I've always celebrated Christmas in cold climes. Eating shrimp on the beach in Australia just doesn't sound like Christmas to me! I guess it's all depends on what you've grown up knowing. Koala and her family still keep their British roots and roast a turkey, but they also enjoy salad,cold ham, cold chicken, king prawns, and crayfish, she says. Since it's high summer there now, chilled food does make sense.

We've gathered seasonal recipes from around the world, so even if you aren't traveling this holiday, you can still eat your way from country to country.

Have you eaten international Christmas foods? What's your favorite food memory?

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.

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.

Arizona: Free German, French & Italian Wine Tasting (Dec. 19)

Illinois: "The View From the Kitchen: An Upstairs-Downstairs Look at Frank Lloyd Wright's Most Famous House" (Dec. 19)

New York: 8th Annual Coquito Tasting Contest (Dec. 19)

Texas: "Treats of Texas" Food Bank Benefit (Dec. 19)

Michigan: School of Rock Food Drive (Dec. 20)

California: Gingerbread House Building Class (Dec. 21)

Oregon: Kids' 2-Day International Cooking Camp (Dec. 21-22)

Vermont: Candy Cane Making Demonstrations (Weds., Fri., and Sat. until Dec. 23)

California: The Science of Gingerbread (through Jan. 3)

New Hampshire: "America's Kitchens" Exhibit (through Jan. 17)

Fighting for Brown Moo Juice: The dairy industry has formed the Raise Your Hand for Chocolate Milk campaign as a bulwark against the growing movement to strike chocolate milk off school menus. Those who want chocolate milk banned from school say it's a sugary drink that encourages unhealthy food choices. The dairy industry says that when you take chocolate milk away, kids stop drinking milk altogether and simply choose even less healthy beverages instead.

Man Killed by Exploding Gum: A Ukrainian chemistry student blew his own jaw off when he chewed gum that had been dipped in explosive liquid. The 25-year-old, who died, had a bizarre habit of soaking his gum in citric acid before putting it in his mouth, and may have mixed up his solutions.

Love food and wine festivals? We've gathered a few of the delicious events happening this week - what's going on where you live?

New York: City Harvest Gingerbread House Display (through Jan. 31)

New York: Patsy's Serves Frank Sinatra's Favorite Dishes (Dec. 11-12)

Washington: 2009 Holiday Wine Tasting Event (Dec. 11-12)

London, England: Chocolate Festival (Dec. 11-13)

California: A MarketBar Farm Dinner Benefiting Marin Organic (Dec. 12)

Italy: "Birre sotto l'albero 2009" Christmas Beer Festival (Dec. 12)

Oregon: Amnesia Brewing's Second Annual Winter Ale Festival (Dec. 12)

Washington, DC: Certified Specialist in Wine Certification Course (Dec. 12-13)

Vermont: Holidazed & Confused Pt. 1 (Dec. 14)

South Carolina: Dickens Dinner (Dec. 16)

Christmas cookies! Good friends! How could it go wrong? Well, I've been thinking about hosting a Christmas cookie swap for my neighbors, and have already come up with many ways it could all go horribly wrong.

I'm planning to invite about 12 people. How do I know how many cookies to ask them to bring? I guess it depends on how many people rsvp "yes"?

And how do I make sure we don't have sugar cookies coming out of our ears and no other varieties?

What should I serve to drink? I vote for tea and coffee, as we have to test the cookies (purely for research purposes, of course). What about wine?

Then I have to decide which cookie to bake. I'll be jumping around Epicurious's 25 Days of Christmas Cookies guide, but if you have a great recipe to share, I'll be happy to try it.

So, Cookie Swappers, any advice for this swap-challenged newbie?

England: Pig's Ear Beer & Cider Festival (Dec. 1-5)

Germany: Chocolate Festival chocolART (Dec. 1-6)

Connecticut:  Christmastime Teas (Tues.-Sat., Dec. 1-19)

South Carolina:  Progressive Dinners for the Holidays (Dec. 1-23)

Oregon: Annual Holiday Ale Festival (Dec. 2-6)

California: December Nights: International Cottage Christmas Festival (Dec. 4-5)

Texas: Texas Hill Country Holiday Wine Trail (Dec. 4-6, 11-13, and 18-20)

New York: Wild Tea Party (Dec. 5)

Oregon:  "Season's Eatings" Benefit for Foodbank (Dec. 5)

California: Indio International Tamale Festival (Dec. 5-6)

Massachusetts: Hot Chocolate Tasting (Dec. 8 and 15)

Thanksgiving without turkey would never - pardon the expression - fly in my house. While we are trying to eat less meat, we do love our Thanksgiving turkey. However, I'm trying to come up with options for guests who don't eat meat.

So, what's the tastiest bird substitute? Today Grist.com "went looking for a turkey-like main course that could please vegetarians and flummox the carnivores who insist that all faux meat sucks."

Check out how the "fake turkeys" fared, and find plenty of vegetarian dishes for the holiday in our Thanksgiving Guide.

Have you tried a turkey substitute for Thanksgiving? Which type do you recommend?