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Classic fantasy fudge - so good, but oh-sooo bad. It's an icon of holiday indulgence, and the rich, smooth chocolate squares are hard to resist. I love the way each bite feathers against the enamel of my teeth. I love the jolt of tooth-ache inspiring sweetness that dissipates before I know what hit me. That being said, I'm never the supplier - I never make it. I know what goes into a batch of fantasy fudge, and rarely have anything other than the chocolate on hand in my own kitchen - no Kraft marshmallow creme, no margarine, no huge quantities of white sugar, no evaporated milk. But we are neck-deep in the holiday season, and when I came across a container of

Here's how I approached this. I wanted to maintain the spirit, texture, and general flavor of the original recipe. I didn't even attempt to cut back on sugar, fat, or anything like that. When it comes to fudge, I think I'd rather enjoy half as much amazing fudge, and have it be great. A small piece of this goes a long, long, way. I used butter as the fat and organic, fine-grain cane sugar, and the Ricemellow Crème - which is made from brown rice syrup. I used coconut milk, and its mild flavor worked beautifully in place of the evaporated milk. And I used a bar of Scharffen Berger 62% semi-sweet chocolate. I like my fudge smooth, so no nuts in my version - but if you like your fudge chunky, the original calls for 1 cup chopped walnuts.

I haven't tested it yet, but I'm nearly positive you can do a delicious vegan version of this recipe by using coconut oil in place of the butter. Also, for reference, Kraft Marshmallow Creme doesn't have gelatin in it, but it does have corn syrup, artificial color and flavor, and egg whites (for those of you avoiding animal-related products). The original, classic fantasy fudge recipe was printed on the side of Kraft Marshmallow Creme jars.

Bon Appétit has created

This has been at the top of my list for nearly a year, a barely legible scratch of pencil on a half-sheet of printer paper: make onion dip. In my mind the task was straight-forward - do an onion dip make-over, a version that doesn't require ripping open a packet of soup mix. As a kid my grandma would often whip up bowl of onion dip before we would visit her house. She would serve it alongside a bowl of corn chips, and I suppose this is where my taste for it developed. I decided to do a grown-up version here by using lots of deeply caramelized onions along with a Greek yogurt and sour cream base. I used dehydrated onions to give my dip that signature onion dip flavor, and to counter-balance the sweetness of the caramelized onions.

I can also imagine cutting back on the dairy (and bumping up the protein content), by pureeing some silken organic tofu in place of 1/3 to 1/2 of the sour cream/yogurt (before adding the onions). I didn't test this, but I'm almost sure it would be good.

This is the time of year to add a bit of flash and color to your food. The skies are low-hanging and weepy. The days are short, getting shorter. In protest, each December, I arm myself with all manner of dried fruits, juicy citrus, and rosy pomegranates. They work beautifully in salads, including this jewel-in