5 Ingredients or Fewer

Use butternut squash or a small, firm cooking pumpkin such as a sugar pumpkin for the best results.

The bite-size sweet red peppers in this recipe are a tasty, low-cal vehicle for delicious cheese; plus, their mild heat can help warm you up from the inside out as the temperature begins to drop.

Serve this sweet and tangy condiment with the Cranberry Spice Cake , or spoon it over vanilla ice cream.

Herbaceous, nutty, and bright, this rendition of the Prohibition-era classic doubles the gin for a more robust cocktail.

He was the chairman of the Board, new Jersey's favorite son (other than me), Nancy's dad, and perhaps the greatest interpreter of the American popular songbook ever to have lived. He was a heartthrob (although my mother always said he was so skinny he had to leave the hangers in his jackets to have shoulders) and he was a serious actor—anyone who saw him in The Man with the Golden Arm can attest. He took home the Oscar for From Here to Eternity in 1954 and gave memorable performances in the musicals On the Town and Guys and Dolls. But it is Sinatra's music that endures. if you don't love his albums Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely, Come Fly with Me, September of My Years, and the samba record Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlo Jobim, you just don't get it. In fact, if you don't like those records, you don't deserve his lamb recipe.

The Pacific Northwest is the birthplace of America's specialty coffee culture, and beyond the coffee shops that dot every street corner of the region, bars have gotten in on the action, mixing locally roasted coffee into cocktails like this one from Seattle bartender Andrew Friedman, which features espresso from Stumptown Coffee Roasters. "Their Hair Bender espresso is so expressive that I thought it deserved to be in a cocktail," says Friedman. Taking inspiration from the classic froth of a flip cocktail, this velvety concoction harmonizes the rich, chocolaty notes of the espresso with vanilla-flecked Navan liqueur. Mandarine Napoléon adds the perfect splash of orangey sweetness.

Editor's note: Use this recipe to make Black Rice with Squid .

• Picada is an aromatic sauce traditionally used in Catalan cuisine as a base flavoring for many dishes. It is also often added toward the end of cooking.
• Picada will keep for 1 week in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer.

Editor's note: Use this recipe to make Black Rice with Squid .

• Fish stock can be made with a mixture of any white fish and crustaceans, and crabs are a very good addition.

Bread with chocolate is a popular dessert in Catalonia. When we cook it at El Bulli, we add extra-virgin olive oil and sea salt.

Editor's note: Use this recipe along with theGazpacho . (This recipe is for fried croutons, but if you prefer to toast the croutons, preheat the oven to 375°F. Spread the croutons out on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes)

This marshmallow frosting recipe was inspired by one of my favorite cookbook authors, the late Elaine Gottschall. It works especially well with S'mores and is divine frosted over Chocolate Cake or sandwiched between Chewy Chocolate Cookies. Don't fear if the mixture overcooks and the agave nectar turns dark amber—you will have roasted marshmallow frosting, creating a slightly different, though equally tasty, treat.

This is an adaptation of a recipe created by our local berry farm.

The vanilla sapote is misnamed since it is actually not a member of the sapote family but a member of the citrus family. Vanilla sapotes, also called white sapotes, are green on the outside with pale ivory flesh. The green sapote (a true sapote) is green on the outside and orange on the inside. Look for vanilla sapotes at Latin markets and specialty produce stores.

Editor's note: This recipe appears as part of our editors' Christmas Cookie Swap, 10 beloved holiday recipes from the editors of Epicurious and Gourmet Live. These bite-sized cookie balls are made of all the best things: ground vanilla wafers, ground pecans, confectioner's sugar, white Karo syrup, and good bourbon whiskey.

A grown-up version of a childhood favorite, this is delicious when spread thickly onto toast, inbetween cake layers, or when sandwiched in the middle of cookies—or if no—one's looking straight from the jar with a big spoon…

Customize this one to your liking, from the fillings to the doneness.

Use this for a glossy finish on the Chocolate Hazelnut Cake with Praline Chocolate Crunch and for assembling the Milk Chocolate and Salted Caramel Gâteau Saint-Honoré . It's also great drizzled over ice cream.