Cookbooks

In this colorful dish, sweet beets are zipped up with lime, yogurt, and garlic. If you only have Greek yogurt on hand, thin it down with a little water or milk; you’re looking for a sauce that’s thin enough to drizzle. You can use any kind of beets here. Red and candy cane beets are sweeter than yellow beets, but all work wonderfully well. Or use a combination for the most stunning presentation imaginable.

This version of the flaky holiday pastry is made with a cream cheese dough and filled with quince paste, walnuts, and demerara sugar. It’s simple to make—and perfectly buttery.

These meringues are intentionally oversized—just as good hung from the Christmas tree as an ornament as they are to eat—and last for ten days, so, fortunately, their use as both decoration and edible treat are not mutually exclusive options.

Cookie stamps give these snappy ginger cookies their embossed look and a rum-butter glaze lends a festive, antique finish.

Toss meltingly tender leftover brisket with wide pappardelle noodles and pecorino cheese for a totally transformed, easy dinner.

Top this dense and decadent ricotta cheesecake with a crackly, crunchy almond candy for an easy and elegant presentation.

This buttery vanilla-scented bread makes an excellent addition to any brunch—or turn it into French toast for double the luxury.

Slow-cooking and chili-making are a match made in heaven.

Here’s a lean, green chili that still packs some spicy heat!

Risotto is an Italian term describing a unique way to cook rice. Basically, the rice is cooked in broth or another liquid until it and the liquid swell to a creamy union. With this version of risotto, I use the same cooking method with cauliflower rice, thereby subtracting the calories and the carbs you'd get from rice.

Made from equal parts butter and peanut butter, these shortbread wafers are ultra-crunchy and salty-sweet—perfect for sandwiching with whipped peanut butter creme. They’re best made with commercial peanut butter, which makes the dough and filling easy to handle.

If you have English muffins, cream cheese, and strawberries, you can make these faux danish breakfast treats in a snap!

When I made this recipe for the first time, I had it in the oven 4 minutes after starting the process, and I sort of looked around my kitchen, startled, thinking, What just happened? If anything could logically be described as “impossibly easy,” this would be it. If you’ve never experienced crispy kale, you are in for a serious treat. It’s a great snack on its own, but sooooo perfect with the tender salmon. This dinner is a keeper, man!

Layer slices of toasted baguette with creamy goat cheese and sugar-crusted blueberries for a sweet-and-savory hors d'oeuvres that is sure to please.

This simple dish relies on my favorite tomato sauce and freshly cooked polenta made better than ever with a little added ricotta.

When the holiday excesses are over and the lights are low, the time comes for quiet, simple dinners. This light, lively pasta is a welcome relief from the weeks of heavy protein.

These soft and spicy beans are a lot like the best possible version of a vegetarian chili, with earthy black beans standing in for the usual pinto or kidney beans.

Sformati can be sweet or savory. They often have a bechamel sauce as a base, but here is an example using creamy-soft cauliflower and ricotta and fontina cheeses. Served with lemony arugula or watercress, it makes a light, lively starter for a dark winter’s evening.

These pork chops are a fantastic way to take advantage of fall flavors. If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, you can substitute 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger. Or, you can just skip the spice mixture and add a second cinnamon stick.

Using melted white chocolate in the vanilla portion of this marble cake adds a complex toastiness, and makes a luxurious textural match for the chocolate swirls—even if you don't like white chocolate, give it a try.