HOLIDAY HAPPINESS: The Hershey Company is dressing up their 100- year-old Hershey kisses for the holidays. You can now treat the kids, friends, family and yourself to Candy Cane Mint Kisses. The yummies in traditional kiss shape contain little pieces of crunchy candy in a peppermint-flavored white chocolate with red stripes for a magical combination that will enchant your taste buds. The limited edition goodies won’t be around for long, so catch the spirit and kiss someone.

WINE WAR: Long Island’s wine industry has come into its own with Island-produced wines taking medals and awards against international competition. But how well do Long Island wine fans stack up? Stephanie and Leslie Yovino of Asta Wine Café (335 Main Street, Huntington, 631-271-2345) aimed to find out with a blind wine tasting held November 30 at the restaurant. The Asta owners matched five of the Island’s homegrown stars with equivalent international varietals, and asked guests to give their best guess as to which was which. The bottles were brown-bagged, so the only clues were all those things that oenophiles look for: body, balance, nose, etc. And from the sounds of the crowd, every correct answer warranted a celebration. (We’ll guess the reason the celebrations grew louder as the night went on was due to an underutilization of spit buckets.) Jim Prinzevalli’s perfect score won him a gift certificate for a return trip to Asta. For having the most wrong answers, Stuart Julis won a basket of chocolate goodies in which to drown his sorrows.

MANDEL BREAD, or Mandelbrot, literally means almond bread, but the Eastern European dessert loaf has taken on a new and exciting taste as its popularity, like that of its Italian, hard loaf sister, biscotti, continues to grow. In our version, supplied by foodie Lillian, there are no almonds, just an abundance of chocolate chips, and we relish every holiday or occasion that motivates Lillian to bake. And if she can do it, it’s gotta be easy. So for the experience, or if you have an occasion to celebrate Hanukkah, try it. Lillian’s Mandel Bread: Use 3 eggs, 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of oil, 3.5 cups of flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 cup semi sweet mini-morsels chocolate chips (you can use up to 2 cups), combined in that order. Divide into loaves and sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top. Bake on an ungreased sheet at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Slice like biscotti.

BRUNCH WITH SANTA: Four Food Studio and Cocktail Salon (515 Broadhollow Road, Melville, NY 631-577-4444) will host a special weekend brunch buffet featuring a visit from Santa and his elves on Sunday, December 17 from 11 am to 3 pm. Besides being able to have their picture taken with Old Saint Nick, there will be caroling and gifts (stuffed toy animals) for the kids. Chock full of traditional and unique brunch items, the buffet will include omelets prepared to order, a carving station, pasta station, and freshly baked morning pastries, unlimited (for the adults) Bloody Marys and free-flowing fizz (champagne). The buffet-style brunch is $39.95 per person plus applicable taxes and gratuity; for children 12 and under $19.95. Reservations are required.

ROCKFISH IS ROCKING: (47 Greene St., Huntington, 631-351-3440)Tuesday Night Lobster Night $15/lb; and Prix Fixe Tues – Fri, 5-6pm, and Sunday all night: 3 courses $21.95.

SAY CHEESE: Need a gift for someone truly passionate about cheese? Artisanal Premium Cheese (www.artisianalcheese.com, (877-797-1200) offers a fantastic gift opportunity for anyone interested in cheese — its ever-popular Cheese of the Month Club in three ways: 3, 6, and 12-month memberships. Monthly, their cheese experts share their passion for and knowledge of cheese by composing a thoughtful trio of artisanal cheeses (approximately 1-1/2 pounds total) matured to optimal ripeness and peak flavor, delivered to your gift recipient’s doorstep. At a price of $55 per month plus shipping and handling, you get the finest cheeses on the market and other great cheese opportunities from New York’s first rate Fromagerie.

SUSHI: Everyone has their own favorite sushi spot. We judge ours by the overall freshness of the fish and then dragon roll with eel, and the creativity of their house crunchy roll. But we pay attention to others with good taste. So when John Vader tells us that he and his wife Adriana, proprietors of the eponymous Main Street salon raved about an off-the-beaten-track Azuma of Greenlawn, we put it on our to-try list. Vader is a reliable foodie in his own right a well as a fisherman by local upbringing. While we await an invitation onto his boat, we will check out Azuma (252 Broadway & Little Plains Rd, Greenlawn 631 262-7200.)

HOLIDAY LUNCH: Morton’s, The Steakhouse, (777 Northern Blvd., Great Neck, 516-498-2950) is celebrating the holiday season with two special days of lunch on Thurs & Fri, December 21 and 22, from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The lunch price ranges from $33.95 to $46.95 per person and include a salad, entrée, accompaniments, dessert, coffee or tea.  The entrees: Single Cut Filet Mignon, sauce béarnaise $45.95; Filet Diane, sautéed mushrooms in demi glace mustard sauce $47.95; Ribeye Steak $46.95; Colossal Shrimp Alexander, white wine butter sauce $45.95; Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes, mustard mayonnaise $41.95; Broiled Salmon Fillet, white wine butter sauce $38.95; Chicken Christopher, garlic white wine butter sauce $33.95.

QUESTION: Is chicken soup good for your health? Not if you’re the chicken.

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