chocolate, but I'd settle for grapefruit, especially since you get so much out of each fat fruit. When I went looking for recipes here on Epicurious, though, I saw something even less likely to be found in food shops: candied lemon peel. Lots of times the lemons you buy are more rind than juice anyway, so why not turn them them into an edible gift with only sugar added? The juice, of course, can always be converted to curd.

Whoa, Nelly. From coast to coast, this winter has been pretty snowstorm-a-riffic so far, and this weekend's record-making storm on the East Coast was certainly no exception.

But you know what they say: When life hands you blizzards, make blizzard food.

For many, a winter storm is the perfect excuse to pull out the big pots and start a soup, a cake, a batch of cookies, a casserole, or a heaping helping of comfort food. This weekend I heard from friends all over the Snow Coast who were happily at work whipping up hunkering-down goodies: Mushroom-barley soup, Christmas cookies, even a massive Thai food feast.

My go-to snowy day cooking project has always been lasagna, which tends to make lots of leftovers (those can come in handy when you can't get to the store for a day or two). What's yours?

With Christmas just days away, you're likely focused on wrapping gifts, baking cookies, and setting the holiday table. But by the time you've polished off the fruitcake and returned all those ill-fitting sweaters, it'll be time for another celebration: New Year's Eve.

To help you ring in 2010 in a stylish, stress-free way, we've gathered all our favorite recipes, drinks, and party ideas:

Throwing a party but don't want to break the bank? In our Luxe-for-Less New Year's Eve feature, Katie Brown shares her best recipes and tips for entertaining on a budget. Speaking of saving money, check out our picks for the Top 5 Affordable Sparkling Wines.

Maybe your wallet isn't what you're worried about. What if you've never even hosted a party before? Relax and tune in to the Epicurious Guide to Entertaining. In this 9-part video series, lifestyle expert Clinton Kelly (star of TLC's What Not to Wear) shows you everything you need to know, including making centerpieces, setting up a buffet table, and creating a home bar.

And, if you're an experienced host or hostess, but need some fun new recipes to impress your guests, we have hundreds of celebration-ready dishes. Plus, we have guides to lucky foods from around the world and shopping for and cooking with caviar.

For more recipes, drinks, and party ideas, check out our Ultimate New Year's Eve Guide.

How cool are these mini gingerbread houses perched on mugs of hot chocolate?! Think I'll have to make some of these. Thanks, NotMartha!

Got the Christmas baking bug? Check out our easy videos and recipes for a Yule Log cake and delicious edible gifts. We've even got kid-friendly versions to cut down on time and angst.

Oh, and of course you'll need the best hot festive drink recipes to fill those mugs and toast the season.