40 heel recipes

This old fashioned fruit cake is a classic. Candied fruits, rum, molasses and all kinds of spices make the cake rich in flavor.

Traditional Panforte di Siena with toasted almonds, hazelnuts, candied orange peel, citron, cocoa, and honey syrup cooked to soft ball stage. A dense Italian Christmas confection.

Orange butter cakes are petite tartlet-tin cakes perfumed with Grand Marnier and candied orange peel, then dipped in orange liqueur glaze. Elegant 36-cake batch for gifts or a holiday tray.

Triple cheese pasta with green peas tosses hot rotelle with gorgonzola-butter, plus mozzarella and Fontina that melt into creamy ribbons from the residual heat. Sweet green peas and fresh chives cut through the richness.

Timing Tip: Can be frozen for up to 2 weeks. Decorate up to 8 hours ahead. Calorie Trimmer: Use reduced-calorie margarine, vanilla nonfat frozen dessert instead of the ice cream and 2 cups thawed frozen reduced-calorie whipped topping for garnish.

Steamed mussels over pasta in a white wine tomato sauce with crumbled feta, oregano, and red pepper flakes. A Greek-inspired seafood pasta dinner ready in an hour.

Greek-style baked eel with a tomato, red wine, onion, and oregano sauce inspired by Salonika. A traditional Mediterranean seafood dish served with crusty bread.

A lighter, golden fruitcake with apricots, golden raisins, candied orange peel, and walnuts in a buttery brandy batter. Baked in decorative molds for a gorgeous holiday centerpiece.

Rotelle with Provencal tomato sauce: a no-cook raw tomato sauce with balsamic vinegar, roasted red peppers, kalamata olives, capers, and fresh basil tossed with hot pasta. Ready in 20 minutes.

Wagon wheel pasta smothered in a puréed sun-dried tomato sauce with garlic, oregano, and a squeeze of lemon, finished with grated Parmesan. A quick, intensely flavorful dinner for two.

Flaky phyllo spirals filled with walnuts, pistachios, candied orange peel, and orange blossom water, baked golden and soaked in lemon syrup. A baklava-style treat that makes about 42 pieces.

This holiday fruitcake recipe may change your mind about fruitcakes. Golden, buttery, and chock full of fruits and nuts make this delicious from the first bite to the last.

Mazurka cookie bars with an almond shortbread base topped with a fruity filling of apricots, figs, raisins, walnuts, and candied orange peel, finished with powdered sugar icing.

Sauced shrimp with poached shrimp in pickling-spice broth, then simmered in white wine and tomato sauce with grated onion. The Mediterranean-style shrimp dinner served over rice.

Greek eel baked Spetses-style in a tomato, honey, and feta sauce with thyme, mint, and lemon. A rustic island dish where the rich fish meets briny cheese and sweet sun-dried tomato.

Sautéed chicken breast coated in orange juice and flour, then simmered with balsamic vinegar, colorful peppers, and mushrooms over wagon wheel pasta. A 50-minute dinner for two with a tangy, rich pan sauce.