Bon Appétit

These thin chocolate cookies taste just like the very top layer of a brownie. SERVING SUGGESTION: With milk.

This clever caramel sauce is made from coconut milk instead of the usual condensed milk. SERVING SUGGESTION: Over vanilla ice cream sprinkled with toasted coconut.

SERVING SUGGESTION: With pre-dinner drinks or on a salumi platter.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS: With roast chicken or pork, or spoon atop goat-cheese crostini.

SERVING SUGGESTION: Delicious after dinner with coffee.

This spice mix includes the same seasonings as those used to flavor India's clay-oven-baked tandoori chicken. SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Rub under the skin of a whole chicken before roasting; add to a pan sauce for seared scallops; sprinkle over cauliflower before sautéing; mix with yogurt and use as a marinade for leg of lamb.

Not your typical chicken pot pie. Cumin, cinnamon, and paprika add an aromatic spiciness, which is balanced by briny green olives and sweet golden raisins.

Royal icing is a pure-white, sticky icing that dries to a hard finish. Royal icing is used for delicate piping on cookies and gingerbread houses. Its  bright white hue makes it a good option for tinting whatever color you like. 

This pretty side dish (the onions open up like flowers) would be great alongside steak or roast chicken.

An intriguing, rich, and spicy soup with West African roots.

The fragrant spices in this apple crisp are pure Christmas, and the cornmeal in the topping adds a rustic touch.

Panzanella is an Italian bread and tomato salad served in the summer and made with leftover crusty country loaves. In this winter version, tomatoes are replaced by brussels sprouts and apples, and the fruit-filled bread known as panettone stands in for the country loaves.

The Italian answer to a French gratin: a dish baked with a crispy cheese (as in this recipe) or breadcrumb topping.

This needs a long, lazy roasting, so enjoy the aromas as you get ready for the party.

These fried cheese crisps are fun to make, so enlist a few guests to help if you decide to make them at the last minute.

Dried fruit, nuts, and oil-cured olives make this fruitcake something special.

Rich and silky, with black pepper and crystallized ginger adding a little punch.

The mustard coating on the potatoes gets crunchy and dark while the insides stay creamy and sweet.