With Thanksgiving tomorrow and Christmas right around the corner, today I give you some go-to foods to make entertaining easier. Some of these could stand in for gifts, too.First up: Alouette cheese.This is an amazing line of cheeses. There’s an array of spreadable cheeses, crumbles, logs and bries. The spreads can be used as they are or added as an ingredient to jazz up ordinary dishes. For instance, you can take mashed potatoes up a level by folding in a carton of Alouette Garlic & Herbs soft spreadable cheese.The cheeses are available at most grocery stores. Visit alouettecheese.com for more recipes.Next up: Made in Colorado.If you’re thinking in terms of a Colorado-food theme, check out the line of Primo Specialty Foods made in Denver and 34Ëš crackers made in Boulder.Primo is a line of chutneys, butters, and preserves. They aren’t your run-of-the-mill spreadables. Think Pineapple Lemongrass Chutney, Loganberry Ancho Preserves or Holiday Pumpkin Butter. They’re great as spreads for unusual sandwiches or as an addition to a cheese platter. You also can use some of them as condiments for meat, poultry and fish.34Ëš crackers were named for the latitude of Sydney, Australia. The founder of the company fell in love with Australian crispbread when he lived in Sydney. There are four varieties: natural, sesame, cracked pepper and rosemary.Both of these products can be found at Whole Foods Markets.Finally: Dessert.If you didn’t get around to making dessert for Thanksgiving, here are a couple of ideas to help you with any sweet tooth needs: Agave Apple Pie and Chuao dark chocolate.The pie is sweetened with agave nectar. The nectar comes from agave plants grown in Mexico. It has the same consistency as honey and is just as sweet, but with half the amount of carbohydrate calories. This makes it less disturbing to the glycemic index and an optional sweetener for diabetics.The pie is a seasonal item in the bakery at Whole Foods Markets. Call ahead to be sure they have one ready for you.Now for the dark side – of chocolate that is. Chuao Chocolatier (pronounced chew-WOW) is from Venezuela and lives in Southern California. Unusual flavor combinations are at the heart of Chuao chocolates. A couple of my favorites are Hazelnut Cherry Dark Chocolate Bark and Honeycomb Bark. The honeycomb is the most unusual. It has English toffee-like chunks covered in dark chocolate. The chocolate melts on your tongue with a long-lasting finish. They can be bought at World Market, Crate and Barrel and Whole Foods Markets.—Reach Farney at 636-0271. She appears Tuesdays on KOAA’s Comcast Channel 5 at noon.