Dried Fruit

Dried cherries from Michigan add their bright sweetness to winter baking.

Minus the ice cream, this delicate pudding makes a wonderfully indulgent breakfast.

Along with croissants and pains au chocolat, these buns are ubiquitous in the morning bread basket that arrives after you order your express or café crème in Paris. It's the pastry cream that makes them unique. We used our favorite brioche recipe (by Sally Darr, a former gourmet editor) as the base.

Marisol likes to serve the Candied Butternut Squash atop the couscous.

This signature dessert from New Orleans is a classic Creole dish.

"Five years ago, I threw my first dinner party," writes Kristin McGill of Chicago, Illinois. "It was a memorable night with good friends, great food and lots of wine. That night, cooking became my passion. And despite all of the effort, I still love to throw parties. My husband, Henry, and I host get-togethers once or twice a month. I do most of the preparation — admittedly that's because I enjoy cooking so much that I prefer to have the kitchen to myself. But I have to confess that since I started sharing the counter space, I've discovered we make a great team." Pair this lovely side or first-course salad with the Blue Cheese Toasts. Add cooked, peeled shrimp for a lunch entrée.

Jeanne Thiel Kelley, a contributing editor at Bon Appétit, says, "As far back as I can remember, my father has been glazing the holiday ham with Marsala (we always have ham and turkey on Thanksgiving). When I started making the cranberry sauce, I decided to mix in a little Marsala, figuring that the combination would complement the ham nicely. I was right, and the sauce is terrific with turkey, too. Rosemary might seem like an unusual seasoning in this sauce, but for me it's a natural addition. I live in Southern California, and fresh rosemary is just everywhere."

Coffee cakes rank among the most popular of comfort foods, welcomed at breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and as the name indicates, coffee breaks. A coffee cake batter is generally more liquid than a quick bread one and contains a bit more sugar, and as a result, the final product is lighter and moister. On the other hand, coffee cakes tend to be less sweet than butter cakes. There are many versions of kuchen, this streusel-topped sour cream type being a very popular one. It is commonly served at the meal following Yom Kippur, or Shavuot, and on Sabbath afternoons or the melaveh malcha ("accompanying the queen") party following the Sabbath. For the later occasion, spices are added to the batter and topping, reflecting those used during the havdallah ceremony signaling the end of the Sabbath.

Patrice Bedrosian of Brewster, New York, writes: "In the days that followed September 11, 2001, I — like so many Americans — gravitated toward roast chicken, meat loaf, and anything that brought comfort and ease to my home. You see, my stepbrother, Jerry O'Leary, a 34-year-old chef working at Cantor Fitzgerald's corporate dining room in One World Trade Center, was among the many victims on that terrible day. "I feel quite certain that Jerry's love for cooking stemmed from his mother, Julie Lestrange. And as long as I can remember, she has always had something delicious waiting for my family whenever we visit. "I would like to share a recipe that Julie has given to me. My hope is that you will, in turn, share it with my fellow readers, encouraging them to enjoy this delicious and comforting Irish bread, to smile, and to remember the love between a mother and a son." Offer this easy-to-make bread with plenty of butter and your favorite jam.

(Spinaci con Pinoli e Passerine) Spinach with pine nuts and raisins is a classic Sephardic dish that appears on tables in Greece, Spain, Turkey, and Italy, where it is a staple on Venetian and Genoese menus. It is a perfect accompaniment to delicate fish or poultry dishes and is often served at room temperature.

The golden, crunchy corners are worth fighting over.

A veg-forward main or gets-along-with-everyone side.

Spiced, tender meatballs get cooked atop a bed of rice pilaf speckled with pistachios and plump golden raisins in this quick, one-pot dinner.

A Sicilian-inspired kale salad with creamy almond dressing, raisins, and pine nuts. Excellent for meal prep and packing as a desk lunch.