With Cliff Richard on the radio and an eggnog chilling, we’ve set the stage for our annual holiday biscuit-baking marathon.

Thanks to Kevin Lynch over at Closet Cooking we’ve added plenty of delicious cookie and cake recipes to our repertoire. There’s a boozy fruitcake, gooey maple butter tarts and some classic, fail-proof shortbread.

The Toronto-based blog (his kitchen is the size of a closet) is filled with imaginative recipes and photos so tasty looking you'll want to dive into your screen.

Now, throw me a pinny and just call me, Delia. —Athena Tsavliris

www.closetcooking.com

Seafood is packed with skin-worthy omegas but thoughts of overfishing can cause unfortunate worry lines.

Appease guilt with weekly visits to Hooked, the new ocean-friendly fishmonger. Here, sustainable catch like ocean-friendly purse seined sardines, hand-netted Baja shrimp and line-caught mackerel is sourced directly from fishermen. Chef-run, the cheery staff offer great cooking tips and wine-pairing advice, while the in-house kitchen hosts classes (from $50) on everything from poaching and shucking to braising and stewing. The trout roe caviar is divine and we’re completely addicted to the fish cakes (slather in wasabi mayo and serve with a crisp glass of Riesling).

Finally our conscience is as clear as our skin. —Marianne Wisenthal

Hooked, 888 Queen St. E., Toronto, 416-828-1861, www.hookedinc.ca

If it ain't broke, don't fix it, goes the old saying. At Machineage Kitchen, cooks can score unique vintage appliances, tools and accessories in fine working order.

Add some cool to your counter with a Gaggia espresso maker ($150) or this set of Peter Max metal kitchen canisters (four-piece set, $194) Bakers will swoon over the six-piece muffin set ($60). Find rolling pins, cake pans and retro pinnies too.

Time to dust off Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book. —Athena Tsavliris

Machine Age, 1000 Queen St. E., Toronto, 416-461-3588, www.machineagemodern.com

It used to be fashion, but these days I’ve traded Missoni for meringues and spend my free time in the food blogosphere instead.

I don’t even cook that much, but I love to eat, and Spoon Fork Bacon is the ultimate food blog for ladies who love a good nosh. Have you seen it? It’s absolutely stunning. Rue Magazine contributors Teri Lyn Fisher and Jenny Park combine a talent for cooking, food styling and photography to create a blog even makes little kitchen klutz want to cook for ten hours straight. The recipes are decadent, and yes, big on the pig.

Leaf eaters need not apply. —Athena Tsavliris

www.spoonforkbacon.com

Want to try your hand at a DIY pizza-pie? Cheat a little and buy the dough. Here’s our roundup of the city’s top crusts:

Loblaws
The best crust in town is the Italian Home Bakers brand at Loblaws. The dough is neither too moist nor to dry and can be easily kneaded to your desired thickness.

Highland Farms
This one can be tricky to work and gets a bit sticky but with patience you can create the best pizza this side of Naples.

Sobeys
Not as much “chew” and taste, but the crust bubbles nicely and it’s easy to roll out.

Whole Foods
The in-store pizza is pretty delicious, but unless your oven cranks to over 500 degrees we wouldn’t bother with this one. In our oven it stays a little too moist and never really seems fully cooked.

Metro
This is the in-a-pinch dough. It’s not as good as the rest, but it’ll satisfy your pizza cravings just fine.

—Athena Tsavliris

A little sea salt, some ground pepper, and that's it—the extent of our imagination when it comes to seasonings.

Now, Ruby Watchco chef Lynn Crawford is here to save us from a lifetime of gustatory blandness with a village-style market stocked with all the ingredients she keeps in her own pantry. The shelves at Ruby Eats are lined with olive tapenade, brandied cherries ($7.99), candied olives and flavored salts from lemon to espelette ($4.99). We’ll fill our basket with seasonal veg like golden beets ($8/lb), Niagara eggplants and heirloom apples, all sourced within 100 km. Oh, and then some artisanal Canadian cheese, please.

Wondering what to do with truffle paste? Chefs on hand will crack open a jar for an informal demo using Crawford’s favorite Le Creuset pots and Victorinox knives.

Looks like we’ll need a larger larder. —Marianne Wisenthal

Ruby Eats, 742 Queen St. E., Toronto, 416-901-3355, www.rubyeats.com

Shamefully, we admit, we used to buy olive oil for the pretty bottle.

Now that Montreal’s Olive & Olives has set up shop along Riverside’s growing gourmet strip, we care more about what's inside. Displayed under a giant faux olive tree, the boutique’s 50 varieties of extra virgin are produced and bottled in Spain by artisanal estates.

Our palate was piqued by the picante notes of O&O’s organic private label (from $13.95), canned Manzanilla olives stuffed with blue cheese ($3.25), Andalusian tapenades and oil-infused chocolate ($3.95).

Don’t know an arbequina from an arbre blanque? Tasting workshops ($35/2 hours) will have you warming, sniffing and sipping your way to oil aficionado (and no harm in choosing one that matches the AGA).

Olive & Olives opens on June 4 in time for this weekend’s Riverdale Art Walk, 779 Queen St. E., Toronto, 416-551-8181, www.oliveolives.com

Sure your kids have tried to convince you that candy is the fifth food group.

But in order to stave off a Hallowe'en dinner of Smarties and Twizzlers (with the attendant sugar crash two hours later) we suggest filling the kids up with these ghost-shaped stuffed pastas called sacchetti, tossed with lemon zest, olive oil, parmesan and fried capers.

Boo!

In Vancouver at Bosa Foods and Italian grocery stores nationwide.

It doesn’t matter what you roast this Thanksgiving, drown it in gravy, and everyone will be happy. Here, Mika Bareket, Good Egg owner and gravy-whisker extraordinaire, shares her foolproof recipe.


Pan Gravy
 


Remove your perfectly roasted bird or roast from the pan to rest. Skim all the fat from the pan, leaving behind a scant tablespoon or two. Place pan over a low heat. Shake in a tablespoon of flour for a thick gravy, none for a jus. Whisk constantly for a minute or two, lifting all the caramelized goodies from the pan as you go. Add a cup or two of hot chicken stock. Keep cooking, whisking, and humming quietly to yourself until it reaches a consistency that you approve of. Dip a hunk of bread into the gravy to test saltiness. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Keep hot (you may need to reheat mid-meal) and pour liberally over everything, including dessert.
 


Mika Bareket, based on Alice Waters, Nigel Slater, Delia Smith, and Diana Henry’s recipes.  

When you sandwich three pickles and a lonely slice of processed cheese between two slices of stale bread, you know you’ve hit packed-lunch purgatory. We’ve come up with a few simple, creative ways to make dining al desko gourmet.

• Mix lemon, garlic, olive oil, a drop of honey and a handful of coriander (cilantro) into raw grated carrots. Scatter a spoonful of sesame seeds on top. Toss in some feta if you like. Delicious.

• Take last night’s chicken leftovers and mix the meat into some lime, chillies, coriander (cilantro) and avocado for a hearty Mexican salad.

• Cooked brown rice mixed with grated orange zest, chopped hazelnuts, olive oil and almost any vegetable is a tasty filler-upper.

• If you’re really pressed for time, a tin of flageolet beans, rinsed and mixed with a splash of olive oil and some chopped parsley is a sure winner.