347 traditional recipes

Homemade Swedish Christmas sausage (julkorv) stuffed into natural hog casings with ground beef, mashed potatoes, allspice, and cloves. A treasured Scandinavian holiday tradition you can make ahead and freeze for the big day.

A traditional Swabian flatbread (Flämmkuchen-style) topped with sour cream, scallions, chives, egg, and nutmeg on yeasted dough. Baked until golden and dotted with butter before serving. Germany's cozy answer to pizza night.

An old-school New England clam chowder built on rendered salt pork, a quart of chopped clams, cubed potatoes, and whole milk finished with butter. No flour, no cream, just pure Yankee tradition.

Traditional Mexican beans cooked in a pot (frijoles de olla) with just onion, lard, and salt. Slow-simmered from dried beans for 3 hours until tender and soupy. The foundation of Mexican cooking.

Classic New Orleans king cake: a brioche-like yeast ring scented with nutmeg and lemon, filled with citron, glazed with lemon icing and purple-green-gold sugar. Mardi Gras tradition baked at home.

Election Day cake, a historic New England yeast-raised spice cake studded with raisins, citron and nuts, warmed with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and mace, and glazed with confectioners' sugar. A colonial American tradition.

Soutzouki, the traditional Greek grape-and-walnut candy. A chewy grape-juice gel thickened with pectin, studded with whole walnuts and rolled into a log to slice. Naturally fruit-sweet, no candy thermometer needed.

Traditional Italian mixed-meat broth (brodo di carne mista) made with chicken, beef short ribs, and veal bones. A slow-simmered foundation for tortellini in brodo, minestrone, risotto, and countless Italian soups and sauces.

Pasta with spinach pesto made from fresh spinach, pine nuts, Parmesan, garlic, and olive oil pureed smooth. A milder, more affordable twist on traditional basil pesto that freezes well for up to 6 weeks.

Lefse is a traditional Norwegian soft flatbread made from scalded milk, lard, and flour, rolled paper-thin and cooked on a griddle. Served warm with butter and sugar for a simple, authentic Scandinavian treat.

Tall honey cake (lekach) baked with 1¼ cups honey and a full cup of strong coffee for moisture and depth. Walnut-studded with warm spices, traditional for Rosh Hashanah and the Jewish New Year.

Bizcochitos are the official state cookie of New Mexico: lard-based shortbread perfumed with anise and sweet wine, dusted in cinnamon sugar, and baked into delicate flaky rounds. The traditional Christmas and wedding cookie of the Southwest.

Syros Island nougat is a traditional Greek confection of whipped egg whites, honey, and sugar syrup folded with toasted pistachios. Chewy, fragrant, and wrapped in wax paper like a gift from a Mediterranean candy shop.

A traditional Russian beet and carrot side dish sautéed with onions in tomato sauce, brightened with red wine vinegar and a touch of sugar. Served cold after hours of chilling. Earthy, tangy, and deeply satisfying.

These traditional babkas are rich, egg-yolk-laden yeast breads with golden raisins and a hint of lemon zest, baked in fluted pans and dusted with powdered sugar. Best eaten fresh within a couple of days.

Mardi Gras king cake made from a rich buttery brioche-style yeast dough, shaped into a traditional oval ring, and topped with corn syrup and colored sugar. Hide the baby and let the good times roll.