No-Cook

Family: Punches—A very similar recipe for this punch was detailed in 1958 by David Embury, and following his instructions I use [simple syrup—without it, it's far too dry.](<epi:recipeLink id=)

This is one of our End of Prohibition party special punch recipes and it was adapted from the Philadelphia Fish House punch, which was a favorite of Generals Washington and Lafayette. We replaced the original cognac with our local Laird’s AppleJack and got something fantastic as a result. We use all seasonal fruits for this—a beautiful feature that also makes it extra tasty.

Candy corn may be synonymous with Halloween, but come on, how many of us really love the chewy little tooth-shaped candies with a flavor that is indistinguishable beyond sweet? However, if you borrow their iconic shape and colors and transform those into creamy lemon-and-orange frozen pops, we predict everyone will be clamoring for their fair share.

Frozen yogurt! I mean let's face it: Everybody loves a good frozen yogurt. Adults, tweens, teens, kids, whoever. You've seen it a hundred times at your local ice cream parlor on Sunday in the summer: 9:00 p.m. and the place is packed! A line around the corner, kids playing, everybody's happy; it's the sweet life. For a diabetic, that could go two ways: One way is horribly wrong, and that's if there're no sugar-free items on the board. Or, totally great because they do offer some special items for people with some sort of dietary restriction. Or there's Plan C, which is that you make a batch of this silky, creamy, coconut yogurt at home and relax with the fam on Sunday night. Let the others rush to the corner store and wait in line; your only fear will be whether or not your family leaves you any.

Slice the red beets last and keep them separate until serving so their color won't bleed onto the other vegetables.

Use this fresh blend of spices and herbs to add pep to the Cajun-Spiced Turkey and Crawfish Gravy , or to season blackened redfish or gumbo.

The bite-size sweet red peppers in this recipe are a tasty, low-cal vehicle for delicious cheese; plus, their mild heat can help warm you up from the inside out as the temperature begins to drop.

Meyer lemons, a cross between lemons and oranges, start to ripen in November. They add a deliciously fragrant sweet-and-sour note to this cocktail.

Raspberries are pureed and strained, then the mixture is partially frozen, and, finally, the slush is served in sugar-rimmed glasses. If you prepare the dessert ahead and freeze the mixture until hard, defrost it in the refrigerator for an hour or so before serving, to achieve the desired silky consistency. Individually quick frozen (IQF) berries, available year-round at most supermarkets, are generally of high quality and have been picked at the peak of ripeness and frozen without sugar. If fresh raspberries are in season, of course, you can use them.

This traditional Thai-style soup is my personal favorite. I love coconuts, and this soup is all about the coco. I like to use different ages of coconut meat to get varied textures. A more mature nut makes a chunky soup, while a younger one makes a creamy soup. I also like to use a variety of hot peppers: jalapeño, serrano, and even the super-spicy Thai chile, just to get a wide range of spiciness. Some peppers are hot as you eat them, others after you eat them; my favorites are hot only when you stop eating them.

Fresh figs are a wealth of life force, containing thousands of tiny seeds that make them a very virile and hormone-rich food. These delicate fruits are very popular in the cuisines of Europe and the Middle East, where they originated. Feel free to use any sprouted nut in the preparation of the nut kreme; pecans are my favorite.

Thailand has been heavily influenced by Indian culture. India's religion, music, and especially their food have all become part of Thailand's heritage. Curries are often thought of as an Indian thing, but Thai versions of curry are just divine. Serve this dish with Tom Yum , if desired.

These falafels can be prepared as crusts for use in the Middle Eastern Plate, or they can be made into more traditional falafel balls. To make these balls, just follow the instructions below but roll the mixture into 1-inch balls, then dehydrate them for only 8 to 10 hours.

This is an adaptation of a recipe created by our local berry farm.

Editor's note: This recipe appears as part of our editors' Christmas Cookie Swap, 10 beloved holiday recipes from the editors of Epicurious and Gourmet Live. These bite-sized cookie balls are made of all the best things: ground vanilla wafers, ground pecans, confectioner's sugar, white Karo syrup, and good bourbon whiskey.

The combination of crisp Asian pear and toasted sesame oil gives this stalwart a modern twist.

Orgeat, an almond-flavored syrup, gives this bubbly cocktail its trademark fragrance. Find it at better supermarkets or liquor stores.