
Every once in a while it's nice to have a little indulgence in life. This weekend, I made a decadent chocolate-
stout cake to celebrate the start of the
new year. The addition of Guinness creates an incredibly moist cake with a delicious, bittersweet aftertaste.

You've got one holiday party after another, so chances are, you're probably kicking back a few
brewskies. I'm all for celebrating, but
liquid calories can make you gain pounds fast. If beer is your go-to beverage, you may want to skip out on these brands, since they contain the most calories per 12-ounce bottle.

Is your brother or your best friend a perpetual heartbreaker? If his
gastrosexual self already knows that the way to a woman's heart is through her stomach, browse the options below, which fit in perfectly with his impossibly smooth pad.
His George Foreman deserves a long-overdue upgrade; try this
indoor grill.

One of my closest friends is an absolute
beer fiend. From the moment he took a beer-tasting class in college on a whim, he's been hooked on microbrews.
I've got so many ideas for him this
holiday that I don't know what to choose!

With food festival season winding down for the year, there are certainly fewer events this month. Still, if you look hard enough, you can find a few gems, like the
International Tamale Festival in Indio, CA, or Sonoma Valley's
Blessing of the Olives. Or, enjoy one of the many holiday wine events, where perhaps you can find that perfect pairing for your holiday dinner.

Talk about living the high life. Chicago is a beer-drinker's paradise, so it's no wonder that one spa is introducing brewskis to skin care. Exsalonce spa's $75 Beer Enzyme Facial begins with a cold one, moves on to standards such as extractions, and moves on to incorporate an enzyme cream made from Miller High Life.

At a dinner party over the weekend, I tried
Cahill Porter Cheese — an Irish cheddar cheese marbled with malty, bittersweet
porter beer. Strangely enough, the mild taste of the cheddar cheese perfectly complements the caramel, chocolatey flavor of the beer. Some guests did not enjoy it, but I can't stop thinking about how it would make a unique, tasty
grilled cheese sandwich.

This week
Noteworthy Nibbles includes an international
chocolate show complete with chocolate-inspired runway designs. In sunny Florida, the
Epcot International Food & Wine Festival should be quite the spectacle. Folks who live in Virginia have the great fortune of two oyster events this weekend.

Most of you were appalled by the
increase in budget beer sales and many or you prefer to drink local microbrews, so I thought I would bring attention to an interesting website created by the
Brewer's Association.
Seasonal Beer Throughout the Year is your resource for limited-edition, seasonal craft brews. A seasonal beer is a special style of beer, sometimes with flavors like pumpkin, made for a certain time of year.

Americans may love kicking back with beer, but times are tough. That's why an increasing number of beer drinkers are
swapping their microbrews for what are called "subpremium" beers in the beverage industry.
Anheuser-Busch has reported that its brands Busch and Natural Light have seen upticks in sales.