ARCHIVES

St. Lucia Day, the annual Scandinavian festival of lights, falls on December 13, but you can get a head start on all the festive meatball-eating and glögg-gulping here.

Hanukkah commemorates the miracle of the oil lamp and the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem�and provides a great excuse to gorge on latkes.

Spaghetti alla carbonara is Rome’s most popular pasta dish, and judging by its recent preponderance on local menus�Italian and otherwise�it may be New York’s, too.

The next best thing to cooking over an open flame is dining next to one.

If you’re daring (or foolhardy) enough to brave the gawkers and visit the Rockefeller Center tree, you’ll need to refuel soon after.

We might be living in a culinary capital, but that doesn’t mean the provinces have nothing to offer. We’ve surfed the Web to find edible gifts delicious enough to impress the most jaded New Yorker: Tennessee’s answer to Caspian caviar. A proper English pudding from L.A. Port-steeped proof that fabulous fruitcake isn’t an oxymoron. As for Chicago deep-dish�don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.

What better time than the holidays to prove to all your far-flung friends and relations that gastronomically speaking, New York’s got it all. From Red Hook biscotti to Kossar’s bialys, from Williamsburg amaranth granola to Madison Avenue wagyu, the Big Apple is the world capital of flavor. This season, spread the wealth: Put your money where their mouth is.

Just like the big day itself, the perfect post-Thanksgiving turkey sandwich requires careful planning: If you want to do that leftover free-range organic bird justice, start with great bread from one of these bakeries.

Even the staunchest shopper can use a little pick-me-up on the busiest retail day of the year.

One good thing about the cold: great hot chocolate.