Winter

This classic, creamy soup is brightened with fresh ginger.

"In a Southern family, there's always someone who makes one dish, one thing they're truly great at," says Tandy Wilson of City House, in Nashville, Tennessee. "These recipes tend to be 'talked,' passed down from cook to cook." That's the case with the chef's favorite sweet potato casserole, a dish inherited from his grandmother. Instead of the standard marshmallow topping, the recipe uses sorghum syrup for a rich, deep sweetness, and chopped roasted peanuts for a pleasing crunchy contrast. "Now every Thanksgiving," Wilson says, "it's my job to make Nana's sweet potato casserole."

A vinegar-and-chile glaze adds heat to sweet squash, spicing up the traditional Thanksgiving flavor profile.

When shopping for celeriac, look for firm, unblemished roots that feel heavy for their size, with a greenish hue.

You can store celery root in the fridge, unpeeled, in an unsealed plastic bag, with a dry paper towel to absorb excess moisture, for up to 3 weeks.

Roasted butternut squash shines in this hearty, family-friendly fall pasta dinner.

If quinces are unavailable or you want a shortcut, purchase quince paste at a specialty shop and heat it slowly to create a syrup, then simply spoon it over the custards.

Chicken potpie is a dish many of us crave when we want to conjure up the warmth of home and hearth, and chef Ashley Christensen, owner of Poole's Diner in Raleigh, North Carolina, is no different. "This potpie is inspired by my mother's kind of cooking: dishes that shout out the classics, but with clean flavors and crisp textures," she says. Christensen grounds the pie in colder-month offerings of sweet potatoes and rutabagas and tender leaves of kale instead of the usual carrot and celery combo. Adding another bit of Southern flair, the chef uses a small amount of cornmeal in the crust, which provides a nutty, toasty flavor with an echo of sweetness to match the filling. "Though some potpies are encased in crust, I like the "island" approach, letting the gravy bubble up around the pillow of crust," Christensen says. "Crust is potpie's defining moment, no matter how delicious the filling."

Make this your night one camp-out dinner, when the fish is freshest.

Something magical happens when you spoon orange curd over vanilla ice cream. And by magical, we mean it tastes just like a Creamsicle.