New Year's Eve is an ideal time to serve simple appetizers that can withstand hours of partying. After making Roquefort and Walnut Canapés, I had leftover walnuts, so I looked for another amuse bouche that could use up the nuts.

With its easy fig and olive tapenade, this delicious bite is served on a cracker with a small dollop of goat cheese and a roasted walnut topping. The tapenade can be made three days in advance, and the whole thing is quick to assemble just before party time. Every bite is the perfect combination of sweet, salty, creamy, and crunchy. To celebrate with these appetizing hors d'oeuvres, read more

In our Best of 2008 poll, the majority of you picked pomegranate as your favorite trendy ingredient this year. However, Yum and I have to disagree. Due to its incredible popularity and extreme exposure (it's been seen everywhere from wrapped around hot dogs to dipped in chocolate) — bacon is our editor's pick for favorite trendy ingredient.

The craze for bacon continues: Now there's a way to add bacon to any website! Bacolicio.us makes everything taste better with bacon — including YumSugar.com!

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Instead of hosting a crazy party on New Year's Eve, invite friends and family over for a decadent lunch on Jan. 1. Begin the soirée in the early afternoon (around 2:30) to allow late-night partygoers plenty of time to recover. Serve a menu that is rich, satisfying, and luxurious.

Start with caviar on brioche toasts with creme fraiche. Slice smoked salmon and cream cheese frittata into bite-size pieces and serve as appetizers. Have guests sit down to a creamy leek and potato soup paired with a simple salad of mixed greens dressed with champagne vinaigrette.

This menu would also make a delightful first day of the year dinner. To check out the recipes, read more

Last week The Oregonian had an interesting piece about a 5-year-old child who has his own cooking show. On Portland Community Media's show The Big Kitchen With Food, kid chef Julian Kreusser shows viewers how to make chocolate chip zucchini bread, a killer spaghetti sauce, and persimmon smoothies. To learn more about the pint-sized chef and check out a video of his show, read more

With the New Year approaching, perhaps you'll embrace the idea of cooking new things. If your freezer's still stocked with leftover ground beef, why not pass up the tacos and spaghetti in favor of this Pastelón de Papa?

Popular everywhere from Puerto Rico to Peru, this Latin classic is a cross between shepherd's pie and potato casserole. The fact that it's a self-contained meal makes it a plus for eating on the run. To get the recipe, read more

When I was growing up, we had a special Christmas plate that was reserved for serving Santa Claus. Every Christmas Eve, my sister and I would take the pretty plate, place the most perfect cookies on it, and set it out by the tree. To relive old memories, I went looking for the long lost plate. Alas, it was nowhere to be found. I asked you to help me find a replacement by heading off to market in search of a beautiful Christmas plate worthy of Saint Nick. You saved your discoveries in the Yum Market on TeamSugar with the keyword tag, Christmas Plate.

In what looks like it might be a Christmas miracle, CiaoBella has bookmarked the exact plate that used to be my special Christmas plate! She has the plate (whose design has been a holiday favorite since its introduction in 1938) and also serves cookies to Santa on it. Thanks for helping me restore a family tradition CiaoBella! To select your own Christmas plate, browse the collection below.

To learn how the bookmarking feature functions, please refer to geeksugar's explanation.

Takeru Kobayashi, once the unbeatable star of the competitive eating world, failed to break the fruitcake eating record last Friday. This isn't Kobayashi's first fall from grace: He was beat by Joey Chestnut in Nathan's Famous hot dog eating competition and the Krystal Square Off World hamburger eating championship.

To break the record, Koby had to eat more than 4 pounds and 14 ounces of fruitcake in ten minutes. He had never tasted fruitcake before and came just 6 ounces short, consuming 4 pounds and 8 ounces of the dense cake. While competitive eating may seem like an excessive, useless sport, this competition, held in Queens, was a charity event that raised money for the Food Bank of New York City.

Although the majority of you are done with competitive eating, would you think differently of the sport if every competition supported a charity?

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