American Beauty

This Oscar-winning cocktail can certainly take a starring role, but was the drink named to commemorate Sam Mendes’ award-winning film or ? surely much more likely ? was he inspired to make a movie after drinking an American Beauty? Recipe from The Ultimate Cocktail Book by Bill Reavell and Neil Mersh/Hamlyn, 2011.

Green-Cabbage and Red-Apple Slaw with Brussels Sprouts

A crunchy slaw unites three suppliers of vitamin C: green cabbage, brussels sprouts, and citrus.

Tommy Gun

Creamy Split Pea Soup with Meyer Lemon Zest and Thyme

No matter where I am in my day, I find split pea soup a calming and soothing treat. This version is perked up with the addition of sweet and tart Meyer lemons. It freezes well, so make enough to put some away for another day. Recipe from Clean Start by Terry Walters/Sterling Epicure, 2011.

Roasted Vegetables With Pecan Gremolata

Traditionally, gremolata is made with parsley, lemon peel, and garlic. Here, Parmesan adds richness and pecans add crunch.

Oven-Roasted Tomato Jam

. So going on a whim and whiff, we went in pursuit of garlicky, long-roasted, soft and smeary tomato jam.

Pok Pok (Thai-Style Ice Cream Sandwich)

Chef Pichet Ong, of Spot Dessert Bar in New York City, gave us this recipe for pok pok, an ice cream sandwich based on those he ate as a child in Bangkok. Hard-to-find ingredients can be found at Kalustyans, Grocery Thai, and eFoodDepot. This recipe first appeared in our April 2011 special Sandwich Issue with author Christopher Tan's article Special Treats.

French Buttercream Frosting

Light and creamy like whipped cream, yet sturdy enough to make detailed decorations.

Peaches and Cream Oatmeal Cookies

Curried Turkey Vegetable Soup Recipe

Chock-full of veggies, this aromatic soup has just the right hint of curry. “It's a delicious way to use your leftover holiday turkey,“ recommends Virginia C. Anthony, Jacksonville, Florida.

Chocolate-Toffee Ice Cream Pie

You'll love the added crunch that toffee bits give this frozen pie. To quickly soften the ice cream, place it in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave at HIGH 10 to 15 seconds.

Lamb Shank Stew with Root Vegetables

These days when I step outside, I just want to turn around and go back in the house. Sacramento makes up for its blazingly hot summers with foggy, gloomy, dark, dismal, chilly winters, perfect weather, come to think of it, for hearty stews such as this one. Root vegetables rule the season, sweet carrots and parsnips, turnips, and the happily named rutabaga. (Rutabaga. Rutabaga. Sounds like it could be the name of a latin dance, doesn't it?) This stew is loaded with flavor. Don't forget the gremolata (parsley, lemon zest, garlic garnish which I forgot to photograph in the stew); it gives the stew a great zip. For those of you lamb-non-eaters, if you try it with beef (use chuck), let us know how it goes. I imagine it will be just as good.

Spinach Salad with Mushrooms and Parmesan

Quick homemade rye croutons give an unexpected hit of flavor and crunch to the familiar combination of spinach and mushrooms.

Blackberry & Cabernet Caipirinha

Fudgy Brownie Torte

Many thanks to I Can't Believe It's Not Butter for use of this recipe for Fudgy Brownie Torte. You can find more recipes that use I Can't Believe It's Not Butter at: www. Bake It To Believe It.com

Creamy Chicken Dijon

Enjoy this French-inspired, creamy chicken dish that's ready in just 30 minutes and features a creamy mustard sauce accented with white wine, tarragon and a pinch of brown sugar. Bon appetit!

Quick Omega-3 Granola

Flaxseed is an incredible source of omega-3s.

Spicy Boozy Mousse

, but last night I couldn't help myself. This blender mousse is so easy to make, it has a good strong shot of espresso in it, and lent itself easily to a spicy adaptation, so I realized it would be a crime not to share it.

Bananas Foster

Made famous by Brennan’s Restaurant in New Orleans in the 1950s. It is still served up today at their “typical” New Orleans breakfast. This is my version.

Granola

Egg Drop Soup Recipe

“We start many stir-fry meals with this easy Egg Drop Soup, which cooks in just minutes flat," writes Amy Corlew-Sherlock from Lapeer, Michigan. "There are many recipe variations, but we like the addition of cornstarch to thicken the soup and give it a rich, golden color. “I got the recipe from Grandma’s old cookbook,” Amy recalls. “And when my kids were slow to enjoy eating meat, this ‘souper’-quick dish provided them with easy-to-digest egg protein.”

Baked-Potato Soup

This recipe uses leftover loaded baked potatoes to create a rich, creamy soup.

Le Talleyrand

I apologize in advance. This recipe is anything but simple. My father, the same dad who has never met a dessert recipe he didn't want to try, discovered it recently in the New York Times. When we recalled that my brother Eddie's birthday was coming up, any resistance there may have been to attempting this dessert was dashed. Never mind that on the day of, Ed couldn't make it for dinner. The die was cast, Le Talleyrand was to be made, birthday boy or no birthday boy. Le Talleyrand is a dessert consisting of a layer of cherries soaked in kirsch, covered by a layer of custard, a layer of meringue, and then flambéed upon serving. The recipe comes from Simone Beck, also known as Simca, Julia Child's collaborator on Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and author of Simca's Cuisine. Christine Muhlke of the New York Times describes Simca as " a woman so high-strung and exacting that she?s indexed in Child?s book with such minutiae as 'hand injury of,' 'Julia?s contretemps with' and 'personality and temperament of'? Child called her 'La Super-Française'; Paul Child called her 'Sigh-Moan.' No matter how refined her palate, her haughty, untelegenic French demeanor never won over the American public, and she quietly retired to her kitchens in Paris and Provence." Of Le Talleyrand Ms. Muhlke wrote, "a fluffy, flambéed dessert that may mark the end of the era when dishes were named after the great men of history, or their mistresses." Le Talleyrand was delicious, a little complicated to make but doable, and the flambé part really cool. Especially when spooning the blue-flamed burning kirsch from the egg shell over the rest of the meringue. We probably didn't put the egg shell in deep enough, our dessert looks a little more like a volcano than it probably should, but the ooh ahh factor was still there. Enjoy.

White Bean Soup with Sausage and Collards

You can keep everything you need for this dish on hand -- sausage and collards in the freezer, canned beans, onion, and vinegar in the pantry.

The Charleston Bog

Easter Egg Recipe

Also called a rainbow cordial, the Pousse Café is an after-dinner drink composed of several colored liqueurs skillfully poured into a narrow, straight cordial glass. Because of their differing weights and densities, the individual layers of ingredients remain distinct.

First Love Chocolate Mousse

Thanks to Gina Meyers for allowing us to publish this recipe for First Love Chocolate Mousse from her cookbook Love at First Bite: The Unofficial Twilight Cookbook, published by iUniverse, Inc. March 2009.

Focaccia with Caramelized Onions, Pear and Blue Cheese

In a class at Point Reyes's new culinary center, students learn to top focaccia with pears and blue cheese.

Lemon-Poppy Seed Bars

I come from a Hungarian-Czech background, which means I grew up on lots of things with poppy seeds, like poppy seed cakes and poppy seed rolls. I still look forward to visiting my parents in New Jersey during the holidays and getting my annual fix. These portable bars combine my love of lemon desserts, specifically lemon meringue pie, with my culinary heritage. You can make them ahead of time, chill them, and then cut them up at the picnic. They hold together very well and are fun to eat.

Onion-Thyme Jam

This recipe began as a way to use up a big bunch of sweet Texas onions and a handful of fresh thyme, cooking them down into a thick, sweet and savory jam that we intended to throw in the freezer for some future use. But after slathering a spoonful onto homemade bread, we were hooked and the jam never quite made it into the freezer…

Apple Cherry Pie with Coconut Almond Crumb Topping

Sweet summer cherries, coconut, and almonds make for an irresistible pie combination. I can’t get sour cherries often, but when I can, I like to use them here, increasing the sugar just slightly. As for pitting the cherries, there are various gadgets for doing so, and I’ve seen a trick for using a paper clip. But I just put them in a large bowl-to keep the splatter contained-and press down on the end of each cherry (the end opposite the stem) with my thumb. If the cherries are the least bit ripe, the pit will come right out.

Instant Fried Rice Recipe

Instant rice and a seasoning pack cut prep time for this fast, fuss-free and delicious fried-rice recipe from Amy Corlew-Sherlock of Lapeer, Michigan. Peas and onion add nutrition!

Nutty Granola

White and Green Bean Salad

Penne with Ricotta and Asparagus

With California asparagus selling for less than $4 per pound, they're hard to resist, especially with summer weather knocking on the door. I tore this recipe for pasta with asparagus and ricotta cheese out of the New York Times magazine a few weeks ago, where it found its way under a pile of bills, magazines, and other recipes, until today when it became my excuse to gleefully buy some what are sure to be last-of-the-season asparagus. I ammended the original recipe by adding a few dashes of nutmeg to the seasoning, for an added kick. This recipe is simple, both in taste and method, only requires one pot, and makes a huge amount. It's a little heavy on the pasta, you could easily cut it back. You can also dress it up some by adding lemon zest, cut cherry tomatoes, or even some Italian sausage.

Eggplant with Chunky Tomato Sauce

Simmering the eggplant in water removes the bitterness, gives it a creamy texture, and allows it to be cooked with no added fat.

Twin Pissaladières

Basic Roasted Sweet Potatoes Recipe

Sweet potatoes need nothing more than a little seasoning and some time in the oven to be transformed into a satisfying side dish. Try them with our Honey-Mustard Glazed Ham for a tasty sweet-savory combination. This recipe was featured as part of our Thanksgiving for Beginners menu.

Strawberry Jelly Roll Cake

It doesn't matter if you call this cake a Strawberry Jelly Roll or a Strawberry Roulade, it still tastes really good. Plus, it's pretty, too.

Petite Chocolate Tartlets

Individual tarts filled with bittersweet mocha cream are a chocolate lover's dream dessert. Puff pastry sheets make it so simple to create this delectable dessert.

Vasilopita

Best served at a big family breakfast, this coffee cake rings in the first morning of the new year in Greece. You can easily recognize the cake by its tiered shape, with a small round cake set on top of a large round cake. It is usually flavored with anise seed or mahlab (the ground pit of a Mediterranean wild cherry). The Greek tradition is to serve the cake to the youngest first, then the next to youngest, and so on, working up in age, and the person who finds the hidden coin or trinkets will have good luck for the year.

Old-Fashioned Juicy Burgers

Memorial Day means burgers and beers - the kind of comfort food that pleases a crowd, and signals the start of summer. There are hundreds of ways to make a burger, but here's an old family recipe which guarantees flavorful, juicy burgers every time.

Blueberry Apple Lattice Pie

I like to mix other fruits with apples in my lattice-top pies, in part because with plain apple, the crust and filling are essentially the same color, so the lattice effect is not too striking. Berries and other colorful fruits provide a darker background and accentuate the lattice look.

Asian Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

“One night I didn’t have any noodles for my chicken soup, so I gave it an Asian twist with wonton wrappers. It was great! Don’t skip the celery leaves; they bring great flavor to this soup.”—Noelle Myers, Grand Forks, North Dakota

Gina's Hot and Spicy Tortilla Soup

Sassy Wonton Tacos

Peppermint Bark Chocolate Cookies

Holiday cookie season is in high gear with another one of guest author Garrett McCord 's delicious cookies. We ate these right after the photo was taken, super chocolate-y! ~Elise If this cookie doesn't capture the seasonal taste of Christmas, then I don't know what does. These cookies are chocolatey and oh so fudgy; studded with bright colorful chunks of peppermint bark, they provide a cool cocoa sensation. This cookie matches perfectly with a tall glass of milk next to a well tinseled tree. These peppermint bark chocolate cookies will be the first to be eaten at any cookie swap, and are bound to become a holiday staple after you take your first bite. Perfect for in-laws, holiday parties, or leaving on a plate for Santa, it's a cookie made to impress. You can buy peppermint bark at any candy store or specialty food store, or you can simply make the peppermint bark yourself. If you want to make life even easier just add some white chocolate chips and crushed peppermint candies in lieu of peppermint bark.

Skillet-Braised Fennel

Fresh fennel, which has a strong anise flavor and crunchy texture when raw, becomes mellow and meltingly soft when braised.

Sautéed Shrimp with Arugula

Strawberry Cake

This recipe for Strawberry Cake is made with strawberry gelatin and frozen strawberries. Thanks to Marlow for submitting it.

Venison Tenderloin With Madeira Green Peppercorn Sauce

If venison isn't for you, beef tenderloin is a good alternative (see cooks' note, below). Because beef is not as dense and rich as venison, the portions are slightly larger (cooking times and temperatures will also be different).

Big Lady New Millennium Sandwich

Spaghetti with Fried Capers and Anchovies

Saag Tofu Recipe

Saag, a stew of spinach and spices, is one of the most common offerings at Indian restaurants. We added tofu for a quick, delicious dish. This recipe was featured as part of both our Make Your Own Tofu story and our Supercharge with Superfoods photo gallery.