Bonne Bouche: Holiday Hospitality 
by Sandra Scalise Juneau
Add drama to your entertaining by serving this spectacular Creole beverage as a ceremonious climax to your holiday feasts. And to lessen holiday stress, have several of your own signature cheese logs on hand for unexpected guests.
Café Brûlot
Peel from 1 orange, cut into a continuous strip
Peel from 1 lemon, cut into thin strips
12 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
24 sugar cubes or 12 teaspoons of sugar
4 oz. Grand Marnier liqueur
2 cups dark-roast coffee, freshly brewed
Stud the orange peel with 6 of the cloves. Into a brûlot bowl or large chafing dish over heated flame, place sugar, cinnamon sticks, lemon peel, remaining cloves and liqueur. Muddle spices with liqueur, mixing to dissolve sugar. Add orange peel, pressing into spiced liqueur to fully saturate peel and release oils into liqueur.
With a ladle, scoop up warm liqueur. Lifting orange peel, pour liqueur over orange peel, igniting to create a continuous flame into the brûlot bowl. Allow to burn as long as flame remains. Return orange peel to bowl and add hot coffee. Serve immediately by ladling into warm brûlot or demitasse cups.
Make-It-Your-Own Cheese Log
(Try ricotta cheese with 1/4 cup chopped dates and pistachio nuts.)
2 8-oz. packages Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 lb. sharp cheddar cheese
8 oz. soft cheese, crumbled—bleu, feta, gorgonzola, jack or ricotta
2 cups toasted nuts—almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, pistachios or walnuts
4 Tablespoons white onions, minced
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
Salt to taste
2 Tablespoons fresh herbs, chopped—basil, chives, cilantro, mint or parsley
Options: black or green olives, capers, dates, chili powder, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, smoked salmon, Tabasco (or Chipotle Tabasco) Sauce.
Cut cheeses into small chunks and blend in small batches in a food processor until fully combined. Add onion, Worcestershire, salt and herbs. Add optional ingredient/s and pulse lightly, just to combine.
Spread one cup of nuts onto a sheet of plastic wrap, lengthwise. Spoon cheese mixture over the nuts. Top with remaining nuts and seal, shaping cheese into a log. Double wrap log in plastic wrap. Chill at least overnight, or freeze. If frozen, defrost overnight in refrigerator, or allow 2 hours to defrost without refrigeration. Serve with crackers.
