Alcohol

This dish has a livelier, fresher taste than traditional risotto because the vegetables are cooked separately from the rice and then spooned over it in a rich ragout.

Selma Hurwitz of Potomac, Maryland, writes: "I'm an artist, and I think that without question cooking is very creative. You can't be afraid to experiment in the kitchen. I often get ideas from cookbooks and recipes from friends, and I'll add my own touches. The apple cake is inspired by a cookbook from Michigan — I just added more rum and spices. Both recipes are great for company and freeze beautifully."

Selma Hurwitz of Potomac, Maryland, writes: "I'm an artist, which helps explain why I think cooking is very creative. You can't be afraid to experiment in the kitchen. I often get ideas from cookbooks and recipes from friends, and I'll add my own touches. The salmon recipe here is based on one a friend gave me. I added more wine, and sometimes I use capers to give the sauce a zesty tang." Broiling caramelizes the sugar and gives the salmon a deeper flavor.

Concord-grape wine — a traditional part of the Passover feast — gives this delightful spongecake a fruity, almost floral note.

Keep the final course sweet and simple.

St. Patrick's Day in a flash: A zesty glaze makes corned beef from the supermarket deli your own. The perfect go-with? Wedges of cooked, buttered cabbage, of course.

My favorite recipe for the Bloody emerges from years of experimentation. Think Jonas Salk behind a bar. What I have come up with in my lab is:

Baker's sugar, a favorite of pastry chefs, is also called superfine sugar. It measures the same as regular but dissolves more quickly. It's available at some supermarkets. You can also make your own by whizzing granulated sugar in a food processor until powdery.

A meatless yet rich dish that would make a perfect appetizer for St. Patrick's Day dinner.

What to drink: A red Rhône wine like Châteauneuf-du-Pape or Gigondas, with bold fruit flavors and earthy notes.

Editor's note: This recipe was developed by Shane Philip Coffey, the chef at Alias restaurant on New York City's Lower East Side. This rich and luscious dessert came about because I needed a special dessert for a St. Patrick's Day tasting menu. I was on a mission to use my favorite beer, Guinness, something I consider to be one of Ireland's gifts to the world. As the 17th of March drew closer, I looked for inspiration at my favorite Irish pub in Manhattan. As I savored my pint, I saw a Guinness poster that said, "My Goodness, My Guinness!" It was like an angel sang in my ear: "What if you combined a dark chocolate pudding and Guinness, topped it with whipped cream lightly flavored with Guinness, and then put it in a glass to make it look just like a pint of the black?" After a few failed attempts, I got it just right. Make the effort to find a good dark chocolate (about 70 to 72 percent cacao). The better the chocolate, the creamier the dessert. And, unless you have an Irish pub next door where you can pull it straight from the tap, a 14.9-ounce can of Guinness Draught works best.

In addition to its traditional role on the Seder plate, this charoset is delicious as a condiment for duck or roast beef.

These warm little drinks are delicious — you may want to make a double batch.

Crêpes au cidre
These are not the thin, delicate crêpes you may be used to. Made with baking powder, they are rustic-style: heartier and a little thicker — and perfectly suited to soaking up plenty of sweet syrup. Hard cider (fermented apple cider) can be found in the beer section of most supermarkets.

A bit of cardamom gives this dessert its exotic flavor. The pudding needs to chill about five hours before serving, so be sure to plan ahead.

Why this once popular drink has faded into obscurity is a mystery to us. It's relatively light but packed with flavor, and it deserves to reclaim its place in the punchtheon.