European

This will be a hit with fans of blue cheese. It's so rich that small portions would also be great as a starter or side dish.

Start this at least one day before serving.

Cloves add a little extra holiday flavor.

These delicious ravioli come from the hot Buenos Aires restaurant Social Paraiso. Freezing the Brie for 20 minutes will make trimming the rind easier.

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.

A super-easy compound butter features the flavors of the classic French sauce without the fuss. The butter tops the lamb chops and is stirred into the Smashed Fingerling Potatoes.

You'll feel positively Continental after your first taste of these tartlets, made with the thoroughly French combination of prunes and Armagnac. The creamy Italian mascarpone filling is just the thing to mellow out the sophisticated flavors.

Don't be nervous about making meatless mincemeat if you've never tried it before—it's a knockout combination of dried fruits and spices that adds wonderfully deep flavor to baked goods. Here, chunks of sweet pear and a handful of tart fruit create a pie that's fantastic with vanilla ice cream.

The recipe for this eastern European favorite varies from Russia to Slovenia, but it is always rich, sweet, and dense. Poppy seeds can easily become rancid, so make sure your poppy-seed filling tastes fresh.

There's lots of bold flavor in this hearty stuffing, which, though inspired by a classic Italian combination, happens to work in perfect concert with everything on the American holiday table. Baking it in a wide dish yields plenty of crusty top for everyone.

In Russia and eastern Europe kasha is most often made into thick gruel. Instead, we turned the roasted buckwheat kernels into a fantastic side dish studded with butter-toasted walnuts and browned onion.

The flavors of this tart are remarkably balanced—it's a bit savory and a bit sweet. (In fact, in the south of France, where it's known as tourte aux blettes, you'll often see the pastry served for dessert.) Paired with a simple salad, it makes for a supremely satisfying light dinner.

These beef pies make an immensely satisfying meal or snack on the go. The ready-to-use puff pastry bakes up golden and flaky—the perfect accompaniment to the rich, meaty filling.

This classic Italian trio never gets old, because it works so well: The saltiness of Parmigiano-Reggiano accentuates the sweetness in the popular winter squash while earthy sage rounds it all out.

This bolognese lacks one traditional main ingredient—meat. However, with hearty vegetables, you'll hardly know it's missing.

We couldn't improve much on traditional beef Stroganov, but we did decide to trade up: The usual small tenderloin pieces are replaced by whole steaks, which make for a more striking presentation on the plate.

We've added spinach to this classic Italian soup to create a dish that's both filling and delicious.