Make Ahead

This vibrant, aromatic Moroccan spice blend makes an excellent addition to lamb burgers or roasted chicken.

Begin preparing this a day ahead.

These cookies are perfect with a cup of tea.

These ultra-rich and chocolaty sandwich cookies have creamy, coffee-spiked centers.

Pear wedges are tossed with brown butter (easily made by melting butter, then keeping it on the heat until golden and nutty) for an especially comforting treat.

This celery looks very much like the variety found in most supermarkets, but its stems are thinner and it has an abundance of leaves that resemble Italian parsley. Cooking mellows Chinese celery's pronounced flavor — for a stir-fry, it's often blanched first. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

Arranging the apple slices in a flower petal formation may be work for the cook, but it sure provides luxurious eating for your lucky guests. This pie has an exceptionally crisp bottom crust under a juicy filling of caramelized, cinnamony apples made tangy and glistening with a gilding of apricot preserves. The border is a wreath of leaves cut from the pie crust.

It's difficult to choose ripe quinces because their flesh, unlike that of other fruits, doesn't soften. You have to use your nose, sniffing out the heady floral fragrance that signals that the quince is ripe.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.