Welcome everyone! I've spent most of the last week putting final touches on Christmas decorations and writing out holiday cards, which means I can stop licking envelopes and start licking my fingers/plate/spatulas. Christmas is celebrated differently throughout the world and every culture has its own variation of Christmas eats. East coast to West, arctic to tropical, I'm a fan of global Christmas cuisine. I am particularly fond of German Christmas sweets and traditions (Krampus, now that's a tradition) If you have a hankering for some German Christmas specialties, well then you barked up the right Tannenbaum. I'm not sure how or why I became so interested in German food and holiday traditions but I'm going to attribute it to having a German best friend for the last twenty two years. Thankfully, the Upper East Side of the city still continues to host a smattering of German shops where I can find some near authentic items, including some Christmas specialties. My first stop was Schaller und Weber with the hopes of picking up some fine condiments and sausages but I was a tad a late in getting there, alas, I was locked out. I'll be back for you, wurst.