It was a rainy, blustery morning here in New York City and I'm moving slowly. I have one thing on my mind right now: Coffee! But not just a plain cup of coffee. What would really get my engines going is a hot cuppa with a little something special mixed in. But that will have to wait until after work for me.

We all know about Irish coffee -- coffee spiked with whiskey (preferably Irish) with a glug of half 'n' half. But how about some other fun coffee drink ideas? Here are eight hot, spiky recipes to keep you niiiiiiiice and toasty this weekend.

"You know what would be great?" said my husband last summer. "One of those heavy grill press things that keeps meat and bacon from curling up when you're cooking it." You know what he's getting for Christmas? A heavy grill press thing that keeps bacon from curling up when you cook it. He never bothered to put it on his wish list, I just made a mental note and bought one, and I plan to pat myself on the back every time he uses it.

This, I like to think, exemplifies a crucial aspect of skillful gift-giving: listening. Another crucial aspect: remembering. Also crucial: time, money, and feeling some affection for the person you're buying for.

But what if it's December 22 and none of those aspects are in place, and suddenly you need to pick up a little something for the person in your office who invited you to cocktails Friday night? Or your husband's step-sister who suddenly decided to fly in from Norway? Or the sitter who's coming. over. right. now?

Every year I start with grand plans to make a spectacular breakfast Christmas morning -- and then, funny thing, my kid wakes me up first thing wanting to open presents and there's just no time for me to make an elaborate feast!

So if you want to make a holiday breakfast for the family, but you don't want to spend all morning in the kitchen, what do you do? Pick one or two simple breakfast classics and put a bit of a holiday spin on them -- like these banana pancakes with holiday spices (recipe below!). Here are some quick food and drink recipes for Christmas morning that won't keep you away from the unwrapping bonanza!

T-minus four days until Thanksgiving! Are you ready? Everything prepped? You've read all 567 "how to roast a turkey" posts bookmarked in your browser? Super, you are so on your way. Now let me tell you about what's going to go wrong.

I should know. I've ruined my share of turkeys. All of these "dont's" are from my own experience. But you don't have to make the same mistakes I've made. You can make some all of your own. Oh I jest! Seriously, though, I think I've figured out just about every way you can do wrong by a turkey. Have a look and see if any of these sound familiar.

If you've been following the weather reports as much as I have, you're likely on the brink of an anxiety attack as Hurricane Irene prepares to slam into the East Coast sometime this weekend. But as my co-workers repeatedly reassure me (and they'd better not be just trying to make me shut up), there's no need to panic. Better instead to re-direct all that nervous energy into preparing for the hurricane. One of the things at the top of the hurricane preparedness list? Stocking up on food and drinks. Here are some ideas:

2011 is turning out to be the year of crazy weather. Even those of us not recently in the path of a tornado have been dealing with unseasonably belch weather. And while the forecast for Memorial Day weekend shows sun, I've got my Plan B in case our grilling plans get rained out.

But what a drag to stay indoors and miss out on that grilled food, right? You were really looking forward to the grill marks and that smell. Well, with a few adjustments, you can capture a bit of that grilling flavor indoors -- even if you don't have a George Foreman grill!

Usually cooks are only surly in the kitchen, but Ina Garten is showing a mean-streak beyond the pots and pans. Known to most of us as the Barefoot Contessa, she's a Food Network staple and go-to chef for elegant and easy recipes. She seems friendly, warm, and outgoing on her show, which is why we're left scratching our heads over the breaking news that she's turned down a chance to make a terminally ill boy's wish come true.

Enzo is a 6-year-old sweetheart suffering with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who happens to love cooking and the Barefoot Contessa. He reached out to the celebrity chef through the Make-A-Wish foundation, requesting an opportunity to cook with her. This is where I get upset: Garten turned him down. And when Make-A-Wish asked again with their "pretty-please" voice, she gave another definitive "no."

What gives?

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.