The citrus gin sparkler you want to be drinking at your next holiday party.

Gougères - I have these little cheese puffs in my freezer, ready to bake, nearly always. This version, a favorite, is made with whole wheat flour, sharp white cheddar cheese, fennel, and ale.

This black sticky gingerbread recipe makes an outrageously dark, dense, flavorful and delicious cake. The burnt-caramel-esque crust that forms on the top of the cake is part of what makes this recipe a keeper.

I made these Brown Sugar Rosemary Walnuts as a snack to take for my long travel day to The Greenbrier for the annual Symposium for Professional Food Writers. Recipe & photos from my visit.

Inspired by a cinnamon bun recipe in Lotta Jansdotter's new book, Handmade Living, these cinnamon buns are made from a cardamom-flecked, buttery yeast dough with a classic cinnamon-sugar swirl.

The soup I've cooked most this year. There is so much going on here despite a modest list of ingredients. Celery, crushed caraway, and garlic are cooked together alongside big hearty beans and chopped tomatoes in what becomes an olive-oil dappled broth. You serve each bowl with chopped oily, black olives and fresh lemon wedges. This is a version made with Christmas Lima beans, but you can substitute cannellini or giant corona beans.

An updated collection of some of my favorite Christmas cookies from past years - from gingerbread to shortbread, and plenty of chocolate Christmas cookies as well.

A collection of past favorite vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes - plenty of seasonally inspired main dishes, sides, salads, and desserts.

Around the holidays these pretty, sparkling sugared cranberries are perfect. Tart and sweet, they glint and wink in the surrounding holiday lights, and lend a striking dash of red to the table.

I made these for Lottie & Doof's 12 DAYS OF COOKIES. They are tiny, bite-sized holiday cookies made with two kinds of ginger and lots of shaved chocolate. The turbinado sugar crust gives them a bit of crunch which is a nice contrast to the ooey-goey chocolate.

Inspired by a recipe in The Complete Tassajara Cookbook, a warm winter salad made from sauteed shredded red cabbage. Feta, balsamic vinegar, and golden raisins make it sweet and salty, rich with color, texture and flavor.

This ginger cookie recipe is made special with three kinds of ginger and a hint of lemon zest. Cracked and sugar-crusted on the outside, dense and moist within.

A collection of some of my favorite holiday recipes - a range of colorful, seasonal, main dished, appetizers, and sweets.

This lovely, jeweled pomegranate salad recipe is from Samuel and Samantha Clark's book Moro East - toasted walnuts, celery, mint, parsley, and garlic. An easy, delicious, and a pretty addition to any table.

My friend Sante shared his hermit recipe with me - a simple, drop-style, spice cookie loaded with tiny currants, chopped walnuts, and finished with a bit of icing.

Powder-kissed and pretty, these Swedish Rye cookies are perfect for holiday cookie enthusiasts who are after a not-too-sweet, shortbread-style butter cookie.

My take on the classic fantasy fudge recipe - made with Scharffen Berger chocolate, butter (not margarine) , and organic cane sugar.

A jewel-inspired holiday salad recipe - mixed leafy salad greens, wild rice, toasted hazelnuts, dried figs and pluots, tossed with a simple ginger juice vinaigrette that I spiked with just a hint of jalapeno.

Favorite, easy pumpkin pie recipe. Made from a rich, roasted pumpkin and coconut milk base, and baked in a hazelnut-lined crust - delicious!

A moist, tender buttermilk cornbread packed with corn kernels and flecked with red pepper flakes. Simple and delicious.

A favorite green bean recipe - dill, green beans, leeks, salt and olive oil. That's it - five ingredients, one skillet - tasty green beans.

A caramel apple recipe made from apples, honey, cream, and salt - all-natural, with no processed corn syrup or other funky ingredients.

One of my favorite party-friendly ways to use hazelnuts. This butter-toasted hazelnut recipe uses toasted butter, fresh tyme and lemon and orange zest to add a simple yet sophisticated twist to a nut bowl.

A twist on the shortbread recipe I included in my book -perfectly golden pine nuts and just enough rosemary and lemon zest to infuse the buttery sweet dough with fragrance and flavor.

This cookie combines thin chocolate wafers with a thick, creamy peppermint filling. A wonderful holiday or Christmas cookie.

Plump raviolis tossed with toasted hazelnuts, sauteed ribbons of chard, and caramelized onions are at the heart of this ravioli salad recipe. The colorful platter is finished off with a dusting of cheese, snipped chives, and lemon zest. You can prepare most of the components ahead of time.

Yeast-leavened corn bread recipe, heavily flecked with kernels of bright yellow corn and generously spiked with chives. Perfect for stuffing and soup-dunking.

A quick and easy brussels sprouts recipe that will convert the biggest skeptics. Vibrant green, tender brussels sprouts that become deeply golden and crusty where they touch the pan, dusted with cheese.

A fun meringue recipe that enables you to shape the meringue into seasonal shapes - ghosts for halloween, or snowmen for the holidays

This millet bake recipe is a largely hands-off, winter squash-based casserole that uses golden millet, baked squash, pumpkin seeds and jewel-toned cranberries. A perfect Thanksgiving recipe for those of you collecting ideas.

A wonderful farro and roasted butternut squash recipe. Balsamic roasted butternut squash, deeply toasted walnuts, and nutty farro come together in this delicious recipe.

A favorite caramel recipe yielding dozens of generously espresso-flecked caramels that you can individually wrap. They have a deliciously subtle undercurrent of sea salt and are great for the holidays.

Peter Reinhart's challah recipe creates a wonderful (and reasonably forgiving) dough that bakes into a tender, delicious version of the traditional Jewish celebration bread.

A beautiful, buttery shortbread cookie recipe straight from the Hearst Castle kitchen.

A deliciously vibrant, earthy, and slightly smoky-tasting salsa recipe. Different from salsa fresca, the deep, caramelized flavors of the roasted tomatoes and onions alongside the smokiness of the chipotles make for a richly beautiful and balanced salsa.

A delicious cranberry jam recipe, the most riveting shade of ruby red you've ever seen. Would be perfect with toasted walnut bread and an antique gruyere cheese.

Knee-deep coconut flecked frosting tops over a sour cream coconut cake batter base make these a quintessential holiday cupcake recipe.

A delicious, traditional tasting, yet healthier gingerbread cookie recipe that includes white whole wheat flour, more assertive spices, and less refined sweeteners. You wont miss the traditional version. They are very cute on popsicle sticks.

This mashed sweet potato recipe is an all-time favorite, perfect for Thanksgiving. Plump vanilla beans, cream, orange zest, and butter are combined with sweet potatoes that have been roasted in the oven. A quick whirl in the food processor produces a smooth, creamy, subtly sweet puree haunted by the delicious vanilla and citrus undertones. The consistency is that of a thick frosting.

This Thai-spiced Pumpkin Soup couldn't be easier to make - roasted winter squash, coconut milk, Thai red curry paste, and sea salt come together in a pot of vibrant, rich, flavorful soup. A total crowd pleaser.

Don't let all those pumpkin seeds go to waste, toasting pumpkin seeds is easy! This year I tried some different flavor combinations: Sweet & Spicy Toasted Pumpkin Seeds, Black Tea & Butter Toasted Pumpkin Seeds, and Curried Toasted Pumpkin Seeds.

A good Mexican wedding cookie recipe results in a tender nutty, butter-based cookie topped with an extravagant blizzard of powdered sugar.

Silky, dark chocolate fondue recipe. Simple with just two ingredients and lots of ideas on what makes the best dunkables.

This candied walnut recipe was is the perfect solution to a New Years Eve hors d'oeuvres dilemma. Made with walnuts, sea salt, black pepper, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and powdered sugar.

Served in shot glasses this peppermint semifreddo recipe makes a fluffy, dreamy, cloud-like, winter wonderland dessert.

My sister Heather teaches me her favorite toffee recipe. It is peppered with toasted pecans and slathered with a thin layer of chocolate on each side.

Outrageously good cheesy potato spoon bread recipe. Warm, tasty, cheesy, crusty, cayenne-kissed, oven-baked goodness. If you are a fan of comfort food - look no further.

Fun Alice Medrich Day of the Dead skull cookie recipe made from vanilla and chocolate dough.

A great peppermint bark cookie recipe using one of my favorite cookie doughs and peppered with a generous amount of chopped peppermint bark.