Snack

SHERYL: The first time Wyatt had one of Chuck's zucchini muffins it was as if he'd died and gone to muffin heaven. I was thrilled, of course, because I knew he was actually eating zucchini without the fuss factor. Now, the first thing out of his mouth every morning is, "I want a keenie muffin!" Being the creature of habit that he is, I believe he would start every day with one of Chuck's muffins, and the nice thing about it is that Mommy can make them, too!

Fair warning: This snack mix is so good it'll definitely ruin your appetite for dinner. In fact, we predict that you will find yourself making it often because you won't want to run out.

Dried porcini give this vinaigrette a huge boost of flavor and marry beautifully with the asparagus and goat cheese for a spring-like first course. Serve this dish with sharp knives (like steak knives) so the toast and asparagus cut easily. For more seasonal recipes, download the free Gourmet Live app and stay tuned to the Gourmet Live blog for the latest updates.

Fresh and piquant, this crowd-pleaser is a classic.

Biscotti are the perfect ending to a great meal, especially with an espresso. A scoop of ice cream makes them even more special.—Karen DeMasco

The barbecued chicken pizza Wolfgang Puck first served at Spago in Hollywood inspired this quesadilla, which we serve as a special at the Market. The combination seems kind of strange to people at first, but once they try it, they love it.

This crumbly shortbread is studded with dried currants, which are tiny raisins made from Zante grapes. The currants must be soaked overnight, so you'll need to plan your craving a day in advance.

Better than any store-bought energy bars, these are great for breakfast-on-the-go, brown-bag lunches, and snacks. Make a batch on the weekend to get you through the work week.

The French like to cook using small amounts of intensely flavored ingredients, such as balsamic vinegar and goat cheese.

When Jack’s cousin Baby Lizzie first started picking up food and feeding herself, we started making macaroni and cheese in mini muffin pans for her. Big cousin Jack likes to take a large bite, so for him regular muffin pans fit the bill. You can make these in either one. The crispy Ritz cracker crumbs on the outside form a little crust for these pies, making them perfect to eat with your hands. We’re not saying they will be much neater than regular mac and cheese, but these sure are fun and delicious.

Rather than making pizza dough from scratch, patting out biscuit dough for mini pizzas is a quick, fun shortcut that older kids, like our eleven-year-old niece Lauren, will enjoy joining in on. And the kids can top their own pizzas, too, if they like, piling on the cheese and pepperoni or, if you’ve got a strange kid who likes them like Bobby always did, with sliced olives.

Before I opened Flour, I was lucky to get some local press about my new bakery and café. Just prior to opening day, the Boston Globe interviewed me for a cookie story and featured a bigger-than-life-size photo of my hand holding one of these lacy sesame cookies. They are gorgeous, but the ironic thing was that I didn't intend them as a selling point for Flour. A baking sheet of them just happened to be near me when the photographer asked for a prop. I'd been using the cookies for years in my restaurant work to garnish ice cream and sorbet desserts, and I wasn't planning to make them at Flour, because they seemed too brittle and delicate for the rough-and-tumble world of chocolate chip cookies and oatmeal scones. But when our doors opened, practically every other customer who walked in asked about the scrumptious-looking cookie in the newspaper and wanted to order one. We tried making them for a while, but, as I had suspected, they didn't hold up well stacked with the other cookies on our counter. Ever so slowly, we phased them out and customers eventually forgot about them. But they are fantastic for making at home! This is a wonderfully easy recipe made with ingredients that you probably already have in the kitchen, except for the black sesame seeds. Seek them out—you can find them in most Asian grocery stores and specialty food shops—because they contrast beautifully with the golden brown cookie and add a distinctive flavor. Serve them as I did during my restaurant days, with a bowl of ice cream or sorbet.

For years before I opened Flour, I had a notebook where I kept menu ideas for when I finally had my own dream bakery. It was filled with all of the pastries I had read about in cookbooks, learned to make at my jobs, and savored on my travels. When it came time to write a menu for the bakery, I realized it was impossible to include everything I wanted to offer. These doughnuts barely made the cut. After all, we were opening less than a block away from an outpost of the ubiquitous Dunkin' Donuts chain. But they ended up being a Flour best-seller. I first learned how to make doughnuts at Payard. A French pastry chef taught me how to make doughnuts that make Americans swoon, though they scarcely resemble what you get at the competition down the street. We only make them on Sundays, and they sell out every week.

Two years before I was asked to teach a class at De Gustibus Cooking School in Macy's Times Square, I did the backroom kitchen work for two different chef friends who were teaching there. The head assistant, Amaral Ozeias, who during his long tenure has seen every great chef and TV personality pass through the doors of that kitchen, quietly motioned for me to come into his office. He pulled out the prettiest little yellow truffle and proceeded to recite the recipe, one of his all-time favorites. This kind gesture was the most delicious favor he could have done for me.
Parve
Non-gebrokts

People think of truffles as such a luxurious item, yet they couldn't be easier to make. Pop one in your mouth for a mid-afternoon snack or serve as a small delicious bite at the end of a large meal. There is so much buzz out there lately about the good effects of chocolate—hey, think of it as health food!

Gjelina chef Travis Lett and pastry chef Meave Mcauliffe have perfected this sweet-savory treat. "It's essential to work the dough as little as possible," says Lett. "If there are streaks of unincorporated butter or flour, that's fine." And Lett has a serving suggestion, too. "Try them with a high-quality farmstead butter and some flaky sea salt. Lovely."