Jeremy Schweitzer

The classic cookie benefits enormously from a hit of ginger here with these surprise sleeper hits of your Christmas season.

The much-ballyhooed Italian Christmas classic, Feast of the Seven Fishes, stars one fish in Domenica Marchetti's home. Calamari. And it's the centerpiece of her Christmas Eve dinner.

This rich, buttery, unabashedly sweet Southern tradition is a twist on a classic and becomes even more indulgent with a heavy-handed drizzle of caramel glaze.

All the usual suspects—butter, sugar, eggs, nuts, and, natch, bananas–are here, save for gluten. And we were so tempted by the resulting taste and texture, we didn’t even miss it.

Cold outside? Baby, come inside where there's beef slowly braising in a heady mix of Italian red wine, garlic, tomatoes, thyme, and rosemary.

Unspeakably more nuanced than takeout Thai, these stir-fried noodles boast a sigh-inducing balance of salty, sour, and sweet. In other words, it's the real deal.

There's nothing wallflowerish about this stir-fry, not with its gingery zing of tongue-tingling, sinus-clearing, tummy-settling ginger. Nothing at all.

After trying this Southern good-luck charm of black-eyed peas, we say forget the luck. Just pass more of these peas, please.

A rich, sticky, toffee-pudding-inspired muffin topped with streusel. Mmmmmm.

Dark chocolate cake stacked high and smothered with gooey caramel and coconut and pecans? Don't mind if we do.

Quiche for one? It sounds a lot more ambitious than it actually is. It's truly a cinch to make. So go on. Love yourself a little. Or a lot.

Silken, garlicky mashed potatoes manifest in mere minutes thanks to a super simple technique that's perfect for when you're entertaining or just plain hungry.

This mole recipe is know as mole verde, and is bright with cumin, oregano, onion, tomatillos, garlic, jalapenos, cilantro, and epazote. If there's mole, there's a party.

The quintessential summer sandwich, this stack is stuffed with grilled eggplant, bell peppers, red onions, and zucchini. Open wide.

Elegance was never achieved with such ease. Simply stack cooked lasagna noodles with sautéed 'shrooms and smother with a luxurious cream sauce. Everyday extravagance.

A United Nations of flavor adorn this Spanish pizza with chorizo and Manchego mingling with mozzarella and poblano chiles.

Some consider this Catalan classic to be the great Spanish acquisition considering how it's so very versatile (and vegetarian).

This cauliflower gratin recipe from Dorie Greenspan is French comfort food, yet it wouldn't be out of place on a distinctly American Thanksgiving table.

Never give zucchini away again with these equally tempting yet uniquely different slaws. You get to choose—rich and creamy or tart and sweet.

Summer at its simplest, not to mention its most splendid. Five minutes of effort yield a meal that rivals round-trip tickets to Italy.