179 two recipes

Stir-fry chicken with yellow squash, yam, and red potato tosses over angel hair pasta in a zippy orange-juice-and-hot-sauce glaze. Quick one-wok dinner with peanut crunch.

General Tao chicken with crispy deep-fried leg meat tossed in a sweet-sour soy glaze with ginger, garlic, dried chilies, and sesame oil. Better than takeout, ready in 40 minutes.

Foolproof chocolate truffles made with cream cheese, no tempering or ganache fuss. Just melt, mix, chill, and roll into balls coated in nuts or coconut. An easy, make-ahead candy for gifting or the holidays.

General Tao's Chicken stir-fried with dried chilies, fresh orange zest and Sichuan peppercorns. A lighter, restaurant-style recipe that skips the heavy batter for a punchier version served over white rice.

General Tao's chicken with crispy water chestnut flour coating, Thai chili peppers, ginger, and orange peel in a sweet-sour sesame sauce. Restaurant-style Chinese takeout at home.

Flourless peanut butter cookies made with just three ingredients: peanut butter, an egg and vanilla. Naturally gluten-free, soft and rich, baked in about 15 minutes. No flour, no fuss.

Crispy General Tao's chicken coats golden fried chicken in a sticky sweet-and-savory sauce of brown sugar, soy, garlic, and ginger with a kick of chili. Better than takeout, easily made gluten-free with tamari, and ready in about 25 minutes.

Apple raisin pie with overnight-plumped raisins, tart apples, and a flaky double crust. A classic homemade fruit pie with juicy fruit, light spice, and a buttery golden top.

General Tso's chicken: crispy egg-white battered chicken stir-fried with ginger, garlic, scallions, and dried chilies in a sweet-tangy soy and vinegar sauce. The Hunan-style Chinese-American classic done right.

This cake won me First Prize at the county fair last year. It is very chocolaty.

Too much fruit salad is a big-batch medley of pineapple, melon, citrus, peaches, kiwi, and banana bathed in apricot nectar and chilled overnight so the flavors meld. A bright, make-ahead crowd salad.

Raspberry-peach pie with chopped hazelnuts, a splash of rum, and a sugar-glazed double crust. Sweet peaches and tart raspberries in a nutty, buttery filling.

Classic double-crust apple pie enriched with honey, raisins, and pecans. Cinnamon-sugar coated apples in a buttery pastry. Golden lattice top.

Apple cider pie cooks the apples in fresh cider before baking, building a syrupy filling thickened with cornstarch and warmed with cinnamon. Double-crust, vented top, golden flaky edges.

Cranberry raisin pie pairs tart cranberries with sweet raisins in a vanilla-scented filling, baked between two pastry crusts. The raisins balance the cranberries' sharp bite, no extra spices needed.

Italian Easter pie with layers of ricotta, mozzarella, smoked ham, spinach, sweet red peppers and fresh basil between two flaky pie crusts. A hearty holiday centerpiece served warm or room temperature.