Quick

These confections combine melted chocolate, berries, and bits of toffee. Serve them with your after-dinner coffee or give them as a gift. (Keep refrigerated; let stand 30 minutes before serving.)

You thought chocolate was good? Try chocolate with cherries and pistachios. Heaven!

Editor's note: This recipe is reprinted with permission from Brown Celebrates: Simple and Spectacular Parties All Year Round. This recipe originally appeared with Brown's <epi:recipelink id="“350623”">Warm Blackberry Chutney</epi:recipelink>. __ Don't be intimidated by crostini: it's just toast in a tuxedo! This recipe is quick, portable, and requires only a few ingredients. __

With a little planning, this addictive treat can be easily thrown together at the last minute. Infuse the honey up to 24 hours in advance and arrange the blue cheese on crackers several hours ahead of time. Then, just before serving, drizzle with honey and sprinkle with scallions. Blue cheese can be tricky to cut into slices. Freezing will make it firmer and much easier to slice.

Folding fruit into guacamole is an inspired tradition in Mexican cooking. Tropical mangoes are a natural pairing, their silky flesh adding a subtle tartness to creamy avocado. To herald the holiday season, pomegranate seeds flash bright red against the guacamole's cilantro-flecked green. Head over here for our guide to how to cut a pomegranate.

Fresh and a little spicy, these greens complement the more opulent dishes in this menu.

Cooking a large piece of salmon fillet couldn’t be easier and helps ensure that the fish stays flaky and moist. The crushed caraway seeds in the glaze add a subtle twist to the classic honey and mustard combination, which really complements the full flavor of the salmon.

Frisée often pops up in salads, but like its cousin escarole, it’s also great for cooking.

Instead of traditional baked pasta, we broiled mozzarella-topped penne and sausage to get that bubbly melted cheese everyone loves, minus a lot of oven time.

Nothing evokes the fall season like a plate of pork chops and apples, but we upped the ante with spicy horseradish, which adds new verve to this timeless dish.

This herb lends an unexpected hint of mint to bean dishes. For a change, feel free to swap in lowfat feta for the olives.

Parisian chefs have been seduced by lemongrass. This riff on peppercorn sauce uses vermouth instead of the customary brandy to cut the richness of the steak.

Creaminess is added to buttery Yukon Golds with just olive oil and potato water.

There are many versions of vadouvan, a French interpretation the Indian spice blend, but we like the one that Grimes came up with, starting with a formula by chef Inaki Aizpitarte, of Le Chateaubriand, and roasting it for a deep, meaty flavor.

After a rich main course, you'll love the clean flavors of this minimally dressed salad. Watercress and fris´e are tamed by slivers of celery root and green apple, which also makes for a seamless segue into the next course—Camembert with apple butter from a local market.