Photo: Alan Richardson and Karen Tack

Embrace the freedom of January cooking (no overnight guests with picky palates, no cookie swaps, no big dinners to host) by experimenting with these four foods.

Rainbow Trout Cupcakes
This month, Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, the color-obsessed food stylists whose previous books include Hello, Cupcake! and What's New, Cupcake?, return with a third guide to turning ingredients like JELL-O and Fruit Roll-Ups into amazing cupcake decorations. Cupcakes, Cookies, and Pie, Oh My! includes instructions for making these cupcakes, which are decorated with M&Ms and spice drops.

Chinese Scallion Pancakes
Celebrate the Year of the Dragon when Chinese New Year begins on January 23 with these savory pancakes. They're crisp, golden and filled with scallions and sesame seeds. Fold them into wedges and dip into a ginger-chili sauce.

Spiced-Up Oatmeal
If you're stuck in an apples-and-cinnamon rut, break out with new mix-ins. To make Blackberry Pie Oatmeal, stir in 1/3 cup blackberries near the end of cooking, then top with chopped walnuts, a few more blackberries, and a crushed graham cracker. Or try Pumpkin–Cottage Cheese Oatmeal by adding 1/4 cup canned pumpkin and 1/4 cup cottage cheese when the oatmeal's almost cooked. Sprinkle toasted sliced almonds and a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg on top. Here are even more ideas for jazzing up your oatmeal.

Grapefruit
While Florida and Texas have been shipping these classic winter treats since October, two other big growing states--Arizona and California--have just started to hit their stride this month, so you shouldn't have trouble tracking the citrus fruit down. Look for ones with brightly-colored skin and no bruises. They should be be firm and springy to touch. And the heavier the grapefruit, the more juice it'll have. Not just for breakfast, grapefruits are excellent in salads, too, such as this fennel and arugula mix.

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