Make Ahead

Baking the potatoes and carrots before mashing them gives this side a rich, complex flavor. pieces

Honey and dates make this dessert perfectly sweet (but not too sweet) and sticky. Pecans add a nutty crunch.

Brandy and apricots amp up the flavor of these fritters. The finishing touch? A dark-chocolate sauce.

Spicy horseradish cream and malty Guinness mustard amp up the flavor of this home-corned beef. You might need to special-order the brisket from your butcher, and you'll have to start brining the meat eight days before you cook and serve it. The Insta Cure No. 1 is optional, but it's nice to use because it gives the meat its traditional pink color. Save the leftover corned beef and vegetables for the sandwiches and hash.

Set out all of the components of this fun and delicious dish and allow guests to add their own toppings. Because the chili is meatless, the vegetarians in the crowd can also enjoy this meal by simply omitting the crispy cubed-pork topping.

Just to clarify—there are no tangerines in this recipe and it doesn't look like a pie. But it's still delicious. In Singapore, these turnovers, also known as kuey taht, are a highly prized gift for Chinese New Year. Traditionally, people give away fresh tangerines (tangerine is a homonym for "gold" in Chinese). When Western-style baked goods were introduced, this round turnover was created to resemble the real thing: thus its crackly orange egg yolk wash and clever little clove on top. CHEF'S TIP: Don't eat the cloves. They are only a decorative touch, and biting into one will definitely be a shock to your palate.

Be sure to buy a colorful assortment of baby vegetables. Serve as a side for roasted meat or fish, as an antipasto with salumi and breadsticks, or as an appetizer with crusty bread and goat cheese.

The slaw should be chilled at least 4 hours before serving. Ginger can be sliced thinly and chopped in a mini-chopper.

Ultra-thin and wonderfully crisp, these cookies pack plenty of flavor into a slim package. We like to pair them with the prunes in wine or the orange tapioca pudding, but they're also wonderful on their own or with a hot cup of coffee.

Prunes take on a velvety texture in this Port sauce. The resulting syrup is silky and sweet, with a tropical vanilla fragrance.

The unique texture of tapioca—creamy pudding studded with soft, slightly chewy pearls—inspires intense devotion among fans. This version gets lively citrus flavor from four incarnations of orange: zest, juice, liqueur, and fresh pieces of the fruit.

A great way to use very ripe bananas, this easy-to-make cake incorporates everything you love about banana bread and adds a few more favorites—chocolate, walnuts, and cinnamon—for good measure. (It's also much more tender, with a light, moist crumb.)

There's no question: If meatloaf, then potatoes. These have all the comfort of mashed, but with a nice texture from the potato slices and from being baked in cream. And they can go in the oven along with the meatloaf, so dinner will be ready all at once.

This is the perfect antidote to the Sunday blues, not least because there will be enough left over to pack sandwiches for Monday's lunch. A mix of beef, pork, and bacon ensures meatiness, with Worcestershire sauce, chopped prunes, and cider vinegar added for good balance and occasional suggestions of sweetness. Because the loaf is baked without a loaf pan, there's plenty of well-browned crust to go around.

Like cinnamon in this country, cardamom plays a starring role in Algerian sweets. Paired with star anise in a gingery syrup, it gives clementine slices an irresistible aroma, but the syrup would be just as wonderful over any kind of sliced fruit.

Food editor Lillian Chou, who is also gourmet's resident runner of marathons, swears by quinoa: "I have so much more energy if I eat it before a race!" And transforming this power grain into crisp cakes topped with a substantial rustic sauce and gooey softened mozzarella creates another compelling reason to love it—it just tastes so good.

An extra dose of decadent chocolate gives this classic layered dessert new life.

This country-style quiche has a crunchy crust, thanks to the whole grain cornmeal.

These are best served warm.