Fruit

This is a crisp and pleasing salad that gives you a chance to show off the subtle, clean-tasting apples you can find in the fall and winter, such as Macoun, Braeburn, or Gala (though it’s great with tart Granny Smith apples any time of year). It gets a mellow richness from Comté, a high-quality Swiss-style cheese that’s made in France, and the nuttiness of the cheese is echoed by the hazelnuts. (Walnuts would be a fine substitute, however.) I frequently use apple cider for the basis of sauces and dressings, because it’s lightly fruity but still fairly neutral, so it blends well with lots of different things. When cooked down or reduced, cider gets almost syrupy, which gives body as well as flavor to the dressing.

This irresistible combination of pungent and sweet flavors—figs, blue cheese, walnuts, and deeply flavored sherry vinaigrette—explains why this house salad flies out the door at Herbsaint.

Loaded with onions and peppers and cheese, these substantial quesadillas have a lot of personality—and make great use of leftover Jalapeño-roast Pork (p. 269). Serve them with margaritas for an instant party, or simply add a green salad with orange segments and red onions for an easy week-night meal. The Ancho-Mango sauce keeps well for several days, and it will perk up any number of sandwiches.

Don’t let your opinion of dolmades, stuffed grape leaves, rest on the ubiquitous canned versions, which are tasty but forgettable. Take the time to make these and you’ll be rewarded with a fragrant house and a satisfying savory snack for a party or simply for having on hand. Unlike most other versions I’ve had, this filling is brightly flavored and packed with aromatic ingredients—I add artichoke hearts, preserved lemon, and golden raisins. Pine nuts give these little guys a pleasing crunch, and I love the briny, herbal flavor that the grape leaves impart while they cook—this is the process that forms the sauce—in the lemony liquid.

The easiest way to core a pineapple is to quarter it and then slice off the tip of each wedge, as illustrated below.

For a dinner party, you can present these cakes on a cake stand garnished with fresh berries.

The topping for this cake is simple: cranberries are placed over sugar and spices at the bottom of the pan. As the cake bakes, the sugar caramelizes, forming a syrup. When you invert the pan, the syrup soaks into the cake, creating a festive dessert.

Lemon slices help keep the fish fillets moist during cooking. For a simple sauce, we combined lemon juice, white wine, and butter.

Thyme and sage give this sauce savory flavor, to complement the tartness of the cranberries. Loaded with antioxidants and vitamin C, cranberries are believed to help boost the immune system.

A generous amount of carrots adds a sweet earthy taste to these chicken breasts. Using prunes lends additional rich flavor, and is a variation of popular Mediterranean dishes that combine poultry or meat with dried fruit.

Saltimbocca, a classic Roman dish, provided the inspiration for this recipe. In our variation we replaced the traditional veal cutlets with chicken.

Mango, hearts of palm, and fresh lime juice bring tropical flavors to the winter table. Try this salad before a meal of roasted or braised fish, or pan-fried steak or chops.

The combination of fennel, citrus, and parsley makes this Italian-style salad an ideal palate cleanser. It tastes particularly refreshing in winter, when salad greens are often scarce.

When buying parsnips, choose those that are smooth, firm, and about 8 inches long, roughly the size of a large carrot. They should not be soft, spotted, or damp.

This crustless pie is an easy dessert to prepare from scratch. It’s perfect for fall, when pears are at their peak. And because it has a custard base, it needs no accompaniment.

We like Granny Smith apples for this tart, but you could substitute a number of other varieties, including Macoun, Cortland, or Jonagold.