Fig

A light texture and a sweet honey flavor make these bran muffins irresistible.

Serve this stuffing alongside your Christmas turkey, ham, goose or duck. Add an extra dose of chestnuts to your meal by offering the Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts and Bacon.

By the seventies, Julia Child, through her books and television shows, had made French food accessible, and the Cuisinart, introduced in 1973, made many of the cuisine’s more complicated techniques quick and simple. As a result, pâté became increasingly popular, and remains so today.

Sweet and tart at the same time, the compote is spooned atop creamy chilled custard for a satisfying Italian dessert.

This Italian version of fruitcake is dense, chewy and candy-like. Wrap it in brightly colored cellophane for giving.

This English-style steamed pudding is a bit lighter than the typical rendition — with no candied fruit — and it looks pretty surrounded with holly leaves.

This is like a frozen mousse, which helps explain its name: semifreddo, or "half-frozen." Start preparation a day ahead.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

If fresh figs are difficult to find, a delicious alternative would be toasts or crackers spread with preserves-fig or peach, for example. If opting for preserves, use only half the honey called for in the goat cheese mixture. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This fluffy Lady Baltimore cake is layered with toasted pecans, dried figs, raisins, and frosted in a thick, luscious Swiss meringue.

In this entrée, balsamic vinegar gives tartness to a cream sauce that balances nicely with the pork and figs. Sautéed spinach or chard would go well with the dish.

Assemble the strudels a day ahead, and bake them up to six hours before serving.

This jam is tasty on toast alone, or with some Manchego cheese. Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 2 1/4 hr

Dried figs and brandy add a new dimension to classic pecan pie.

The perennial Christmas gift gets a luscious face-lift in this impressive cake. We guarantee that it won't get shuffled around, and no one will make any jokes about it. Store the cake in the refrigerate for up to three weeks before giving. Wrap it in some red or green cellophane, and present it in a decorative box (a hatbox is fun) tied with a big, bright bow.