Looking to impress your guests with a dessert to die for? Or maybe you'd like to bring something amazing and memorable to a holiday party? Whatever the occasion whenever desserts are present they invariably draw the eye and wet the appetite, and they have the uncanny ability to impress despite (sometimes) being deceptively simple.

Some desserts, however, have a reputation and an edge when it comes to their ability to impress guests. All truly impressive desserts have at least two things in common: they have a beautiful presentation and of course taste wonderful as well. If you're looking to make a statement and don't know where to start consider serving one of these:

Mousse Originating in France, mousse is a rich and creamy dessert that presents well in individual portions and can be made ahead of time.

Trifles Available in every version from chocolate to fruit to red-white-and-blue, the trifle gets its glamour from the gorgeous and colorful layers that go from pleasing the eyes to pleasing the palette.

Cheesecake First created in ancient Greece and always a fan favorite, a great cheesecake is not something many are able to make for themselves at home so it becomes all the more fantastic to have it served up at a party. It's also extremely versatile and can be left plain and classy, or dressed up with fresh fruit, chocolate shavings, or anything else your heart desires.

Crème Brûlée Literally translating in French as "burnt cream," creme brulee is another delectable dessert that is not easily recreated in the average kitchen. Simple, rich, and elegant, it's sure to impress.

Chocolate Cake A standard, classic dessert that is loved wherever it goes. The trick to a truly impressive chocolate cake is in the recipe: find one you love and stick with it.

What is the best way to have a Thanksgiving spread that turns out looking like the glossy photographs in your favorite foodie magazine? I'm sure some readers are expecting a list, organizational techniques or special tips on how to create the perfect meal when you are working full time.

It seems that a better idea is to not slave over the stove, but take you and your family to the nearest upscale restaurant for the special meal. Eat, drink and relax, the turkey will be cooked to perfection. Handing the responsibility for a beautifully cooked Thanksgiving feast over to someone else might even make spending the day with your annoying cousins just that much more bearable.

Another bonus of not preparing your own Thanksgiving meal at home is that often the menu includes items for those at the table who really don't like turkey. It may be considered heresy, but there are many who, out of hunger, force down what is often a dry uninspired main course because that is the only option. There is often at least one vegetarian at every table who sits glumly while the rest of the guests are feasting.

For example, at Ken Aretsky's Patroon in New York City, pictured above, executive chef Bill Peet presents a family-style menu in the warm dining room of this midtown restaurant. In addition to the traditional free range turkey with all the old fashioned fixings (mashed potatoes, stuffing, roasted Brussel sprouts and giblet gravy) you will find chateaubriand as well as Scottish salmon for the vegetarians in your group. The restaurant will charge $85 per adult and $45 per child for the meal. Whether you live in the tri-sate region, are in the area visiting family or to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade I can't think of a better way to make you meal truly stress free.

For those of you who live around the country and are watching the parade or the games on t.v., there are great Thanksgiving menu options at the Craft and Craftsteak restaurants, run by the award winning chef Tom Colicchio, located in Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. (New York too!) The restaurants offer holiday prix fixe menus - everything is served family style, except the choice of main course.

Leave the turkey in the freezer, save it for a random winter weekend, and eat out!

I have memories of seeing Julia Child on television as a kid but the chef that was most inspirational to me was another PBS veteran, Martin Yan. His Yan Can Cook show brought Chinese cooking to American audiences at a time when most American knowledge of Asian food was confined to sweet and sour pork. You can travel with the relentless cheerful legend on a special Hong Kong adventure this fall.

The package includes a stay at the Kowloon Shangri-La. Chef Yan will go with you to a local market and accompany you on other adventures including a full-day tour to Lantau Island to see the world's largest outdoor bronze outdoor Buddha statue and eat a meal prepared by the monks at the Po Lin monastery. The tour isn't small, it is open to 60 people and the first 50 people receive a copy of Chef Yan's cookbook, a kitchen knife and chopsticks. The tour costs $2.860 per person double occupancy and runs from October 27-31.

Travelers with a sense of adventure and an appreciation for wining and dining will want to check out two upcoming trips to Sicily in the fall arranged by Cynthia Nicholson of The Farmhouse Table. Nicholson, a former food editor at Country Living and Real Simple magazines, has a flair for seeking out the culinary and cultural gems that only insiders know about. While the first trip is more food oriented and the second focused on wine, the two itineraries have a healthy dose of both and feature a cooking class, along with many opportunities to absorb unique Sicilian culture.

The culinary trip from Sept. 26 - Oct. 3 includes a stay at Buseto Palizzolo (above) near Palermo which produces its own olive oil, honey, wine, and organic fruits and vegetables, and a visit to an artisanal bakery where the ovens are fired with almond husks rather than wood. The second trip presented in conjunction with Swirl Wines runs Oct. 11 - 22 and includes a day trip to Solicchiata for a tasting and discussion with winemaker Frank Cornelissen. Full details on both itineraries can be found here and and you can sign up for The Farmhouse Table's mailing list here.

The New York Restaurant Cookbook: Recipes From the City's Best Chefs is an armchair tour of the most cutting-edge culinary city in the world. The book features recipes for the signature dishes from over 100 of the New York City's best restaurants, all selected and painstakingly adapted by respected food journalist Florence Fabricant.

The new version just out from Rizzoli has been updated with 30 all-new recipes from the most important restaurants in Manhattan, and its surrounding boroughs, on the scene today. Recipes are divided into eleven separate chapters including Appetizers; Soups; Salads; Pasta & Rissoto; Eggs, Sandwiches, Pizza & Brunch; Seafood; Poultry; Meat; Side Dishes; Desserts; and Drinks.

Highlights include Union Square Cafe's Grilled Filet Mignon of Tuna, Brooklyn's hip The Grocery's Seared Foie Gras with Asian Pear and Endive Salad, the iconic Second Avenue Deli's comforting Chicken Soup and the newly minted Fig & Olive's fresh Zucchini Carpaccio recipe. There are also chef's tips, wine and beverage suggestions, an exhaustive sources list, and full directory of restaurant addresses.

In feeding my newfound addiction to home makeovers, I recently came across GelPro mats. I immediately wanted one -- my kitchen and bathroom both have cold stone floors, which are nice to look at but hard on the feet and back.

The company promotes the mats this way: "world's only gel-filled anti-fatigue floor mat relieves pain and fatigue caused from standing on hard flooring. Great for everyone, perfect for those with back pain, foot pain, or arthritis." I just like they way they look as compared to a cloth rug (especially in a newly-remodeled kitchen with granite and stainless steel), which slides around and doesn't offer any support.

The mats, which are designed and assembled in the USA, come in a variety of colors, fabrics, and styles. Try out the ones you like in the site's interactive kitchen. They even got an endorsement from our friends at Slashfood, which also features an interview with the company founder. Prices range from $99.95 - $299.95.

It's a toaster from Siemens and Porsche and it means serious toasting business. The TT911P2 2-Slice automatically adjusts itself to the thickness of the bread, has an LED display that counts down until the toast is ready, has 11 different degrees of browning, and it can remember which one was used last. The quartz heating element is one of the most efficient available, plus it has cool wall technology, variable browning, and of course a crumb tray. All that plus it's styled like something out of a space ship. £99

Via Switched On

This seems like a great idea to me, a stepped wok that has two separate sections. The bottom part allows searing and sautéing close to the heat source. The higher shelf lets you move food up to the next level and still keep it warm while other ingredients are seared on the bottom. A metal steamer fits snugly into the wok to prepare foods that benefit from moist heat. The stainless steel pan comes with a heat resistant glass lid and sells for $199.

While the phrase "Enter to win!" is often accompanied by eyerolling and a lesson in probability, when it comes to the 2008 Sub-Zero Dream Kitchen -- and dreamy it is, complete with sleek sub-zero fridge, freeze and wine storage alongside $2,000 worth of gourmet goodies from Dean & Deluca, Wolf dual range, Kohler kitchen gear ... the list goes on -- the words just may inspire a foodie frenzy. Until July 31, enter here if you aspire to cook and entertain in this kitchen-for-the-gods (did we mention ambrosia flows freely from those Kohler products? And there is a subscription to the Windsor Sonoma Wine Club?). Winners of the $50,000 in kitchen booty will be notified August 3. I hope I'm invited to your first dinner party.

This is a kitchen gadget made just for me because I love pasta of all kinds but always make too much (and it's not exactly the most waist-friendly food as far as eating too much of it goes or having left-overs around the house). Called The Noooodle (no typo there, unless I missed an "o") it doubles as both a stylish trivet/casserole stand and the loops in the design function as noodle-measuring devices all the way from 1 person up to 4 people. No more guessing! I think it's totally awesome!

Via Denzeen

In beautiful Tuscany sits Villa Mangiacane, a hotel that in addition to beautiful scenery and luxury sleep accommodations offers its own wine, olive oil, and now cooking classes.

As part of the "Flavours of Chianti" package you're treated the first night to a 4 course candlelit dinner prepared by Mangiacane's acclaimed Chef Massimo Bocus, which prepares you for the following day's cooking lesson with the Chef and a Villa Mangiacane wine and olive oil tasting. Among other treats (like cooking aprons, daily spa access, and fresh fruit in your room) you'll also get a Tuscan Cookbook and a bottle of Villa Mangiacane Chianti. €1270-€2450

Think about it....who really has a second kitchen? A full second kitchen? They're rare indeed, but the new trend in luxury housing is to start changing that.

People with money to spend want kitchens for both themselves and for their personal chefs and caterers, and they don't want to be bumping around together in the same space. But it's not just about whether or not you can afford it, as the building has to be approved and depending on the rules and regulations in the area an additional full kitchen may or may not be allowed. But in the areas where it does work houses generally run in the $5 million range and higher when they include 2 kitchens.

I love getaway packages that balance out fun and fitness. This winter at The Inn at Beaver Creek you can indulge in a package called "Cooking with Yoga and Snow." The weekend package, which is being held January 10-13, 2008 features Yahoo's Mind-Body Expert "Yoga Dave" David Romanelli and cooking classes with Pollyanna Forster, sommelier and owner of dish restaurant. The package includes a three night stay at The Inn at Beaver Creek, a two day ski pass at Vail and Beaver Creek Mountains, two cooking classes taught by Pollyanna Forster including a mountain grilling class at Red Tail Camp, daily yoga classes and one four-course gourmet lunch at Trapper's Cabin, a luxury cabin located on top of Beaver Creek Mountain. Package rates start at $1,350 per person, based on double occupancy.

Given his fiery reputation you might expect chef Gordon Ramsay's cookware, dishes and stemware to have a more individual look. But his collection with Royal Doulton is restaurant ready: simple white plates (except for an aubergine charger) and user-friendly stemware that is classic and meant to let the food take the spotlight. The 10-piece stainless steel cookware set has an aluminum core and sells for $499.99. A dinner plate is $19.99 and the glasses start at $39.99 per pair.

Are you serious about homemade pizza? If you are ready to experience the next step beyond the pizza stone it is probably this handmade wood-fired terra cotta oven which is made in Portugal. When fueled by hardwoods the oven produces spectacular heat which builds up in the oven chamber and and then dissipates through the outer shell. The oven comes with an oven rack, cover, stand, pizza paddle and a brush. It weighs an impressive 350 pounds and sells for $2,000.