Cosmos, margaritas, and of course, straight-up champagne are always delicious, go-to celebratory libations. But this is no ordinary celebration we are talking about here. Tomorrow, March 15, The Stir is celebrating our First Birthday! So we wanted to do something a little jazzier and unique.

That's why we tasked authors of the new book DIY Cocktails: A Simple Guide to Creating Your Own Signature Drinks Marcia Simmons and Jonas Halpren of DrinkoftheWeek.com with dreaming up a signature sip in honor of our big day and our readers!

So, without further ado, the recipe for The Stir Tropical Sparkler, a cocktail that will taste like you're celebrating a birthday on an island vacation, without ever having to leave home ...  

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The Chinese New Year begins Thursday (February 3). How about celebrating with an easy, flavorful Chinese dish? These lettuce wraps, which use ground turkey flavored with Chinese-style spices, is probably more "American Chinese restaurant" than an actual authentic dish that would be eaten in China. But they're still delicious-sounding, easy to make, and healthy.

This would make a fun Chinese New Year meal to share with kids, too. They'd love making their own lettuce wraps, and finger foods are always a hit. And if you're pressed for time, they can be made ahead and even served cold -- no reheating needed.

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Plentiful? Yes. Clean enough to eat? Hm...I don't know about your part of the world, but the Mid-Atlantic states are starting to look like the Planet Hoth, we're getting so much snow. I've considered expanding my apartment's square footage by building an igloo on the roof. I just wish all this excess snow could be useful in some way. Isn't there something we could do with it all besides shovel it, throw it, and turn it into sculpture?

Oh wait, we could make food with it! Keep reading for six recipes using snow.

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Valentine's Day used to mean long, romantic dinners at nice restaurants with wine, dessert, and flowers. Now, though, at least for those of us with kids, the idea of getting a sitter in the middle of the week just to sit in an overpriced restaurant is absolutely not worth the trouble.

What a lot of us do, then, is the at-home Valentine's dinner. Dim the lights, light some candles, break out the nice china and glassware, and make your favorite dinner -- complete with Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake for dessert. Lo and behold, you've got a very nice Valentine's Day for a lot cheaper than you would if you'd gone out.

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Fermented shark ... it looks so innocent.

Iceland recently celebrated the feast of Bondadagur, or "Husband's Day." Married women celebrate their husbands with a special meal "as a token of their love."

And looking at the menu, all I can think is that women in Iceland really, really hate their husbands. In fact, it makes a Valentine's date at White Castle seem positively dreamy by comparison.

Here's what's on a traditional Bondadagur menu: Soured meat products, including lamb testicles, dried fish, and preserved sheep's head. The head is boiled until the bones come loose and the whole thing, including eyes and tongue, are pressed into a mold along with the gelatinous cooking liquid. The lamb testicles are pressed and preserved in whey.

And that's not even the most disgusting thing. That would be (and do not keep reading if you are pregnant or otherwise prone to being grossed out to the point of hurling): Rotten shark.

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Everyone likes to go out to eat, right? Especially parents, whose dinners at home generally involve cutting other people's meat, refereeing sibling squabbles, deflecting requests for candy, and the inability to finish a sentence or eat your food while it's hot.

It's just so pleasant to be seated at a nice quiet restaurant table with good lighting, talking to your spouse or your friends while someone else takes your order, makes your food and brings it right to you ... and then takes the dishes away and washes them (one would assume).

That kind of break is worth the outlay of some cash, yes? I think so. Which is why I took issue with this post on Get Rich Slowly about how to cut corners at swanky restaurants.

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Pumpkin bread:innocent treat or witches' food?I'm not saying Christine O'Donnell is a witch because clearly she isn't. Sure, she wears a black dress and plays creepy music against a gloomy background in her new video. But she is not! A witch!

But suppose Christine O'Donnell were a witch ... what would she eat?

Do Wiccans have special food? Are they really into eye of newt, and if so, where do you get eye of newt in Delaware? Or, you know, anywhere in America? Not that there are more witches in Delaware than anywhere else. What do witches eat?

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Lady Gaga's next dress material?Lady Gaga's meat dress caused quite a stir at the VMAs last weekend, but it also proved "edible clothing" is not just kinky pillow talk.

By accepting her award garbed in meat, Gaga shined a spotlight on the art of wearing food, which has been around longer than you might think.

From top designers like Jean-Paul Gaultier, whose show "Pain Couture" included bread dresses, to celebrities passionately supporting causes and regular Joes who want to make a stir on the Internet, edible clothing is nothing new. Subway Restaurants even recently took a step in the food-fashion direction by endorsing its sandwich and cookie packaging in a fashion show.

Here are five edible, wearable favorites.

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