Winter

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. When blood oranges are out of season, you can use any type of seedless orange.

This updated classic adds dashes of red — and depth of flavor — to the usual apple, celery, and walnut mix. Make the salad ahead and refrigerate, then add the watercress and pecans right before serving.

Panforte — a cross between a cake and a candy — is a classic Italian Christmas treat. It's a very dense, rich confection loaded with nuts, dried fruit, and spices (hence its name, which means "strong bread"). This recipe yields much more than you'll need for the party, but it keeps so well that you'll have delicious leftovers long after the holiday season. Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 4 hr (includes cooling)

Ambrosia is fruit dessert that is also a salad. We Southerners always add it to Thanksgiving and Christmas menus to allow us to have the illusion that we're not in too much trouble with our diets, because after all, "We only had ambrosia for dessert!" The better the oranges in it, the better it is. Splurge and get flavor-filled navel oranges if you can. In any case, seedless oranges are a must. If there are going to be children at the meal, you can add maraschino cherries—sans stems. My mother always did, perhaps because one of my treasured memories from childhood was when my father took me to the men's club and ordered me a Shirley Temple with a maraschino cherry. I ate nearly a whole bottle, thanks to the indulgent waiter.

Boeuf bourguignon may be made 1 day ahead. Cool, uncovered, then chill, covered (it tastes even better made ahead because it gives the flavors time to develop). If making ahead, it's easier to remove fat from surface after chilling.

A fitting finale to a Mexican-style meal. Leftover cake is great for breakfast or an afternoon snack.

Pair this with frosty glasses of lager.

"I came upon this recipe several years ago in Mother's kitchen," writes Barbara Wilkerson of Talladega, Alabama. "It is now my own family's favorite holiday treat." Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 3 hr

Pan-roasting the vegetables imparts an earthy sweetness to this dish.

With months to go before the summer tomato season, we've found that slow-roasting brings out the flavor of winter plum tomatoes.

This simple but satisfying dish — full of slightly sweet parsnip and celery root chunks — can be made ahead and just reheated before serving.

In this recipe there will be extra mousse and pecan crisps (the recipes will not work if reduced). Both elements are delicious on their own.

A true demi-glace — the luscious sauce made by reducing homemade stock and red wine to a rich concentration — needs to simmer for several hours, making it the perfect activity for a lazy winter Sunday.