Dried Fruit

For the Mediterranean's Sephardic Jews, sweet fried pastries are as strong a tradition as potato latkes are for Eastern Europe's Ashkenazic Jews. The version here is distinctive for the addition of raisins and pine nuts, inspired by a Roman recipe.

This recipe comes exclusively to Epicurious from Suzanne Tracht of Los Angeles's Jar restaurant.

Kutia This lightly sweetened pudding is the first of 12 traditional dishes served on Christmas Eve in Eastern Europe. Countries such as the Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania each have their own version, sometimes chilled, sometimes served as a warm porridge. (The dish used to be a tradition in Russia as well, but because of the communist Soviet Union's official atheism, it has become extinct there.) Our version is based on the baked Ukrainian style, which is traditionally made with wheat berries, which require overnight soaking and long cooking. For convenience, we've substituted quick-cooking barley, which packs the same nutty-chewy punch. For the best results, prepare the pudding a day ahead: Let it cool, cover it, and chill it overnight to let the flavors meld. Serve it chilled, plain or sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar.

With their ruby cranberries and glittering sugar edges, these cookies look labor-intensive. But they're actually a host's best friend — keep the dough in your fridge, and they can be baked and served in half an hour.

Editor's note: The recipe below is from Ming Tsai's book, Ming's Master's Recipes. Use 1 cup of glaze as a dipping sauce for Ming Tsai's pork potstickers and cranberry-crab rangoons and the other cup to make his braised short ribs.

Editor's note: This recipe is from Ming Tsai's book, Ming's Master Recipes.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook by Marion Cunningham. To read more about fruitcake, see the related Daily Dish. Every kitchen file should have a recipe for a distinguished dark fruit cake. This is as good as any to be found.

Fresh kumquats and golden raisins make the familiar cranberry sauce new.

The cornbread needs to dry overnight, so start this at least one day ahead.

Blood orange juice gives the dressing great flavor and color. If you can't find it, use 1/2 cup pomegranate juice mixed with 1/4 cup regular orange juice.

A classic Christmas bread from one of Buenos Aires's most famous bakeries, Las Violetas.

This one-skillet meal is an instant classic — and a perfect Hanukkah dish.

The slight bitterness of the greens is tempered by the sweetness of the beets and the raisins, while the cheese adds a creamy richness.

Coarsely ground black pepper lends a spicy note to this dense, moist brownie cake studded with dried cherries and chocolate chips. Cherry Preserves are thicker than cherry jam and give the Black Forest Torte more body. Look for cherry preserves in supermarkets.

According to lore, the original mole was served with turkey that had been fattened with hazelnuts. In this variation, which doesn't include chocolate, hazelnuts are featured in the sauce.