Dried Fruit

This is a superb accompaniment to curries and other spicy dishes. See the menu with Tofu and Sweet Potato Curry, page 139.

I’m not one to eat pears out of hand, but I like them—slightly underripe—in salads. Contrasted with the pleasant bite of goat cheese and the sweetness of dried cranberries, this salad is a party for the palate.

This makes a splendid companion to curried vegetable dishes, as in the menu suggested here.

Here’s a nice change of pace from “white” coleslaw. It adds a refreshing note to spicy meals and adds vibrant color to the plate.

This slaw is a delightful companion to spicy dishes, veggie burgers, and bean dishes. It’s festive enough to serve with more elaborate meals and at holiday celebrations.

Here is a fantastic coffee cake that tastes like gingerbread: perfect for cold days or nights.

This very Spanish-influenced tapa hits your tongue in three-stage flavor assault. First the smoky bacon, next the slightly salty green olive sauce, then the sweetness of the date. But the kicker is the almond inside—the little crunch that totally takes you by surprise. The combo is unique and classic, and I like to up the presentation with fancy toothpicks.

The foods from North Africa and the Middle East truly have some of the deepest flavors I’ve ever tasted. Don’t be daunted by the length of the recipe: This dish is not at all difficult to throw down, and the results are well worth the long shopping list. The Harissa sauce can be made a day ahead and the caponata is also good by itself or as a side dish.

For me, commercially produced curry power tastes just that: commercial. You would never find prepared curry powder in an Indian restaurant, and because the spices are combined fresh, the flavors are robust and explosive. If you like a light curry flavor, use half the spice mix. If you like a spicy curry—use it all. I won’t be mad at ya. Serve the lamb curry with Perfect Steamed Jasmine Rice (page 240) or basmati rice. This is Bombay the right way.

This is a quick throw-together that should always be in your brunch recipe arsenal. The muffins look and taste great—and you won’t have to spend $2.50 in a coffee shop.

One trick that I learned a long time ago about cooking pork is that you have to brine it. The brine for this recipe is a sugar-salt solution mixed with apple juice concentrate (you will need 2 cans of frozen juice) for the brine and spiced apples. With its sweet apple flavor, this is an intense marinade that works miracles on pork chops. Trust me—once you taste a thick pork chop that’s been flavored in a brine, you will never go back. Cozy up to your butcher to get the pork chops cut to your liking. Thin pork chops—no way! Serve this with Corn Pudding (page 236).

Pork tenderloin is like the filet mignon of the pig, so I serve this with Red Onions Roasted with Balsamic and Honey (page 260) and round everything out with Garlic-Chive Mashed Potatoes (page 237). Charred red onions match perfectly with the sweetness of the dried plums (dried plum is code for prune).

Perfect for autumn holiday meals, this pie is best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Chewy with nuts, coconut, dried fruit, and chocolate chips. Using my quick one-bowl method, you can stir up the cookie dough in the same time it takes for the oven to preheat.

Dried cranberries, widely available today, fleck the texture of this bread. If you use fresh berries that were frozen, be sure they are at room temperature because frozen berries affect the baking time. Toast the walnuts while preheating the oven.

Muffins used to be a healthy breakfast option, but in recent years they have become jumbo sources of fats and sugar. There’s no reason why a medium muffin shouldn’t be a reliable breakfast staple. Here’s a basic recipe that’s relatively low in butter and sugar but still completely satisfying. Once you master (and memorize) the basic formula, you can create anything you desire. Six variations follow. Rather than reduce the oven temperature here, I prefer to keep it the same as in the conventional oven, but reduce the baking time so you can bake them even on a workday morning.

There isn’t much difference in baking time between convection and regular ovens when you bake scones, only 5 to 10 minutes. The difference is in the wonderful texture, moist tender crumb, and golden, delicate crust that you can expect from the convection oven.

Cinnamon perfumes the air as this loaf bakes. This not-too-sweet wheat bread is a perfect match for aged sharp Cheddar. This dense loaf bakes beautifully in the convection oven at a lower temperature than you’d expect.

This simple recipe might well replace a turkey for a special holiday meal. The even browning that the convection oven offers and repeated basting with the slightly spicy glaze guarantee beautifully burnished, succulent little birds.

Italians love prugne, the name for both fresh and dried plums (which we call prunes). Italy is one of Europe’s largest plum-producers, and the fresh fruit is a favorite in season. But dried plums, prugne secche, are in such demand year-round—for snacking, cooking, and baking—that today Italy ranks as one of the world’s biggest importers of prunes (many tons of them grown in California!). I, too, love prugne secche, particularly in crostatas (tarts) and torte such as this cake, which I found in Basilicata. Morsels of prune, poached in a wine syrup, dot the golden, buttery cake, and each bite bursts with their concentrated essence of fruit flavor. It’s a great treat for the holidays, or on any winter’s day—a delicious reminder of the sweet taste of summer.