Winter

This simple but satisfying dish — full of slightly sweet parsnip and celery root chunks — can be made ahead and just reheated before serving.

In this recipe there will be extra mousse and pecan crisps (the recipes will not work if reduced). Both elements are delicious on their own.

A true demi-glace — the luscious sauce made by reducing homemade stock and red wine to a rich concentration — needs to simmer for several hours, making it the perfect activity for a lazy winter Sunday.

Sauté any remaining greens from the beets to serve on the side with the lentils with port-glazed shallots . A Moulin-à-Vent is the wine of choice; purchased cheesecake topped with cherries marinated in brandy and sugar is a scrumptious finale.

Arugula's bold flavor and the texture of curly frisée team up in this simple salad.

(Tarte aux Pommes a la Compote)

Apple cider vinegar makes the crust extra flaky. Offer eggnog ice cream (or vanilla ice cream sprinkled with nutmeg) alongside.

Inspired by the cooking of the American South—and absolutely delicious.

English Christmas "pudding" is really a dense, moist spiced cake. This gingerbread version is flavored with orange marmalade and topped with a traditional hard sauce — butter and sugar mixed with brandy.

The deep garnet glaze, made with pomegranate molasses, adds a richly piquant, sweet-tart depth of flavor to the turkey.

Caffelatte is what Italians of all ages have for breakfast at home. For small children it is a cupful of warm milk lightly stained with coffee, the ratio of coffee to milk increasing with one's years. It is often accompanied by some store-bought biscuits, but not in my assistant Nadia's family. She lives on her father's farm outside Venice with her husband and small boy, and for her son Tommaso she bakes wholesome cakes with fresh fruit. He has some with his caffeelatte and takes another piece to school to eat for merenda, recess. I was particularly taken with the cake Nadia makes when there is no more summer fruit on the farm. She uses pears and apples and always adds a banana she buys in town. The proportions of one fruit to another may vary, and indeed Nadia says they always do, but nothing much can go wrong or affect the cake's plainspoken, engagingly fresh taste.

Smoked duck adds elegance to this salad. Smoked turkey would also work well.

"Lidia's in Kansas City, Missouri, serves a rustic white bean and potato soup that would make a perfect meatless entrée for a winter evening," writes Deborah Johnson of Columbia, Missouri. "I order it every time I go there. Do you think chef Dan Swinney would part with his recipe?" Start this recipe a day ahead so that there's time for the beans to soak overnight.

One of two stuffings (see also the Apple and Sausage Stuffing) developed by Barbara Shinn and David Page of Home restaurant in New York. This dish features large cubes of French bread and a custardy texture. To ensure a crisply browned top, the stuffing should be baked separately from the turkey.

Hazelnuts and prosciutto are combined in a seasoned butter that coats the turkey as it roasts, and also flavors the gravy.