We hope everyone has had a merry and a happy so far! Hot Plates loves New York in December, but it is always a bit loony -- the driving, the cooking, the crowds -- and so we also love these quiet days after the frenzy, at home. We can do normal things like chill out and read the paper, have a lazy cheese-and-crackers lunch and whip up a batch of deviled eggs.

Enjoy this pause in the action before the next round of parties. Take time to treat yourself to something delicious, and take a look at what the papers had to say about how to finish out 2007.

What to Buy

We will start simple and work up from there: Apples are still crunchy and good at this time of year, according to the Dallas Morning News, but they won't be come springtime. Since the autumnal thrill of biting into a juicy, crisp one is behind us, what better way to keep enjoying apples than to cook with them? Slice Fuji apples and dip them in something sweet, or try the DMN's recipe for bacon-and-swiss purses. That link also features Kim Pierce's usual "peaking or abundant" list for the region.

Across the USA in California, there are three yummy produce items to look for in stores, Russ Parsons reports in the L.A. Times: chipotle peppers, rainbow carrots and Romanesco (a variety of cauliflower). The multicolored carrots have names like: Purple Haze, Scarlet, Cream Delights or Belgian Whites.

Great for gifting a foodie friend (or yourself): The Washington Post suggests this line of condiments to "add interest to the winter table." Danish company Nordisk makes a cherry vinegar, a red tomato relish, an apple syrup and more.

And from Florence Fabricant in The New York Times, we find out about this must-have item: spreadable olive oil! "The secret is the addition of monoglycerides, emulsifiers that give the oil its smooth, semisolid texture," Fabricant says. There are four fun varieties to try. Also in this Food Stuff roundup: Sinful Hot Chocolate from Barefoot Contessa, a new place in Brooklyn called Urban Rustic, and a new Japanese-American lunch spot near the library.

If you are out and about, returning things and whatnot, warm up with a visit to this D.C. "cocoa bar" where you can get hot chocolate "infused with smoky chipotle pepper," with lavender, or just straight-up super-dark cocoa short and tight. All are named after movie stars.

What to Make

Lots of good things to share on the cooking front today. Baked eggs, for one, from Mark the Minimalist. This is great, as he points out in the N.Y. Times, for when you find yourself with company over the holidays and would like to serve something as simple as eggs, but in a dressed-up way. Add prosuitto and tomato, as the recipe suggests, and it's gone gourmet. Ease, nutrition, comfort -- perfect for these in-between days.

Here's another recipe in the simple-yet-elegant category: a seafood pan roast. What is this "effortless extravagence," you might be asking? As Regina Schrambling points out in the L.A. Times, this isn't something typically found in cookbooks, so don't feel alone; Hot Plates is new to the idea as well. But immediately we understand this is a way to serve something indulgent that requires very little cooking. And we really, really like that -- especially when thinking about a night like New Year's Eve when you just want to enjoy your friends and family. It requires a lot of shellfish and the most basic ingredients: cream, seasonings and shellfish. "It is totally attuned to this particular out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new holiday. Pan roasts are seductively retro but can be as food fashion-forward as you want them to be."

Or maybe you want a holiday-food idea that works well for any potlucks you might be attending. You could try "Asian Shredded Chicken," written about in The Washington Post as a favorite one cook returns to again and again. You can eat it on a leaf of Boston lettuce or in wrap format, depending on the diners' preferences.

Hopefully some of these ideas have given you some inspiration for the last days of 2007. The L.A. Times rounds up the 10 best recipes of the past year, too, and on that list we found at least two things we will be trying out in the month of January. They all sound like winners, but Hot Plates will cook the shrimp tacos, the chipotle ribs and the crostini with English pea puree. Nectarine berry pie with black-pepper crust for dessert, maybe, if we invite our expert-baker friend. You know what they say: People can either cook or bake, but not usually both.