Holidays

It's time to melt some chocolate, toast some nuts, and cross some names off your holiday gift list.

Paella, the classic Spanish dish, is given the full treatment here. You don't need a paella pan to make this paella recipe, either. A Dutch oven will do.

Sweet caramelized onions and Greek feta cheese make this tart an ideal companion with a salad. It's especially easy with store-bought puff pastry.

First you make an Oreo cookie crust. Then you smother it with a bittersweet and semisweet chocolate custard. The final flourish is whipped cream infused with vanilla. Sigh.

Tangy, hot, sweet, silky. That's what we think of this citrus-scented risotto with sautéed shrimp that melds healthy with satsifying.

One of the Silver Palate's most cherished recipes, this has been a mainstay in the dinner rotation of home cooks for decades. Perhaps it's time you give it a try.

Purplish cherries sink into a rich, fragrant frangipane as they bake into sweet oblivion and contrast spectacularly with the crisp puff pastry crust. Sounds terrible, eh?

Yep. You've heard of breakfast for dinner. We're up leveling to breakfast as dessert. Not just any dessert. Dark chocolate decadence with crisp edges that's delicious alone or with hot fudge sauce and vanilla ice cream.

Fresh tuna smothered with blackening spices and, if desired, dressed with an Asian influenced soy sauce-based beurre blanc. Sigh.

This dreamy and creamy alternative to pumpkin pie has won us over. We think it'll woo you, too.

The last thing you need to worry about tomorrow morning is breakfast. With this brioche French toast, you assemble it today, let it sit in the fridge overnight, and tomorrow slide it in the oven. By the time gifts are open, breakfast will be on the table.

Surprisingly easy to make at home, these classic Buffalo wings take their über crispiness from a double dipping in flour and spice. (You're gonna be hooked.)

Some nights we dream of being lost amid giant steaks piled high with mounds and mounds of sweet caramelized shallots made according to this recipe. Hate to wake up.

An elegant yet uncomplicated chicken dish that seems much fancier and fussier than it actually is when it comes to making it. Lucky you.

What's with the thankfulness, you ask? For starters, this sleek, sophisticated, tender-crumbed cake smothered in butterscotch and stacked to the heavens.

Escargot with garlic butter and herbs is a classic French preparation. The snails can be served in their shells or in snail dishes, topped with puff pastry.

An exceptionally, deeply chocolate dessert that feels light and cool. It makes an elegant finish on a warm summer night.

A superlative version of the classic American quick bread that everyone loves. And that everyone pretty much always has the ingredients for on hand.

Panettone, which makes its traditional Italian Christmas appearance, is gussied up here with any dried fruit you fancy. An ever so slight twist on a classic.

This dish from my Connecticut neighbor is the best goose I've ever eaten. But in Danny's inimitable way, she simply insists it be served with red currant jelly. Nothing else will do.