Beverages

Terrific with roast turkey or pork.

This crowd-pleasing risotto works well as a main course—accompanied by green salad and crusty bread—or as a side dish for leftover chicken. Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 45 min

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."

Beat the egg yolks and sugar together until thick. Slowly stir in the brandy, rum, peach brandy, milk and cream. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled and pour into a punch bowl. Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold gently into the eggnog. Grate a little nutmeg on top and serve in 4-ounce punch glasses.

You might be tempted to bake 2 sheets of bars at a time in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Don't give in to this urge—they must go in the middle of the oven to cook through and brown evenly.

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

Cioppino is San Francisco's answer to bouillabaisse and, like that famous Provencal seafood soup, is made with a variety of the freshest fish possible. In San Francisco the mixture included Dungeness crab, which adds a unique flavor, but any regional crab will do. If crab is not available, substitute another shellfish. No clams? Try mussels. The point is to treat the following recipe as a guide and use whatever looks best in the market the day you make the soup.

Daube de Boeuf

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Hold the mayo: This rustic side dish is dressed with a Provence-inspired blend of white wine, Dijon mustard and capers. Be sure the potatoes are still warm when you add them to the dressing; they’ll absorb it better, enhancing the flavor of the dish.

For this recipe, use a fully cooked bone-in ham that has the natural shape of the leg, and has some fat and rind still attached. Do not substitute a “re-formed” oval canned ham or a deli ham. Serve a malty ale or French Gew‼rztraminer with the ham, and offer the Strawberry Basket Cake for dessert.

This is a rich, filling way of serving mussels. Make sure to have a lot of good bread to sop up all the juices.

(Stufadin di Zuca Zala) As many Ashkenazic Jews emigrated to the Veneto, it's not surprising to find a Venetian recipe for a stew reminiscent of the familiar Ashkenazic tsimmes, in which sweet potatoes or squash are paired with meat for a savory one-dish meal. In Mantua, a similar dish made with a beef rump roast is called brasato Rachele. Despite the use of the squash and Marsala, the stufadin is not overly sweet.

Tender, moist chocolate cupcakes stained with Earl Grey tea and topped with a brilliant magenta frosting made from fresh blackberries.

A strip of lemon zest balances this refreshing spring classic.

Creamy panna cotta imbued with mascarpone, espresso, cocoa, and booze is everything you love about classic Italian tiramisu in a lusciously wobbly package.

This playful take on classic Italian rum babà soaks a giant, plush brioche loaf in a fiery rum syrup infused with plenty of citrus.

Harissa adds a layer of nuance to this twist on Italian American favorite, shrimp scampi, offering added body and warmth from spices such as caraway and cumin.

This sheetcake version of Italian cassata houses a booze-soaked spongecake and sweet ricotta under a blanket of green marzipan dotted with candied fruit.