I eat a banana for breakfast every morning, so I almost always have them on hand. They're my secret weapon for an easy, fast dessert: chocolate-banana bread pudding. I've made this dessert tons of times and it's a real crowd pleaser. The bananas are lightly caramelized before they're added and the puddings are cooked in a muffin tin making for fun, individual portions. The final dessert is comforting and each bite melts in your mouth. For the delightful recipe, read more

The weather here has seemed too warm for the holidays. To make up for that, I'm going to have to make a batch of these adorable, precious snowflake cookies. These lovelies look too beautiful to eat. — Kuidaore

My mentor recently moved to New York with his wife and new born baby. I miss him desperately and have yet to send him a housewarming gift. To show him my appreciation and send my well wishes, I want to get him a spectacular gift basket for Christmas. He's a crazy writer who enjoys simple, scrumptious foods. Can you help me find a gift basket filled with delicious goodies and awesome accessories? Look for gift baskets with a specific theme like the pasta one seen here by Dean and DeLuca. Bookmark the goodies you discover in the Yum Market on TeamSugar with the keyword tag Gift Baskets. Good luck in your search!

Read GeekSugar's guide to bookmarking on TeamSugar to better understand how to use this fun feature.

To see a list of my favorite online shops, read more

This Christmas season, give the grill master in your life a barbecue-related gift. He probably already has a grill, but what about a bbq pit? Or a portable grill? Or a grill pan for grilling indoors?

If he has every type of grill imaginable, give him the accessories that go with it. I'm planning on getting this lighted barbecue-thermometer fork for my bbq king. It's a digital thermometer that shows the temperature of probed meat or fish in just three seconds. A built-in flashlight makes it easy to read in the dark.

For more great grilling gifts, scroll through below.

Thanks to everyone who entered our Ultimate Holiday Entertaining Giveaway! The contest is now closed, but feel free to take the quiz and test your entertaining knowledge. Winners will be announced shortly. Be sure to check back for our future giveaways!

The holidays are right around the corner, and if you wish you had what it takes to be the ultimate entertainer, then you're in luck! We've teamed up with our pals at Hostess with the Mostess to come up with the Ultimate Holiday Entertaining Giveaway! Everything you need — more than $8000 in prizes — is up for grabs!

We're giving away three prize packages — including a grand prize with more than $5000 in goodies— featuring barstools from 2Modern, gold-banded dinnerware from west elm, Loop candelabras, Jonathan Adler teapots, notNeutral dinnerware, carafes, cheese boards, aprons, tea towels, table runners, and much, much more! To learn more about the packages, be sure to read the entire list of prizes.

To enter, YOU MUST LOG IN and take the entertaining quiz. (By the way, your eligibility is not based on getting the answers correct, just by taking the quiz once you are logged in.) The contest will end on Monday, Dec. 10, at 5:00 p.m. PST, and winners will be selected from among the quiz-takers. So, log in and take the quiz, and don't forget to e-mail this to all your friends and family so they can have a chance at it too!

Take the quiz.

If hosting a holiday cocktail party is too formal for your entertaining style, host an ugly sweater themed bash instead! Invite all of your friends over and tell them to wear their most obnoxious Christmas sweater. This type of party is fun, informal, and hysterical. To get guests in the mood send a fabulous invitation. You can download, print, and fill out our ugly sweater party invite or make a more personalized invitation like the one seen here. To see how I made it, read more

While I was planning this week's Sunday Dinner, PartySugar suggested that I find a recipe for Tuscan Chicken Stew. As soon as she said it, I was sold. An Italian stew with a slight licorice and rosemary flavor sounded absolutely divine. However, as good as a stew sounds on a Sunday, it sounds even better to me on a Monday. It only needs 35 minutes on the stove and if you use leftover chicken, it comes together even faster. To check out the recipe for a Tuscan Chicken Stew, read more