Make Ahead

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 1 hr

Apple cider vinegar makes the crust extra flaky. Offer eggnog ice cream (or vanilla ice cream sprinkled with nutmeg) alongside.

Kids and adults alike will get a kick out of this tower of ice cream. It makes a spectacular-yet easy-dessert for summer birthday celebration.

Serve with: Toast (especially when cheddar omelets are on the menu), potato pancakes, waffles, pancakes, or French toast. Combine with: Crusty bread and blue cheese. Use as: A dessert topping for pound cake (serve with vanilla ice cream).

The flavor of this chutney improves if made at least one day ahead. Serve with: Indian dishes (such as basmati rice and curries), lamb, duck, pork chops, or sharp cheeses.

These creamy custards feature the flavors of chai, a spiced tea that's enhanced with cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and ginger.

Franklin serves this dish like a green salad, but it's also

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 9 1/2 hr (includes cooling and chilling)

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A nice dish for a brunch buffet.

Make this at least one day and up to two days ahead for best flavor. This is a much simplified version of the classic smoked meat and bean cassoulet.

To make the toasted coconut for the meringue, spread flaked coconut on a baking sheet and bake on the center rack of a 350°F oven, stirring often around the edges, until light golden, about ten minutes.

These biscotti are equally delicious made with roasted almonds, pecans, or hazelnuts in place of the cashews.

"Last year my family spent the holidays on the Big Island of Hawaii," writes Jo Lucarz of Phoenix, Arizona. "One afternoon we ate lunch in Kamuela at the Parker Ranch Grill, where we had the best chili ever — and coming from a group of Arizona natives, that's saying a lot."

Pair this with a crisp French Chablis, the Chardonnay-based white from Burgundy.

Jamie Davies and her late husband, Jack, were pioneers in the California wine industry. In 1965 they purchased and restored Schramsberg, a vineyard estate established in 1862, and they soon began producing the first American sparkling wine. When Davies thinks about comforting desserts, she remembers her childhood in Pasadena. "I was about eight when I started making upside-down cakes with my older sister, Dallas. We’d come home after school and mix up the recipe; I loved the sensual pleasure of making the batter. We'd put the cake in the oven, then go play croquet with our friends. Then we’d all come in and eat it up. We thought we had died and gone to heaven." The easy upside-downer here has wonderful spice flavors. Using canned pineapple chunks keeps the preparation simple.