The big bang captures too much of our attention at Christmas. As kids (and maybe even later), we immediately go for the biggest packages under the tree, ignoring the more apparently modest stockings by the fireplace.

SEATTLE Wash. - Seattle Culinary Academy at Seattle Central Community College offers a selection of recipes for our readers including: Dark Chocolate Coconut Cookies, Chocolate Cinnamon Madeleines, Cranberry Shortbread Cookies, Speculaas, Pumpkin Bars with Hazelnut Streusel, Espresso Cookies, Salted Caramel Nut Bars and Carrot Cake Cookies.

SAN FRANSICO - Putting a cheese platter together for a holiday bash? Promise you're not planning to hit up Trader Joe's for a shopping bag full of industrial specimens entombed in factory plastic.

In 2004 I happened to be looking on eBay when my eye was caught by a 1970s ice-cream van. It was pink and called Mr Frosty, and on a whim I bought it. I paid £500 for the van, unseen, and flew down to Cornwall to pick it up, where it was parked in a rundown car-park close to Land’s End. It was in a filthy state: its windows were covered in peeling lollipop stickers and the freezers were dank and mouldy.

When Tom Kaplan, owner of Hugo’s in Los Angeles, had a customer get sick after eating his white fish piccata, the seafood wasn’t to blame. It was the gluten in the bread-crumb coating that set off a week-long bout of intestinal distress in the customer, who suffers from a genetically inherited, autoimmune disorder known as celiac disease.

Regional favorite In-N-Out Burger has been crowned the nation’s primo patty purveyor in our latest Fast-Food Survey. With locations in just four Western states (California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona), In-N-Out nudged out behemoths Wendy’s, Burger King and McDonald’s to snare the Best Burger title.

Take these traditional Greek appetizers to your next toga party—or directly to your dining room.

Taking what appears to be a menu from the reservation desk, he thumbs through the booklet, pointing out products and prices with encyclopedic proficiency. There are at least three pages, maybe four, but it becomes clear that this is no ordinary menu; in fact, it's only the wine.

"We have close to half a million dollars in wines," muses chef Massimo Capra, "We have lots of good stuff."

Sometimes I feel vegetarians have a lot to answer for. Not only are they responsible for bad memories of nut roast, they have also managed to give lentils a bad name. It’s still difficult to get some people to see them in a positive light. I hate to tell you that it was a meal eaten in France that made me fall in love with lentils (food writers always say that), but it was.

CANADA - The Green Grind steps into the well-established Little Italy cafe scene, but comes with an environmentally conscious mandate (and tasty coffee!).

Garzón, Uruguay -- Star chefs often prove their celebrity by placing restaurants in remote locations to which fans are willing to travel. But few go as far as Francis Mallmann: The celebrity Argentinean chef has located his latest restaurant in Garzón, Uruguay.

In recent months, world attention has been focused on the shaky economic situation rather than the myriad troubles facing our planet. Which is exactly why we celebrate Earth Day each year on April 22, to remind us to take care of our ultimate natural resource. But where to eat after attending one of the special events planned for the day? We've rounded up some eco-friendly options in the following cities:

We can thank Mother Teressa for Buffalo chicken wings. No, no, no. Not that Mother Theresa, the nun known for helping the poor and dying in India.

This Mother Teressa hailed from Buffalo. She is the patron saint of those who crave a hot, flavorful snack also known as Buffalo Wings - those spicy chicken wings that come with celery sticks and Bleu Cheese dressing.

Two hours before his dinner guests were scheduled to arrive, Rob Hampton surveyed his kitchen and pronounced himself ready. By the stove stood a neat stack of pounded veal cutlets, the layers separated by wax paper; trays of flour and beaten egg for coating the cutlets; and plastic-wrapped bowls of sliced mushrooms and slivered crepes.

Hampton, a Napa Valley dentist, had already programmed his sound system to play Johann Strauss during his Viennese-themed meal and had set the table stylishly with 10 Vietri plates, heirloom silverware and daffodils.

Sitting on a warm beach in the middle of February, watching the street dancers rile up the crowd, is my idea of a good time. When I was growing up, my family would trek down to Ensenada for the most fun party of the year - Carnaval, celebrated in the weeks leading up to Lent.

Kitchen creativity is a better way to beat the credit crunch in the restaurant industry than cutting costs with cheaper ingredients, top chefs say.

Chefs from around the world at the Milan Identita Golose (greedy identities) forum, where cheese ice cream and cappuccino macaroons are among the dishes on offer, said this week that the recipe for a recession-busting business is: do what you do best.