81 mae recipes

Old-school dark fruitcake soaked overnight in brandy and orange liqueur with figs, apricots, currants, walnuts, and pecans. Makes four loaves; ages beautifully.

A yeast based risen bread-like cake that's filled with a spiced apple mixture with an attractive lattice style presentation.

Traditional British Christmas plum pudding with cognac-soaked dried fruit, walnuts, suet, and warm spices, steamed in a mold and served with brandy butter sauce. A Victorian holiday classic.

Old-fashioned Christmas Rocks cookies bursting with candied fruit, dates, figs, pecans, raisins, and currants in a cocoa-spiced batter with a hint of coffee. Dense, chewy, and built to last.

Serving a crowd, a traditional mincemeat recipe using cost saving cuts of meat capable once used in other recipes of serving up to 50 people. Marinated in cognac and other liqueurs in an old fashioned crock for weeks.

Holiday mincemeat with chopped beef, suet, apples, sour cherries, dried fruit, and broken nuts simmered slowly with brandy and warming spices. A massive 48-serving batch for Christmas baking and gift-giving.

Traditional wedding fruitcake with candied cherries, pineapple, dates, raisins, currants, citron, and nuts in a spiced batter. Slow-baked at low heat for a dense, rich loaf.

A rustic whole wheat cake packed with apple chunks and walnuts, drenched in a warm apple cider glaze spiked with applejack brandy.

Two-day sourdough potato rye bread with molasses, cornmeal, mace, and poppy seeds. A dense, earthy loaf with an overnight starter and old-world European baking technique.

Cincinnati chili: thin, spiced ground beef sauce with cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and a touch of molasses, simmered low and slow. Serve over spaghetti with cheddar, onions, and beans.

Authentic Hanoi-style beef pho with charred aromatics, star anise, cinnamon, and a 6-hour broth. Crystal-clear, deeply savory, topped with paper-thin raw beef cooked by the hot soup.

Barbadians make Black Cake for weddings, birthdays and at Christimas time. Indeed, no Christmas holiday is felt to be complete without black Cake. People from many of the islands make a similar cake. This Black Cake derived from the British Plum Pudding which is a must on their Christmas menu.

Handmade pumpkin ravioli with a spiced pumpkin-carrot filling, served in a garlic cream sauce with toasted hazelnuts and wilted sorrel. A showpiece fall pasta.

Cincinnati-style 5-way chili spiced with cinnamon, chocolate, cardamom, and allspice. Served over spaghetti and topped with kidney beans, raw onion, and melted cheddar.

Vegetable and rice stuffed pumpkin: a whole pumpkin roasted as an edible bowl, packed with basmati rice, chestnuts, apples, apricots, and vegetables. A stunning vegetarian Thanksgiving centerpiece.

Pit-master style Brunswick stew with smoked pulled pork, roasted chicken, okra, lima beans, and corn simmered in homemade stock. Low and slow for hours, packed with smoky, tangy heat.