620 brandy recipes

A show-stopping rhubarb tart in an almond pastry shell, served with fresh strawberry-kirsch sauce and homemade cinnamon ice cream. Three components, one unforgettable spring dessert.

Eggnog chiffon pie, an airy brandy-spiked custard set with gelatin and lightened with whipped egg whites, dusted with fresh nutmeg in a flaky homemade crust. A Christmas dessert worth the fuss.

Raspberry gratin with fresh raspberries, framboise, and a souffle-style egg batter that bakes into puffed golden mounds. The 10-minute French summer dessert that drinks above its weight class.

Pork Normande for one with tenderloin braised in apple juice, sliced apples, and onion, finished with brandy and yogurt. A classic French single-serving dinner.

Baked apple halves stuffed with brandy-soaked dried cherries and drizzled with a maple caramel sauce. Served warm with vanilla frozen yogurt for an elegant fall dessert.

Chilled strawberry soup blended with sour cream, half and half, brandy, and vanilla. A silky Nova Scotia-inspired cold fruit soup ready in 10 minutes flat.

Brandy-flambéed chicken baked with fresh apples, pears, sliced mushrooms, and apple wine until tender and saucy. An elegant fall dinner that comes together in just 35 minutes. Serve over couscous or rice.

Fruitcake cookies packed with candied pineapple, cherries, golden raisins, and toasted pecans, spiked with brandy and warm spices. All the holiday flavor, none of the doorstop.

Classic French country pate with ground pork and veal marinated overnight in white wine and brandy, lined with fatback, and baked in a water bath until firm. A make-ahead appetizer.

Lane cake filling with egg yolk custard, brandy, candied cherries, raisins, pecans, and coconut. The classic Southern frosting for a traditional Lane cake.

Chilled cherry soup with white wine, sour cream, cinnamon, and optional brandy. A silky, sweet-tart Hungarian-style cold soup made from fresh cherries.

Silky apricot cheese dip with cream cheese, sour cream, apricot preserves, brandy, and almonds. A sweet, creamy no-cook dip for vanilla wafers and pound cake cubes.

Pumpkin flan: a silky honey-sweetened pumpkin custard baked in a water bath with a brown sugar bottom and a splash of brandy. A fall twist on classic Spanish flan, chilled and ready in 5 hours.

Homemade turkey sausage gets its juiciness from a little pureed bacon worked into lean ground turkey, then seasoned with brandy, thyme, and clove. Shape into patties or stuff into casings for a leaner sausage with real backbone.

Fresh berry tarts: a pair of giant 10x15 inch sheet tarts with vanilla cream over sweet pie crust, one tart piled with glazed cherries, the other with glossy blueberries.

If you want to enjoy a great light drink after Christmas dinner, try this creamy eggnog that will even have Grandma singing Christmas carols.