"winter" news and stories

The fortune cookie has always been the classic finish to American-style Chinese food, with its ubiquitous scrap of paper offering charming fortunes. The cookie itself is a crisp and sugary nibble -- an everyday sort of treat, good for a quick laugh and sugar rush. But these folded soothsayers can also be whipped into a delightful holiday treat -- one that will wow guests and lucky gift recipients with its unexpected charm.

Starting from scratch, the whole world of divination can bend at your whim with self-made fortunes, perfectly flavored cookies and a festive chocolate coating perfect for Christmastime.

Sugar cookies get a melted candy center to resemble stained glass windows in this cheery creation.

With rich layers of warm flavor, this Butternut and Navy Bean Lasagna is blatant proof of comfort food's supreme ability to alleviate all winter weather ails.

In this seasonal alternative to the traditional red bolognese lasagna, the Delementals blogger used leftover roasted squash and a surplus of navy beans paired with a wintry blend of fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary and sage) to create this rich lasagna. Beneath the patterned layers of sauce, pasta and cheese, the cheerful yellow base is remarkably complex, with flavors ranging from cumin and cayenne to bold Manchego and tangy apple cider vinegar and ginger in this perfect cold-weather dish that's made to satisfy body and soul.

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The night before Christmas conjures visions of sugar plums dancing, but what exactly is a sugar plum?

It took Hanukkah celebrants more than 2,000 years to hit upon the dish that's now considered the quintessential holiday food.

Potato latkes, as inextricably linked to the wintertime festival as dreidels, menorahs and chocolate gelt, are such a relatively recent addition to the Hanukkah canon that food writer Mimi Sheraton -- who grew up in a Jewish family in Flatbush -- was 30 years old before she realized the oily pancakes were connected to the holiday.

"Though my family observed that holiday with the weeklong lighting of the silver candelabra ... I never knew those marvelously crisp, hot, onion-scented latkes had anything whatsoever to do with the celebration," Sheraton wrote in 1981.

For many years, they didn't. While food plays a ritual role in many Jewish holidays, the only edible tradition associated with Hanukkah was the rather loosey-goosey custom of eating something with oil in it.