Winter

A sparkling drink made blush with a tart beet granita. Ruby-skinned beets are an unexpected but welcome ingredient in cocktails: their high sugar content and bright hue make them an excellent, all-natural way to add a pop of color and flavor. Here, the beets are pureed into a granita, with spicy star anise and allspice to complement their earthy undertones, and then topped with a refreshing dose of prosecco.

Hard liquor, served hot. In times past, hot toddies were often prescribed as a head-cold remedy. Today, liquor as medication is generally frowned upon because of its dehydrating effects. However, if you're one of those people who can't tolerate over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, this beverage may offer the relief you need—just drink an extra glass of water to replenish your body.

Writer Peter Jon Lindberg's Swedish grandmother Alice Lindberg made these cookies each Christmas. The recipe makes about 9 dozen cookies, making it great for holiday parties and edible gifts.

Fresh herbs, such as parsley and cilantro, can be subbed for the microgreens.

As the pork cooks, the fat will gradually render, basting the roast.

I love the crimson glow of juicy little pomegranate morsels. Mix with fresh winter lettuces, serve it European style after the entreé, and enjoy.

Kosher Status: Meat
Prep: 10 Minutes
Cook: 2 Hours, 20 Minutes
Total: 2 1/2 Hours

All the kids in our family used to get together and make these cookies at our house every year; now we do it at the Carlo's factory.

Christina Tosi, the chef, owner, and founder of New York's Momofuku Milk Bar, created this recipe exclusively for Epicurious. You can make these marshmallow cereal bars with a variety of different cereals. We find that simpler ones, such as cornflakes, Golden Grahams, and Kix work best, and recommend avoiding more sugary cereals, or cereals with large or dense pieces. You can add up to 1 cup total of mix-ins per batch, but feel free to use any kind of mix-in combination to equal 1 cup. You can also experiment with different cereal and mix-in combinations to create your own unique treats. Some of our favorites include wheat puffs with pistachios and dried cranberries, Rice Krispies with dried blueberries and cinnamon, and Cheerios with pepitas and dried cherries. For more on Tosi and these holiday treats, see A Very Momofuku Milk Bar Christmas.

Molasses keeps these cookies magically fresh and chewy for days.

"If rum won't give you that warming glow of wellness, the hot tea will." -Benjamin Schiller, beverage director of The Berkshire Room

If you've never encountered struffoli before, they are best described—visually at any rate—as the croquembouche of southern Italy: small dough balls, and I mean really small, the size of marbles, that are deep-fried and then rolled in honey before being assembled into a cone—as in the French piled-up profiteroles model—or a bulging wreath. Since I was taught the recipe by a pair of Calabrian sisters, I make mine as their Mamma makes hers; and this takes the wreath form. I'll be honest: you don't make these because you're seeking some exquisite taste sensation; struffoli are about custom, celebration, and sweetness. This, in effect, is the festive centerpiece of Christmas in the south of Italy. You get a very real sense of this if you make the struffoli not alone, but in company, with other hands to roll out the dough with you. Children love doing this, by the way, and their little hands are much better suited for rolling the small marble-sized dough balls you need. Obviously, children are best kept away from the deep-frying part of the operation. As for the decoration, I've seen not only the regular cake-decorating sprinkles used but also candied fruit, glacé cherries, almond dragées, and cinnamon-preserved pumpkin pieces. It's the former, solely, for me. And although I've seen only the multicolored ones in Italy, I go for the festive and flag-resonant Christmas sprinkles in red, white, and green. The struffoli would look more beautiful, perhaps, left burnished but otherwise unadorned, although gaudiness not elegant restraint—I'm firmly told—is in order here; I have tried to maintain some balance between the two.

I have written a recipe for panettone dressing before: the sweet seasonal fruit bread was cubed, toasted, and mixed with Italian sausage; this is very different, not least because I see it not as an accompaniment to turkey (which has its own interior stuffing) but to be served, at parties or over cocktails, in small squares, like savory brownies. As ever, feel free to substitute the plainer pandoro if you wish, though I do think the rich fruitiness is part of this unconventional appetizer's charm.

I get no greater satisfaction than knowing we've snuck some sweet potatoes and red cabbage onto the dessert menu at Vedge. This dish was originally inspired by a trip to the Czech Republic, where I enjoyed plum dumplings dusted in powdered sugar and served with vegan sour cream. Here, we fill our turnovers with candied whipped sweet potato, and the kraut garnish offers a nice bright note from the sweet Riesling. If you want to go all out, try serving them with a dollop of vegan sour cream whipped with a little powdered sugar and orange zest.

Toss cooked grains with sweet-tart tangerines for a side dish that only gets better with age—lunch tomorrow, anyone?