"This recipe is inspired by a chocolate cake my grandmother used to make for special occasions. It's decadent, incredibly chocolaty and extremely easy to make. For a potluck, I like to dress it up with a milk chocolate glaze and a quick berry coulis, but it's also pretty perfect with a simple dusting of icing sugar." — Jennifer Bartoli, Food specialist
Serve these Cheddar- and bacon-stuffed biscuits as a savoury holiday starter, as a sidekick to soup or alongside poached eggs at brunch. They're also amazing served warm from the oven with a slice of tomato and shredded iceberg lettuce tucked inside (instant BLT!). Cooking the bacon with water helps it brown evenly and means you don't have to stir it.
From street vendors in India to chic cocktail hors d'oeuvres here, potato-filled pastries are fantastic. Whether fried or baked, they're best freshly made, but for convenience sake, you can freeze them.
Thighs work well in this new main-course take on a popular appetizer because they stay moist during cooking. Serve with Coriander Chutney.
A simple icing trick turns these sugar cookies into glittery works of art. Make sure you gently tap off as much excess decorating sugar as possible for the most polished end-result. You can also use a toothpick to scrape off any loose sugar after the cookies are dry.
A dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream makes this decadent pie even better.
Turkey with a classic American cornbread stuffing with chestnuts is a favourite Christmas meal of our contributing food editor, Andrew Chase.
Celebrate this summer's reunion with a cake displaying your family tree. To get it to the picnic, cover it with a cake dome, or place toothpicks at 2-inch (5 cm) intervals around top edge and drape with plastic wrap, then transport it in a cooler.
This citrus-scented layer cake and creamy butter icing are good basics to use time and time again for all your special occasions.
My advice at Bacchus: save room for desserts. They are decadent — and shareable. Here, tangy lemon ice cream fills a crisp tuile playfully shaped like Italian pasta.
