One of my favorite party-friendly ways to use hazelnuts. This butter-toasted hazelnut recipe uses toasted butter, fresh tyme and lemon and orange zest to add a simple yet sophisticated twist to a nut bowl.

A twist on the shortbread recipe I included in my book -perfectly golden pine nuts and just enough rosemary and lemon zest to infuse the buttery sweet dough with fragrance and flavor.

This cookie combines thin chocolate wafers with a thick, creamy peppermint filling. A wonderful holiday or Christmas cookie.

This lovely, jeweled pomegranate salad recipe is from Samuel and Samantha Clark's book Moro East - toasted walnuts, celery, mint, parsley, and garlic. An easy, delicious, and a pretty addition to any table.

Plump raviolis tossed with toasted hazelnuts, sauteed ribbons of chard, and caramelized onions are at the heart of this ravioli salad recipe. The colorful platter is finished off with a dusting of cheese, snipped chives, and lemon zest. You can prepare most of the components ahead of time.

Favorite, easy pumpkin pie recipe. Made from a rich, roasted pumpkin and coconut milk base, and baked in a hazelnut-lined crust - delicious!

Yeast-leavened corn bread recipe, heavily flecked with kernels of bright yellow corn and generously spiked with chives. Perfect for stuffing and soup-dunking.

A quick and easy brussels sprouts recipe that will convert the biggest skeptics. Vibrant green, tender brussels sprouts that become deeply golden and crusty where they touch the pan, dusted with cheese.

A fun meringue recipe that enables you to shape the meringue into seasonal shapes - ghosts for halloween, or snowmen for the holidays

This millet bake recipe is a largely hands-off, winter squash-based casserole that uses golden millet, baked squash, pumpkin seeds and jewel-toned cranberries. A perfect Thanksgiving recipe for those of you collecting ideas.

A wonderful farro and roasted butternut squash recipe. Balsamic roasted butternut squash, deeply toasted walnuts, and nutty farro come together in this delicious recipe.

A favorite caramel recipe yielding dozens of generously espresso-flecked caramels that you can individually wrap. They have a deliciously subtle undercurrent of sea salt and are great for the holidays.

Peter Reinhart's challah recipe creates a wonderful (and reasonably forgiving) dough that bakes into a tender, delicious version of the traditional Jewish celebration bread.

A beautiful, buttery shortbread cookie recipe straight from the Hearst Castle kitchen.

A deliciously vibrant, earthy, and slightly smoky-tasting salsa recipe. Different from salsa fresca, the deep, caramelized flavors of the roasted tomatoes and onions alongside the smokiness of the chipotles make for a richly beautiful and balanced salsa.

A delicious cranberry jam recipe, the most riveting shade of ruby red you've ever seen. Would be perfect with toasted walnut bread and an antique gruyere cheese.

Knee-deep coconut flecked frosting tops over a sour cream coconut cake batter base make these a quintessential holiday cupcake recipe.

A delicious, traditional tasting, yet healthier gingerbread cookie recipe that includes white whole wheat flour, more assertive spices, and less refined sweeteners. You wont miss the traditional version. They are very cute on popsicle sticks.

This mashed sweet potato recipe is an all-time favorite, perfect for Thanksgiving. Plump vanilla beans, cream, orange zest, and butter are combined with sweet potatoes that have been roasted in the oven. A quick whirl in the food processor produces a smooth, creamy, subtly sweet puree haunted by the delicious vanilla and citrus undertones. The consistency is that of a thick frosting.

This Thai-spiced Pumpkin Soup couldn't be easier to make - roasted winter squash, coconut milk, Thai red curry paste, and sea salt come together in a pot of vibrant, rich, flavorful soup. A total crowd pleaser.

Don't let all those pumpkin seeds go to waste, toasting pumpkin seeds is easy! This year I tried some different flavor combinations: Sweet & Spicy Toasted Pumpkin Seeds, Black Tea & Butter Toasted Pumpkin Seeds, and Curried Toasted Pumpkin Seeds.

A hearty, fragrant, savory stuffing recipe punctuated with a pop of sweet from decadent dried figs. Made from herb bread, cranberries, apple juice, onion, dried figs, walnuts, butter, and vegetable stock.

A good Mexican wedding cookie recipe results in a tender nutty, butter-based cookie topped with an extravagant blizzard of powdered sugar.

Silky, dark chocolate fondue recipe. Simple with just two ingredients and lots of ideas on what makes the best dunkables.

This Irish coffee recipe delivers a jolt of deep coffee flavor infused with the sugar-kissed alcohol-powered hotness of whiskey, sipped through a smooth, soothing layer of cream.

This candied walnut recipe was is the perfect solution to a New Years Eve hors d'oeuvres dilemma. Made with walnuts, sea salt, black pepper, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and powdered sugar.

Served in shot glasses this peppermint semifreddo recipe makes a fluffy, dreamy, cloud-like, winter wonderland dessert.

My sister Heather teaches me her favorite toffee recipe. It is peppered with toasted pecans and slathered with a thin layer of chocolate on each side.

Outrageously good cheesy potato spoon bread recipe. Warm, tasty, cheesy, crusty, cayenne-kissed, oven-baked goodness. If you are a fan of comfort food - look no further.

Fun Alice Medrich Day of the Dead skull cookie recipe made from vanilla and chocolate dough.

A great peppermint bark cookie recipe using one of my favorite cookie dough and peppered with a generous amount of chopped peppermint bark.