Melissa Roberts

Swedish pearl sugar stands in for coarse salt in this sweet take on the soft pretzel.

Skip the scones and biscuits for brunch; serve this sweet and beautiful take on focaccia instead.

Get extra-festive with this buttery loaf studded with colorful eggs.

These tasty tarts are easy to bring to a picnic or potluck dinner. Serve one for dessert—and one for breakfast the next day. Dried California apricots are dark orange and have a tangier, more intense flavor than Turkish ones.

Rich with chocolate and studded with bits of toasted almonds with a faint coconut flavor, this heavenly dessert is a special finish to a holiday meal. Because the leavening comes from aeration, it is essential that the ingredients be at room temperature before assembling the batter.

Brisket is the centerpiece of many holiday tables, but pot roast, cooked to succulent tenderness in a full-bodied braising liquid brightened with the tang of wine and tomato and enriched with a heady trio of cinnamon, bay leaf, and thyme is just as special without sacrificing tradition.

The key to a delicious matzo ball soup is in the broth: lots of vegetables and aromatics, including slices of ginger root for a bit of heat, make a perfect vehicle for these matzo balls. Matzo balls can be a very personal thing: some like them light and fluffy, while others fall into the "hard as golf balls" camp. Filled with lots of fresh parsley and dill, these dumplings fall somewhere in between: not feather light, not too hard, but with just enough bite and presence to stand up to its flavorful broth.

Passover falls at the cusp of spring, and fresh asparagus on the table is one of the best ways to usher in the new season. Combined with the snap of green beans and sautéed with the silky, mild bite of green onions, it becomes a welcome pop of color and texture to the plate.

Haroseth, a symbolic seder food, alludes to the mortar that the Jews used to build the pyramids when enslaved by the Egyptian pharaoh. Though haroseth visually mimes the unappealing look of cement, its taste is actually a delicious combination of fresh or dried fruit, nuts, spices and wine. There are as many variations of haroseth as there are seder tables around the world, and all reflect a myriad of traditions. This recipe is inspired by my grandmother's simple grated apple, walnut, and cinnamon version, along with the flavors of my husband's Middle Eastern background.

A supermoist chocolate cake encased between layers of rich chocolate frosting is at once both a decadent treat and one of life's simple pleasures. And "simple" is an important descriptor here. Because it's an oil-based cake—like carrot cake—it doesn't involve equipment any more complicated than a whisk and a bowl. Two stealth ingredients make this dessert different: unsweetened coconut milk and instant espresso powder. The former is amazing in its ability to add richness to the cake and stand in for cream in the ganache without overwhelming the dessert with coconut flavor. Espresso powder in the frosting magically highlights the depth of the chocolate. Because this cake happens to be dairy-free, it's perfect for Hanukkah, and a godsend for anyone dealing with lactose intolerance. But the cake is so incredibly delicious, no one will notice the lack of cream and butter. They'll be too busy asking for seconds and thirds.

Olives, garlic, herbs, tomato, and wine come together in this short rib dish, a nod to the warm and sunny flavors of Provence. A shower of freshly grated orange zest at the finale brightens the rich braised beef with a citrus zing. This recipe makes a deeply satisfying main dish for Hanukkah or any other celebratory occasion.

A glass of chilled Prosecco is a fine prelude to a summer meal. Morphed into a sophisticated gelée, it's a great ending, too.

Buttermilk keeps this moist cake light and flavorful. Dust it with powdered sugar as it cools for a sweet, decorative finish.

In this simplest of summer desserts, sour cream adds a pleasant tang to lightly sweetened vanilla whipped cream.

Serve topped with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.

马铃薯饼的原料和技术结合起来have gone together very well for centuries: potatoes and frying. This variation on a traditional crisp potato pancake is enhanced with the addition of carrots, which add a hit of earthy sweetness. For more seasonal recipes,download the freeGourmet Liveappand stay tuned to theGourmet Liveblogfor the latest updates.

Matzoh can take many forms during the eight days of Passover: crushed into meal for baking or coating, topped whole with sauce and cheese for pizza, or fried with eggs for Matzoh brie. All can create Matzoh fatigue, but it can also be transformed into something a bit unexpected; that is, a riff on a holiday favorite: stuffing (minus the bread). Studded with meaty, browned mushrooms and translucent bits of celery and fennel, this is a delicious side dish perfect for soaking up gravy, or just as satisfying on its own.

Sweetbreads, the thymus gland of calves (and occasionally lambs), are some of the easiest offal for beginners to love—their delicate flavor and creamy texture are incredibly seductive. No matter how you're going to prepare them, sweetbreads must first be soaked in cold water and then poached to firm them up. After that, these are rolled in a paprika-seasoned flour-and-cornmeal coating and deep-fried. The crunchy outside and pillowy interior are absolutely delicious dipped in the herbaceous Green Goddess sauce. If you want to take things to the next level, tuck the nuggets into a hollowed-out baguette with shredded lettuce, then smear on the Green Goddess and some hot sauce for an out-of-this-world po' boy.

It's only natural to use leftover chicken broth (fromBlade Steaks with Rosemary White–Bean Purée) to make chicken soup. But what a soup! Steeping ginger and scallion greens in the stock and then poaching the chicken in it is a quick way to achieve a depth of flavor. The final soup is enriched with silky ribbons of just–cooked eggs, shreds of tender chicken, and fresh rings of scallion. Best of all, this satisfying soup is easy enough to pull together after work.

A take on the Provençal tart known as pissaladiére, this galette can be served as an hors d'oeuvre or, with a salad, as a light lunch. It gets fullness of flavor from a tangle of sweet caramelized onions that tops a smear of tomato paste enlivened with garlic and anchovies (left over from Mediterranean Eggplant Relish). A flaky homemade pastry crust ups the richness even more.