Since today is the day for making toasts - and resolutions don't begin until tomorrow - here's a second toast to accompany my earlier blog ( "A Skagen Toast to the New Year"): here's to Gjetost! Norway's hallmark brown cheese, packaged in the U.S. under the "Ski Queen" label, is delicious when sliced thin and placed on toast (or crispbread). Yet it also lends itself beautifully to creating this non-alcoholic gjetost fondue, perfect for dipping meatballs, apple slices, chunks of rye bread, and roasted potatoes.

Nordic Nibbles image & copy; 12/31/2012 Kari Diehl, licensed to About.com.

Looking for the ideal New Year's "toast"? Forget the speeches and offer your guests Sweden's classic Skagen Toast instead. Developed three decades ago by Tore Wretman, famed chef at Stockholm's Riche restaurant, this concoction of baby shrimp, crème fraîche, caviar, and dill is simple, elegant ... and just the slightest bit salty - everything the perfect toast should be.

Toast Skagen image & copy; 12/31/2012 Kari Diehl, licensed to About.com.

When making merry as we ring in the New Year, it's always a good idea to offer a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages to accompany a selection of festive appetizers. Need ideas for a few "Nordic"-themed "hard" and "soft" drinks? Here are 8 very festive beverages sure to appeal to a wide range of preferences ( from non-alcoholic Skål Ya'll Fruit Tea to Julmumma (Swedish Christmas Beer), Icebar Stockholm's famous Wolf's Paw cocktail , and Northern Lights (a.k.a. "Greenlandic") coffee. Drink responsibly, stay safe, and have a very blessed 2013!.

8 Festive Nordic Beverages image and copy; 12/31/2012 Kari Diehl, licensed to About.com.

What an adventurous year 2012 has been! It was a banner year for me, of course, because of Adams Media's publication of my first cookbook, The Everything Nordic Cookbook. Yet perhaps the best part of this project was that it encouraged me - in alignment with the tenets of the "New Nordic Cuisine" movement - to heighten my focus upon planning our meals around ingredients that are seasonal, fresh, and local. Who knew that dandelion greens tasted so good? Or that it was so easy to make Icelandic skyr at home? Inspired by this list of 2012's Scandinavian Food highlights, I can't wait to see what 2013 holds!.

2012 highlights image and copy; 12/30/2012 Kari Diehl, licensed to About.com.