Black and white cake: tender white egg-white layer cake with vanilla and almond extracts, finished with a split cream cheese frosting half vanilla and half chocolate-amaretto.
No-bake marble fudge swirled with peanut butter and melted chocolate chips in a base of butter, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Six ingredients and no candy thermometer for a quick, creamy confection.
Flaky puff pastry tarts filled with flambéed Calvados apples and caramel sauce, crowned with puff pastry cutouts and served warm with caramel ice cream.
Slow cooker whole chicken poached with aromatics for 7-9 hours, served with a classic French-style cream sauce made from the cooking stock. A crockpot set-it-and-forget-it dinner.
Buttery almond snowball cookies made with biscuit mix and chopped nuts, rolled in powdered sugar while warm. Just 6 ingredients and no chilling needed.
Homemade pecan caramel clusters topped with melted semi-sweet chocolate. Buttery soft-ball caramel spooned over chopped pecans, then finished with a chocolate cap.
Reese's fudge cookies with cocoa powder dough loaded with chopped peanut butter cups. A rich, dark chocolate drop cookie with melted peanut butter pockets in every bite.
Apple-almond stuffed turkey: a Thanksgiving bird packed with tart apples, ham, toasted almonds, currants, citrus zest, and fennel seed in a bread stuffing moistened with apple juice and chicken broth.
Blarney stones are tender cake bars coated in powdered sugar icing and rolled in chopped peanuts or pecans. A classic Irish-American holiday treat with a crunchy, nutty shell.
Steamed red cabbage wedges and quartered red potatoes drizzled with a horseradish butter sauce with green onions. A simple vegetarian side dish.
Medallions of veal with sauces: tender stuffed veal cutlets on a bed of sauteed spinach, dressed with a crayfish Nantua sauce and lemon-chive wine butter, garnished with crayfish and asparagus. Fine dining at home.
Chocolate button cookies rolled in powdered sugar, then pressed with chocolate nonpareils fresh from the oven. Crackle-topped, bite-sized, fudgy in the middle.
Asparagus with mushrooms and fresh coriander is a 10-minute sauté of buttery browned mushrooms tossed with crisp diagonal-cut asparagus, shallots, and a finishing handful of cilantro. Bright, herbal side dish for spring.
Checkerboard cookies made easy with a fudge marble cake mix: build a black-and-white checkerboard from vanilla and chocolate dough strips, chill, slice and bake. A showy slice-and-bake cookie without the fuss.
Flourless chocolate espresso cake baked in a water bath with a pound of butter, two types of chocolate, and a fresh raspberry puree sauce. Dense, fudgy, and gluten-free.
Mexican picadillo with ground beef, apples, raisins, green olives, and toasted almonds. Sweet, savory, and versatile taco filling.