Winter

Miss Toklas frightens her readers when she says this dish takes four days to prepare. Actually, the labor involved is insignificant.

The best way to get warm and cozy after a day outdoors is with this drink, in Ireland known simply as "hot whiskey."

Blood oranges have red flesh and sweet-tart juice. They're available at farmers' markets and, increasingly, at supermarkets. This syrup would also be good over waffles.

Surprise — a bit of ketchup helps the sweet and tart flavors blend. Make this up to three days ahead.

This sensational dish is best when made with meaty short ribs that are three to four inches long. Serve with a simple green salad and glasses of good Zinfandel.

Here's a variation on the classic raspberry-jam-filled Viennese specialty, Linzertorte. Show off these cookies in a box that's lined with lace or a linen napkin, and trimmed with wire ribbon.

This needs to chill overnight, so plan accordingly.

Bake some of these for the holidays, too.

This recipe is inspired by a dish served at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill, in New York City. The smoky heat of the chipotle chile and the potato's natural sweetness balance each other beautifully.

The potatoes and yams are perked up with fresh ginger and with lemons.

In this pie, dried cherries, cherry preserves and fragrant spices accent crisp green apples.

Caffelatte is what Italians of all ages have for breakfast at home. For small children it is a cupful of warm milk lightly stained with coffee, the ratio of coffee to milk increasing with one's years. It is often accompanied by some store-bought biscuits, but not in my assistant Nadia's family. She lives on her father's farm outside Venice with her husband and small boy, and for her son Tommaso she bakes wholesome cakes with fresh fruit. He has some with his caffeelatte and takes another piece to school to eat for merenda, recess. I was particularly taken with the cake Nadia makes when there is no more summer fruit on the farm. She uses pears and apples and always adds a banana she buys in town. The proportions of one fruit to another may vary, and indeed Nadia says they always do, but nothing much can go wrong or affect the cake's plainspoken, engagingly fresh taste.

Let the bread sit at room temperature for several hours, or overnight, until dry.