Christmas

As a Cape Codder, I’m crazy about cranberries. And “apple” was my son Lennon’s first word, so you know how we feel about them in our house! This pie is the perfect combination of tart and sweet. It is an ideal dessert to end any holiday meal. It is extremely pretty, with its tiers of fruit and deep golden crust. Look for firm, sweet apples to balance the tartness of the cranberries. I like Braeburn, Fuji, or Jonagold. To make this dessert completely refined sugar–free, double the proportions for the Single Flaky Sucanat Pie Crust recipe (page 130) and roll out as instructed below.

Gingerbread muffins are perfect for a decadent holiday breakfast or a healthy snack all year round. These muffins get extremely hot during baking, so it’s best to let some of the steam escape before eating them. They’re moist, like banana bread or cake, and are best once they’ve cooled and set a bit. (You don’t have to wait, but they do reach peak yumminess after resting for 30 minutes.)

We always know the holidays are just around the corner when Mama breaks out her ambrosia balls. Our version features marmalade, wafer cookies, and coconut all balled up. Plus, our snowballs are no-bake, so you can fix these festive treats fast and invite the kids to help.

A prime rib roast is such a great way to feed a crowd—it’s always on my Christmas dinner table. Sure, it’s delicious and decadent, but what most people don’t know is that it’s easy as hell to cook on a smoker or grill. Note that there are two separate cuts that are considered “prime rib”: The first cut (ribs 1 through 3) is closer to the loin and thus more tender and less fatty. The second cut (ribs 4 through 7) is closer to the chuck end and is denser and fattier. Ask your butcher for the first cut—it’s worth it—and buy the very best quality beef, with the most marbling, that you can afford. The recipe I’m giving here is for a smaller roast, but the same technique (with a slight adjustment on the time—a good rule of thumb is to allow about 30 minutes per pound) can be applied to a prime rib of any size.

In her most recent book, Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy, the great Italian cook Lidia Bastianich introduces us to various risottos that don’t require the patient long cooking and stirring as you pour hot liquid into the rice little by little. In this simpler version,you simply stir the rice into hot chicken broth along with the embellishment ingredients, and when it all comes to a boil, slap on the lid, and cook at a brisk simmer for about 17 minutes. And it’s done—a whole delicious and satisfying dinner.

Crystal’s mom, Charlotte, should have installed a revolving door in their home, as it was the place where everyone stopped by—conveniently right around dinnertime. Charlotte fed almost everyone in Blue Ridge—the small town located in the North Georgia Mountains where Crystal grew up—for years and finally decided to make a successful catering business of it. Her prime rib was by far one of the most requested items and has become a Cook family holiday favorite. Lucky for Charlotte, her recipe made it into this book, so now she can stop by someone else’s house for dinner.

My dad has a special affection for See’s candy, and he made sure that at least a couple pounds were at the table every holiday. At the end of the day, all that was left were a few coconut pieces with a tiny, investigative corner bitten off. These days, though, I’m putting coconut on just about everything (see Dressing Up Your Donut, page 131). This recipe is inspired by the coconut delights that See’s is famous for everywhere except my parents’ house. Here, too, are a couple quick tips for melting chocolate: (1) Make sure there’s no water in your bowl before you melt the chocolate or it will separate and be gross, and (2) if you are a microwave user, you can zap the chocolate chips for 30 seconds on high, then stir until the chips are melted.

What better wintertime breakfast could there possibly be? The best part of this recipe, in my opinion, is that it delivers on all your gingerbread fantasies in a quick and easy way that sidesteps the comparative fuss of pulling together a full gingerbread loaf. Sheepishly, I’ll admit it here and now: I have been known, on occasion, to abandon the maple syrup and instead douse these with vanilla frosting or glaze . . . for breakfast. Give me the benefit of the doubt before you judge, please, and try it for yourself.

A mess of greens is the thing to serve with this golden fried covey and gravy.

When I first tasted goat cheese, it was definitely not love at first bite. However, when I combined it with two of my favorite ingredients—lemon and Japanese bread crumbs called panko (page 80)—these addictive little morsels were born! These are especially good in place of the crumbled goat cheese on the Baby Spinach with Beets and Goat Cheese (page 55). The balls are surprisingly easy to make, but they are extremely delicate, so handle them with care. Don’t skip the freezer step, which firms them up so they can more easily be breaded and fried, and don’t try to handle them with tongs as you might usually do when deep frying. Use a thin, long-handled tool such as a spider (a stainless steel handheld strainer) or slotted spoon. Read about deep-frying on page 37.

A salad of unusual qualities, this vividly colorful combo celebrates the exotic autumn fruits of persimmon and pomegranate. The fusion of tastes is awesome: peppery watercress, sweet-spicy persimmon, tart pomegranate seeds, and salty cheese, all held together by a tangy vinaigrette. Leftover pomegranate vinaigrette will keep covered in the refrigerator for up to one week and goes great with grilled meats.

There are chestnut roasting devices—long-handled iron skillets or perforated baskets that allow the flames direct contact with the nuts—but they are not necessary; any way you can get the chestnuts in a hot fire and close to the flames works well. Chestnuts are high in moisture—more like a fruit than a nut—and fairly perishable. Look for nuts that are dark brown, shiny, and heavy and store them in the refrigerator.

We used pears in this ice cream’wich, but many other fruits would work well, too, such as apples, figs, or peaches. Because the fruit is poached, it won’t harden in the same way that raw fruit does when it is frozen. And not to worry if you do not like rum: you can simply leave it out of the ice cream recipe, yielding a simple and tasty vanilla ice cream.

Those of you who don’t have food sensitivities and are reading this cookbook simply to improve your general health should be applauded. I know how easy it is to be tricked into thinking that the low-fat glazed gingerbread in the display is healthy when you pick up your morning coffee at the local deli. I implore you, do not let your pre-caffeine fog steer you wrong! Make a loaf of this simple gingerbread over the weekend, slice it, and store it in your freezer for the week so you can grab yourself a piece on your way out the door. The pumpkin purée makes the bread so moist and fresh you can snack on it for days. As a reward for your foresight, consider slathering a thick layer of Vanilla Frosting (page 91) on top. I would!

I can’t claim to be the genius who developed the glorious spice combination that is a gingersnap, but I like to think I’ve put my chewy, health-minded signature on it. This recipe produces a fairly flat, crisp-edged cookie; if you like a cakier cookie, add an extra 1/4 cup flour.