Make Ahead

Cutting the meat into two smaller pieces reduces cooking time, but it’s the roast first, brown later “reverse sear” that’s game-changing in this recipe.

For this soup recipe, whack the garlic cloves with the side of a chef’s knife; the papery skins will loosen from the cloves and you can slip them right off.

Coddle eggs in a warming, cumin-spiced Swiss chard braise to start the new year with plenty of healthful, fortifying greens.

This punch recipe easily scales down by half, or even all the way to festive drinks for two.

A homemade cranberry simple syrup puts this sparkling cocktail recipe into fancy party-worthy status. Use leftover Campari to make your very own Negroni or Americano.

These potato blinis are inspired by a Thomas Keller recipe. They're the ideal base for caviar.

Not feeling the squares in this phyllo bites recipe? Use a pizza cutter to cut crackers into any shape you like!

No, they're not precious gems, these sparkly crunchy treats are prime for mixing and matching your favorite flavors (with a splash of booze for good measure).

Sweet and tangy pomegranate juice brings a depth of flavor and rich color to this meltingly tender lamb stew. Serve with polenta or a grain salad and then nextover remaining lamb into sandwiches the next day.

I like to make a batch of Lebkuchen Spice Mix—a mixture of all the “usual suspects” in wintertime baking—in early fall so that I’m ready for the Christmas baking season. The mixture below is a great all-purpose one. But you can also tinker with the amounts if you want to highlight one flavor or another.

Making these glittering treats is easy enough for elves of all ages and skill levels.

This recipe starts with our favorite sugar cookie dough. Using a simple watercolor painting technique, it’s easy to brush and splatter them with festive patterns.

Make this recipe your thing. Serve this vibrantly hued cured salmon with an assortment of easily assembled herbs, pickles, seedy breads, and schmears.

This turkey roulade recipe is perfect for a crowd, but is easily halved to feed a smaller crew.

This rich gravy gives a boost of extra flavor to vegetable broth thanks to an earthy thyme-garlic oil and umani-rich cremni mushrooms. Spoon it over #Vegducken, stuffing, or use it as a base for your next veggie pot pie.

There’s no maple syrup in this pie recipe (not a mistake), but the finished product will remind you of maple-sugar candies thanks to the caramel notes in the brown sugar.

The spirit of a Key lime pie in the guise of a luscious cranberry curd. The contrast between the snappy press-in crust and the tart filling in this recipe is pure genius.

Brushing the underside of the dough with egg wash for this pot pie recipe creates an airtight seal so that steam will push the pastry lids into a dramatic dome during baking.

If you’ve ever asked if mashed potatoes can be cooked ahead, the answer is this recipe. The texture is like that of a twice-baked potato.

If using frozen cranberries, which are just as good for this recipe, don’t bother thawing them first.