NEW & NOTEWORTHY.

Elegant gifts: Los Angeles-based Fraiche Fine Gifts specializes in unique fresh fruit baskets and hampers, epicurean delights (chocolate and confections, salmon, parociutto, pates, sausages, coffee and teas, etc.), floral arrangements and tantalizing gifts (including candle sets, Zen-like bento boxes of dried fruits). We were impressed with the beautiful custom-designed seasonal fruit baskets accented with cut greens and flowers. They will create and deliver a gift for the holidays as well as other occasions throughout the year. Prices range from $35 to $400. Call [phone] to order or log on to www.fraichegifts.com. The company also has a retail store at 8361 W. Third St., Los Angeles, but this time of year, it is better to order before stopping by.

- Natalie Haughton

Merry marshmallows 

Marshmallow Peeps Cutouts are the newest holiday morphing from the Just Born company, the folks best known for yellow Peeps Easter chicks. The whimsical gingerbread (in name only) marshmallow figures are billed as ``Holiday Cookie Flavored'' - think sugary and squishy marshmallows with a hint of vanilla. They come six to a 3-ounce package and cost $1.20 to $1.50 at drugstores and candy retailers.

- Chicago Tribune

Cookbook: Chef Mario Batali gives the same Christmas present year after year. He also treats his family and friends to annual gifts on Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

Batali invites them over to feast on traditional Italian foods. These aren't just meals; he serves course after course of specialties like marinated fresh anchovies, turkey stuffed with chestnuts and prunes, stuffed ricotta fritters and ``Almond Clouds'' in vanilla-almond milk.

``The important thing in Italian cooking isn't quantity - although it might not look that way. It's about quality items and tradition-laden food,'' says Batali.

While he cooks year-round at his Manhattan restaurants (Babbo, Lupa and Esca) and for his two TV shows on The Food Network (the cooking tutorial ``Molto Mario'' and the upcoming chef-narrated travelogue ``Mario Eats Italy''), Batali looks forward to manning the stove for his loved ones.

The dishes that will likely turn up on Batali's table this year are included in his new book ``Holiday Food'' (Clarkson Potter; $23).

For Batali, the signal that the holidays are really here is the smell of boiling pasta. ``One of the most incredible smells is the 'pasta-in-water smell.' When I smell that smell and there are steamed windows in the kitchen, I know I'm at the right house for Christmas.''

- Associated Press

Q & A

Q. Just what is wassail, and can I make it at home?

A. Wassail refers to a Christmas beverage or an occasion of Christmas revelry. The word was Anglo-Saxon for be well, and the customary reply was drink hael, or drink well. During the reign of Henry VIII a tradition began of holiday carolers wandering house to house, dancing, singing and imbibing at each stop. The wassail was served warm from large wooden bowls, and usually contained ale or cider, roasted apples, beaten eggs, sugar and spices. Soft toast was floated on the surface, and thus began the custom of drinking a toast.

You can make wassail with or without alcohol. It's a combination of apple cider, sliced orange and lemon, honey and lemon juice, simmered with cloves, whole allspice and cinnamon sticks. If you like, you can garnish it with apples. Serve it from a large bowl, with brandy or sherry to taste and a sprinkling of grated nutmeg.

- The New York Times

Nothin' says lovin' like somethin' from the modem

One thing that many of our mothers - or, for that matter, fathers - never taught us boomers is how to be ``the ones who cook holiday dinners.''

We all remember those dinners of old: sitting at the kids' table. Stuffing made from actual bread, broth, vegetables and herbs. Mashed potatoes, fluffy, and yet, with a lump here and there for honesty. Turkey, moist, juicy, tender, with that great skin that we can now no longer eat because we'd grab our chests and keel over, face first, into the green bean casserole.

Well, for those who cannot decipher the elaborate and daunting scriptures handed down by Sister Martha, Her Lady of Perpetual Decorating, Pillsbury has a solution.

If you log onto www.pillsbury.com/holidays, you can peruse all manner of tips, suggestions and more than 120 recipes designed to make the labors of a home-cooked holiday meal, holiday baking and holiday entertaining less stressful to contemplate.

The site will also adjust the recipes to fit your size group, from six guests to 24. Once you choose the number of guests and the menu, even the grocery shopping will be easier. From the site, you can print out a complete shopping list of the selected menu, organized by section of the grocery store. Other features include a check-off list to guide you through the planning, plus ideas for table decorations, table settings and shopping tips.

- Rodney Richey

Dining out

Latkes (traditional Jewish pancakes) for Hanukkah by Thai celebrity chef-owner Tommy Tang are available for the first time this year at the two local Tommy Tang's restaurants in Pasadena and Los Angeles. They were adapted by chef Tang from his late mother-in-law's recipe.

The latkes ($6.95 for four) as dine-in or takeout fare, can be purchased Friday through Dec. 28 at either Tommy Tang's: 7313 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, or 24 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. They can be frozen.Information: [phone] or [phone].

- Larry Lipson

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1) no caption (Gift basket)

(2) no caption (``Holiday Food'')

(3) no caption (Marshmallow Peeps)