// Get array of post info.
$cat_posts = new WP_Query("showposts=" . $instance["num"] . "&cat=" . $instance["cat"] . '&orderby=date&order=asc');
The Category Posts Widget is very good for showing a certain # of posts in a particular category using a widget that displays on every page. However, if you only want to show the posts for the current category in the sidebar, then add this code to your sidebar.php file:
<?php
$sidebar_related_query = new WP_Query('cat=' . $sidebar_cat_id . '&showposts=5&offset=0&orderby=post_date&order=desc');
while ($sidebar_related_query->have_posts()) : $sidebar_related_query->the_post();
$do_not_duplicate = $post->ID;
?>
<div id=â€post-<?php the_ID(); ?>">
<a href="<?php the_permalink(); ?>" rel="bookmark"><?php the_title(); ?></a>
</div>
<?php endwhile; ?>