Winter

Any holiday-motif cookie cutter can be used to make these. If you don't have small cookie cutters (about one inch in diameter) to cut out the centers, use the wide end of a small pastry-bag tip instead. The cookies look striking in a glass canister dressed up with a bright red ribbon.

The cider sauce adds an extra spark of ginger to this old-fashioned cake.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. The fennel is the special flavor in this soup.

To begin, offer a bowl of brine-cured green and black olives, another of marinated artichoke hearts, and some pâté and toast. The cassoulet needs only red wine and a loaf of good French bread as accompaniments. A pear or apple tart would add an appropriate French country flourish.

This is fantastic with coleslaw and warm biscuits. What to drink: A not-too-oaky domestic Chardonnay or a white Burgundy, such as one from France's St.-Véran region.

Goat cheese and truffle oil add rich flavors to the humble sweet potato.

Wendy Popp of Richmond, Virginia, writes: "My job as a physical therapist and my hobby, horseback riding, keep me pretty busy. But my sons — Sammy, two, and Weston, four — keep me moving the most, which has changed my cooking style. I used to be much more experimental, but now I need low-maintenance, tried-and-true recipes that will please the boys (including my husband, Jim) and impress dinner guests." This moist Bundt cake is a slight variation on a local award-winning recipe. After Wendy started making it, the dessert quickly became a family favorite.

You can also serve blini topped with salmon roe. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr

The perfect appetizer with Champagne.

Wolf Blitzer's family serves this moist, not-too-sweet Bundt cake as a side dish. A warm slice would also be delicious for breakfast. Use the large holes of a box grater to prepare the carrots.

Strong beef broth and garlic, not sugar, make a true Ukrainian borscht delicious. Fresh root vegetables and roasted beets provide plenty of sweetness which is balanced by an acid edge of lemon.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Makes use of the microwave.

This moist sweet corn bread is a nice addition to breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Pumpkins are grown throughout the middle states, and Missouri is the world's largest supplier of black walnuts. The pumpkin gives the finished biscuits a golden color and moist texture, and its taste is complemented by aromatic spices. To go alongside, mix butter with honey and then lace it with ground cardamom.

To recall the miracle of Hanukkah, dishes fried in oil are prepared during the holiday festivities. The mother of our executive editor used to dazzle her family with these cookies-each one slightly different from the next.