My family is pretty easy going when it comes to Christmas traditions. Besides my sister's strict stockings before gifts rule and my father's insistence that we have filet mignon for dinner, we're pretty relaxed. Still, over the years we've developed a certain Christmas morning ritual that goes something like this:

Early, and I mean early, my dad wakes up and starts preparing breakfast. That means pancakes, bacon, sausage, sometimes scrambled eggs, and lots and lots of coffee and mimosas (clearly, no one ever warned my parents about cholesterol). Dad's routine is frequently interrupted by Duffy, our golden retriever, who spends half the morning scratching at the back door to be let out and the other half begging for bacon. Sometime later my mom wakes up and several hours later, after much prodding, my sister and I get up. Then, despite the fact that my dad started breakfast ages ago, we pour our first round of coffee and mimosas and get started on the presents (stockings first of course). Once that's done, and it can take a while because, well, if there's one thing my family is good at it's shopping for gifts, we finally eat breakfast. This is always a treat. My dad is quite skilled when it comes to pancakes and if he's in the right mood, he'll even make them in special shapes.

Do you have any Christmas morning breakfast traditions?

The pancakes shown above are Hannah's Pancakes.

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.

Thank you for voting in our Tailgating Recipe Contest! Today we announced the top three contenders:

Emily Barre's Stuffed Jalapenos

Danielle Williams's Braised Pulled Pork Sandwiches and Caramelized Onions and Apples on Spicy Cheddar Cheese Biscuits

Patterson Watkins's South Philly Chili with Homemade Whiz Wit and Pretzel Croutons

These three talented cooks are headed to Fort Lauderdale to compete in a Super Bowl weekend cook-off at the Taste of the NFL event. The lucky winner gets a Blue Ember iQue Digital Grill and the runners-up receive SonarQue Propane Fuel Monitors.

Looking for more tailgating ideas? See our Complete Game-Day Guide for the best recipes, beer, and gear.

I have a history of insomnia, and for the last couple weeks, I've had a terrible time falling and staying asleep. In the past I've taken a prescription sleep aid, but this time I'm hoping to tackle the problem more naturally. Sleep issues are pretty common so just about everyone has a recommendation, and while I've received all kinds of advice (exercise everyday, don't exercise too close to bedtime, wear socks to bed, read before bed, make sure your room is completely dark, take a hot shower, etc.), the most common type involves what to eat or drink as well as what not to eat or drink.

On Monday, Siobhan Adcock wrote about the start of Holiday Cookie Season and which recipes she plans to try this year. Later that day, Siobhan shared some of her delicate and butter-y thumbprint cookies with the Epi staff (delicious) and naturally the conversation centered around our favorite cookie recipes and holiday baking memories. Someone brought up dragées and asked whether they are really edible? Dragées are perhaps more commonly known as those little silver balls used to add sparkle to cut-out wreathes and trees. My sister Alex and I have a long tradition of decorating Christmas cookies and we've never shied away from eating the little silver decorations (or the raw-egg-filled cookie dough), but are they safe? Are dragées really edible?

Poking around the internet, I found that just about every online source features some reference to the FDA recommendation that dragées are only for decoration and not to be consumed. And, after a Napa Valley lawyer filed several lawsuits in 2003, dragées have all but disappeared in California. The lawyer argued that silver is toxic and can build up in the body over time. Most of the distributors settled, agreeing to stop selling silver decorations in California. (For more on dragées in California, check out this article from the San Francisco Chronicle.)

Do you eat dragées or do you consider them for decoration only?

Also, today happens to be National Cookie Day, so take Siobhan's advice and check out our 25 Days of Christmas Cookie Calendar.

Just in case you've been living under a culinary pop culture rock and somehow missed the obsession with Julie and Julia, the movie starring Meryl Streep as Julia Child, Julie Powell is the author of Julie and Julia, which provided half the source material for the film. In other words, she's the woman portrayed by Amy Adams on the big screen. This week, Powell's second memoir, Cleaving, hits stores. Much will likely be written about the extramarital affair detailed in Cleaving, but since this is Epicurious and not the food world equivalent of US Weekly, we're a bit more interested in the book's other subject matter, Powell's apprenticeship at Fleisher's butcher shop in Kingston, NY and her international meat tour. In the Q&A below, Powell talks about her obsession with butchers, being a "restaurant vegetarian," and what it's like to drink blood with the Maasai in Tanzania.

Epicurious: Why did you choose butchery as your latest project and why are you so fascinated by butchers?

Julie Powell: I've been enthralled by butchers ever since I moved to New York City. I was raised in Austin, Texas, and all my meat, growing up, came from a supermarket, wrapped in cellophane. So I sort of fell in love with the smells and sights of a real old-school, old-world butcher shop, like Ottomanelli's on Bleecker Street in the West Village. And most of all I fell in love with these men, or rather with their skill and certainty, the kind of sureness that comes from having practiced a craft for decades and decades, taught to them by their fathers, and their fathers before them. I envied that.

On Thanksgiving, the turkey, the stuffing, the sides, and the pumpkin pie get all the attention. But what about breakfast? And for those of us who sit down to dinner later, what about lunch?

I'm sure there's a substantial population that knowing they're about to eat a large and rather caloric meal don't eat anything prior to the big turkey feast. But surely there are some who eat one or maybe even two meals before the bird is carved. I happen to be hungriest at the beginning of the day so I either have a large breakfast or a light breakfast plus a light lunch. I usually aim for healthier, less caloric meals and since Thanksgiving tends to be carb-heavy, I try to avoid eating a lot of bread, but I would never think of skipping. An empty stomach just makes me cranky and we all know that's not a good idea when there's a 20-pound bird, 5 to 6 sides, and 2 to 3 desserts to get on the table.

Besides the big feast, what do you eat on Thanksgiving?

With Thanksgiving just days away and Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year's fast approaching, we're deep into the holiday baking season. If you're not a regular baker and the thought of rolling out dough, whipping cream, or decorating cookies sends you into a pastry anxiety tailspin, relax. I have a recommendation: Lauren Chattman's new book, The Baking Answer Book: Solutions to Every Problem You'll Ever Face; Answers to Every Question You'll Ever Ask.

This petite reference book, which could easily be stowed in your kitchen cabinet or next to your mixer, is loaded with questions and answers on just about every baking topic you can imagine. Plus, it includes helpful charts, glossaries, how-to instructions, and recipes. Chattman, a former pastry chef and author of numerous cookbooks, covers the main baking categories (quick breads, muffins, scones, biscuits, cookies, cakes, pies, tarts, cobblers, crisps, layered pastry dough, and yeast breads) and offers her expertise on ingredients, equipment, getting to know your oven, and general baking science.

Questions (with concise, easy-to-understand solutions) include:

How do I substitute all-purpose flour for other flours?

How long does it take to preheat an oven?

Can I substitute wax paper or nonstick aluminum foil for parchment in a pinch?

How do I know when my butter and sugar are properly creamed together?

What is the best way to remove a cake from a water bath?

What does "sourdough" really mean?

For answers to the above, and for all of Chattman's helpful guidance, check out The Baking Answer Book.

And for in-depth baking help, check out Epicurious's primers on pies, bread, cakes, cake decorating and high-altitude baking.

Proving that there are many ways to host a party, here are two very different cookbooks devoted to entertaining.

Elegant Entertaining: Seasonal Recipes from the American Ambassador's Residence in Paris

Elegant Entertaining by Dorothy Walker Stapleton (wife of Craig Stapleton, American Ambassador to France from 2005 to 2009) and Philippe Excoffier (Executive Chef at the American Ambassador's residence since 2000) celebrates the diplomatic and gastronomic ties between the United States and France. The book opens with a brief history of the official residence of the American Ambassador to France and a quick overview of how food, wine, and entertaining have shaped Franco-American relations dating back to the very first ambassador, Benjamin Franklin, and highlighting Francophile Thomas Jefferson. The rest of the book is devoted to seasonal menus served at the official residence for various special occasions: Stuffed Medallion of Lamb, Chanterelles, and Truffles for the American President; Gazpacho and Crab Mille Feuille for a Supreme Court Dinner; Creamed Pumpkin Soup for Thanksgiving. If you're the type of cook who wants to recreate fancy, diplomat-style banquets, this is the book for you. Or, if you're just interested in the diplomat scene, or the Franco-American cultural relationship, you'll likely enjoy the introductory text as well as the extensive photos of the residence.

The Epicurious Tailgating Recipe Contest is in full swing. We just announced the ten finalists and now it's time for you to vote for your favorite recipe. Your votes will determine the top three contenders, each of whom will fly to Fort Lauderdale to compete in a Super Bowl weekend cook-off for the chance to win a Blue Ember iQue Digital Grill (the two runners-up get a SonarQue Propane Fuel Monitor).

The best part about voting is that for each vote cast, Epicurious will donate $1 to Taste of the NFL to benefit Feeding America and help support food banks around the country (up to $10,000).

Voting ends December 8 so VOTE NOW!

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY
Official Contest Rules

For game-day recipes, drinks, gear, and more, check out our Ultimate Tailgating Guide.