Cheese

Rillettes—a spread made from meat or fish that's traditionally cooked in fat—is a fitting way to kick off Christmas dinner. This lighter take still feels indulgent but comes together quickly.

Served with a green salad, this would be a great quick supper.

Put on your winter whites for this elegant dessert featuring spiced, wine-poached pears, ladyfingers, and a white chocolate–mascarpone mousse.

The marmalade can also be served with a cheese plate or simply spread on toast.

Though this famous pub dish—usually made with Cheddar—is known for its lack of meat, a slice of high-quality ham adds another layer of deliciousness.

These have the lively crisp exterior and cloudlike interior you expect from a gougère, but with an incredibly intense combination of smoky bacon, roasted corn, and extra-sharp Cheddar.

This recipe could easily become a year-round favorite—simply substitute supermarket rotisserie chicken for the turkey. And as a special treat for the kids (or the kid in you), make individual-size pies, using eight 10- to 12-ounce gratin dishes.

This gently sweet ricotta tart provides a creamy base to a rich compote of dried fruit, which includes figs, sour cherries, and apricots (we much prefer the tangy California kind over Turkish). It's much lighter than a cheesecake, but it hits all the right spots. The Miraglia family likes the tart chilled, but we also loved it at room temperature.

You've encountered a million potato-bacon-cheese combos in your lifetime, but in retrospect they all seem to be rehearsals for this one, a classic of Miraglia Eriquez's Calabrian grandmother Mary Pacella, who immigrated to Brooklyn in 1934. Crispness abounds, from the bacon to the slight crust on the roasted potatoes, yielding to creamy, very potatoey interiors.

A bit of soppressata and cheese stuffed ingeniously between each leaf gives these artichokes a heartiness worthy of a special course. (Eat them as you normally would, scraping the leaf with your teeth—but in this case you'll get a mouthful of flavor-packed filling, too.) Using a pressure cooker speeds up cooking time and also results in incredibly tender artichokes.

Baking flan slowly in a water bath gives it a silky, confection-like texture. Be sure to begin making this recipe one day ahead so it has time to chill overnight. For optimal flavor, remove the flan from the refrigerator at least 20 minutes before serving to allow it to come to room temperature.

Chocolate mousse would be a great simple ending to this meal for two.

This is a dessert to remember: chocolaty cookie crust, creamy mascarpone filling, and a glistening cranberry topping.

Kumquats, small, oval citrus fruit with an edible peel, start turning up in markets this month. They're candied here for a gorgeous cheesecake topping.

Mascarpone lightens up the filling of this classic pumpkin pie.

Squash is often sold already peeled and seeded, making this recipe even easier.