Brandy

Of all the cakes in the flourless genre, this Gâteau Victoire has the most marvelously creamy texture. Once baked, it’s so velvety moist that I recommend you cut it with a length of dental floss instead of a knife—even at the risk of getting some funny looks from your dinner guests who might think that you’re preparing to brush your teeth and call it a night.

To boost the reputation of the much-maligned fruitcake, I wanted to create a version quite different from those sticky, oversweet loaves riddled with iridescent fruit and soggy pecans. This recipe was my answer: an exceptionally moist loaf, chockablock with freshly toasted nuts, perky dried cherries, and a double wallop of chocolate flavor, courtesy of cocoa powder and lots of chocolate chips. I was glad that my modern-tasting fruitcake made converts out of those who tried it. But I didn’t expect that so many would want to give it a traditional soaking of spirits to preserve the cake. I set to work and experimented a few times, but I had a hunch that something was amiss when I noticed some movement underneath the gauze wrapping. I unwrapped the cake and . . . well, let’s just say I discovered I was only one of the many creatures who enjoy this fruitcake. That was the end of my experiments. Instead, I just use kirsch-flavored glaze that can be added at the last minute.

Rompope is a beverage brought to Mexico by nuns in Spanish colonial times. You can purchase it at some U.S. liquor stores, and more widely in Mexico, but making it is fun and you’ll surely enjoy the frozen version.

This is an all-time favorite recipe from my cooking classes. A trip to Paris inspired me to experiment more with prunes, and chocolate seemed like the perfect pairing. I think a good PR person could do a world of good for prunes! In spite of their somewhat dowdy reputation, prunes have a sophisticated taste that makes them an interesting recipe ingredient.

Warm fruit desserts with ice cream are definitely satisfying. This one, with a delectable brandied pecan sauce, is a real winner. My friend (and fellow gourmand) Edward Eglowsky says he could have these peaches for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Here’s the recipe, Ed.

This lovely tart is great made during peach season, when peaches are at their peak. It can also be made with frozen peaches, but most store-bought brands are underripe and bland. If using frozen peaches, be sure to macerate them a little longer in the syrup/brandy mixture to soften them up. Test for readiness after the first 30 minutes, and continue to macerate as long as necessary, but not so long that they become mushy.

Warm, boozy cherries over ice cream is a classic dessert, and it’s so easy to do. We like ours over chocolate ice cream (but when Bobby doesn’t quite have the energy to make this, you know he’s always got Cherry Garcia in the freezer).

Sandy’s mom, Margie (aka Marge), has a passion for bread pudding and is a self-proclaimed connoisseur. This is the only bread pudding out of a pile of test recipes that Marge gave her stamp of approval, noting it was the richness of the vanilla custard that won her over. Go ahead and try it. Marge approves!

Miss Ethel Smith was a dedicated member of the Mississippi Daylily Society. Her home was No Mistake Plantation and it was a gathering spot for daylily people. In 1983 Miss Ethel developed the ‘Yazoo Soufflé’ daylily, a ruffle-edged, double, apricot cream flower. Organic daylilies are edible and make a beautiful addition to desserts, like this one, in which cream and apricots are fluffed up. Even though this dessert is really a mousse I call it a soufflé in honor of Miss Ethel’s lilies.

The classic Campari-based cocktail, the Negroni, is equal parts Campari, gin, and sweet vermouth. Starting with the classic formula but then deviating from it, I replace the piney flavor of gin with the naturally acidic apple and pear, boosted by the warmth of Calvados apple brandy. The orange bitters give the drink a dry finish so it’s not overly sweet.

Call this a new Old-Fashioned. I replace the dated syrupy orange liqueur with fresh agave, which is essentially a citrus-type honey grown in the arid hillsides of Mexico.

In the scheme of desserts, panna cotta is not only one of the lightest, it’s thankfully also one of the easiest and fastest to prepare. The eggless custard sets with gelatin, but what really matters is the quantity used. If you have a heavy hand, then the result is more like cement Jell-O than melt-in-your-mouth. The infusion of the almonds adds a nutty-creamy flavor that’s satisfying without being cloying. Roasted pears set the whole thing off with a balance of texture and fruitiness.

A good recipe for chicken liver pâté is critical. This is not your grandmother’s chopped liver; my version is supremely silky and light, with a hint of brandy. The chicken liver as well as the crostini toasts can easily be made a day ahead: refrigerate the liver, pressing plastic wrap directly on the surface, and store the crostini in an airtight container.

The fried onions in this recipe are sliced very thin and coated with flour to make them crisp. We wanted them to be a bit tart, but the more customary buttermilk just didn’t take the onions where we wanted them to go. So we first soak the onions in vinegar, then flour and fry them; this way they have the acidity we were after. (Think salt-and-vinegar potato chips.) The radish salad adds some heat to the equation, balancing the ensemble.

Fresh sour cherries are best, but you can also make this recipe with frozen morello cherries. These cherries will keep in the refrigerator for several months and are fantastic spooned over ice cream or a simple cake or even dropped into a glass of champagne with a little of their syrup.

Here’s why I love this dish: it looks gorgeous on the plate, and it’s much more sophisticated than the simplicity of the ingredients would suggest. It’s a two-biter with lots of strong layers of flavor: first the bite of the cheese, then the crisp lemony tang of the apple and the sweet jammy aftertaste of the figs. Together, the combination is amazing. Use the fig jam on anything from pancakes to pork chops.