Make Ahead

This citrus cake is decorated with thin slices of candied orange peel. If you have any left over, roll them in sugar and dip in melted icing for a sweet treat.

Use this dressing to punch up sturdy greens such as escarole or radicchio.

Use good butter, fresh crabmeat, and Meyer lemons and this simple spread will really sing. Can't find Meyer lemons? Substitute 2 tablespoons juice and 1-2 teaspoon zest from a regular lemon instead.

Serve this icing spooned over cake or ice cream.

A simple addition to the master dough results in deliciously scented rolls.

Swedish pearl sugar stands in for coarse salt in this sweet take on the soft pretzel.

This versatile dough is ideally made in a stand mixer, but a food processor works surprisingly well, too.

Adding grated apple, a pectin-packed fruit, naturally jells the jam and gives it a pleasant tartness.

We've been making chef Scott Howard's ginger syrup in bulk and keeping it in the fridge for quick tonics and late- evening cocktails. If you have a juicer at home, by all means use it, but good store-bought 100 percent carrot juice will work just as well here.

Get extra-festive with this buttery loaf studded with colorful eggs.

These tasty tarts are easy to bring to a picnic or potluck dinner. Serve one for dessert—and one for breakfast the next day. Dried California apricots are dark orange and have a tangier, more intense flavor than Turkish ones.

Sometimes all it takes are three ingredients to kick off a party.

We mix finely ground oats and almonds into the biscuit dough for extra texture, flavor, and nutritional value.

No cream is necessary in this soup, just vegetables and broth puréed to velvety perfection.

Brisket is the centerpiece of many holiday tables, but pot roast, cooked to succulent tenderness in a full-bodied braising liquid brightened with the tang of wine and tomato and enriched with a heady trio of cinnamon, bay leaf, and thyme is just as special without sacrificing tradition.

Rich with chocolate and studded with bits of toasted almonds with a faint coconut flavor, this heavenly dessert is a special finish to a holiday meal. Because the leavening comes from aeration, it is essential that the ingredients be at room temperature before assembling the batter.