Make Ahead

If you're stopping at a Greek market for ingredients, grab some butter cookies.

Chef Tracht likes an assertive sauce, so she uses extra-hot prepared horseradish. For a milder sauce, use less horseradish or the regular-strength variety.

Miss Lewis loved to serve this old-fashioned Southern dessert (which is actually more of a double-crust pie) warm, with the syrupy juice spooned over the crisp crust.

If you read Edna Lewis's cookbooks, you will come to understand that southerners do not boil their vegetables to death. They cook them until they are perfectly, magnificently tender—and there's a big difference. Try this versatile side and see: It's absurdly easy and full of deep, sweet flavor.

Quesillo de Coco You could buy a ticket to the Tropics—or you could simply make this flan. Heady with rum and sweet flaked coconut, this incredibly easy, super-delicate dessert will transport you straight to a table in the sand, under the swaying palms. If only every recipe could be this straightforward and rewarding.

This variation on spice cookies will beguile with its unlikely ingredients: A little curry powder provides an unplaceable base note for flat brown-sugar tuiles studded with pistachios and chocolate chunks. And these are the least fussy of cookies—just spread the batter, sprinkle with chocolate and nuts, and then break up into pieces after baking.

While the bavarian and the caramel sauce flirt subtly with the flavor of the fruit, this candied peel is very direct, delivering a straight shot of sweet-tart tangerine flavor.

Of all the citrus fruits (conveniently in season right now), tangerine has perhaps the most complex qualities. Floral and gently sweet, with an underlying tartness—like three fruits in one. And this lighter-than-air bavarian is wonderfully cool on the tongue, slowly releasing its various aromas as it melts in the mouth.

Going beyond the customary side dishes for beef (mushrooms and a gratin), we've combined all the luxurious flavor of wild mushrooms sautéed in cream with good buttered toast for these single-serving puddings, giving every guest a perfect mix of crisp, golden surface and warm, melting interior.

Brilliant swirls of raspberry jam and a crunchy crumb topping make this cake far prettier—and tastier—than most.

Unlike traditional fruitcakes, which are usually soaked in liquor and can be prepared weeks in advance, this version is best eaten within five days of baking.

These delightful cupcakes are great as soon as they've cooled, but their carrot-cake moistness and hint of spice really come through the day after they're baked.

Here, broccoli gets turned into irresistible finger food, while silken tofu adds a creamy touch to the dairy-free dip.

Is there a child in this world that doesn't love applesauce? This pink-hued, cinnamon-spiked version is just the right topping for the latkes.

We often relegate marshmallows to a hot-chocolate topper, but these coconut treats definitely deserve to be offered up solo. Each pillowy square is surrounded by a flurry of toasted coconut. And since they keep for a month, they can be made well in advance of the holiday rush.

This traditional Italian nougat is typically made with almonds, but we've substituted pistachios for their bright color and delicate flavor. Torrone can vary from firm to soft, but this one has a nice, subtle chew. Flavorless sheets of edible wafer paper keep the strips from sticking to one another.

Whether you dunk them in milk, pry them apart, or devour them whole, sandwich cookies are irresistible. These, with their crisp chocolate wafers and ganache filling made from fine-quality white chocolate, are so much better than that supermarket version.