Prune

You roll up this rocciata, a thin pastry with a fruit-and-nut filling, just as you do a strudel—but you don’t bake it like a strudel. Instead, you slice the roll into thin rounds, lay them flat, and bake them into two dozen rich and beautiful spiral cookies. In this version, I macerate dried fruit overnight in vin santo, one of my favorite sweet wines. There’s always a bit of fruity wine left over, and I cook it into a delicious syrup to drizzle over the cookies. Delicious when dunked in a good espresso, and even better when dunked in grappa, these cookies are nice to have around, as well as to give as gifts at the holidays. And I make them after the holidays, too, since they’re such a brilliant way to use up all the dried fruit and nuts I have left over from the festivities.

We came up with this alternative to braised rabbit as a way to eat rabbit in the summer. If possible, ask the butcher to bone a rabbit for you. Be sure to distinguish between the legs and the loins (or saddle). In Canada, asking for the kidneys is no problem. In the United States, it is hit or miss. Another nice option is an easy pan jus, made by deglazing the pan with a shot of sherry, then adding 1/2 cup (125 ml) chicken stock and 2 tablespoons unsalted butter.

It's hearty and health-helping: Eating mushrooms regularly may help lessen women's breast cancer risk.

This comforting dish marries the simplicity of meatloaf with the flavor and depth of a French pâté. Leftover slices naturally make terrific sandwiches, but they're also wonderful panfried in olive oil.

Pollo con Frutos y Frutas Secas As this recipe demonstrates, Ferran Adrià, the alchemist chef of El Bulli, is as practical as he is inventive. It's adapted from the cookbook he dedicated to quick recipes that can be made with supermarket ingredients, and it features a store-bought rotisserie chicken that's deliciously doctored with a sauce of dried fruit, pine nuts, and port wine. Though you can whip the dish up in less than half an hour, the flavors are sophisticated enough for a fancy dinner party. If you'd like to roast your own chicken, so much the better.

Ever dream about bringing an impressive roast to the holiday table with equally impressive ease? Now you can. Stuffing and preparing the pork a day ahead leaves you free to entertain and makes the meat especially flavorful as well. Bacon wrapped around the roast keeps it moist as it cooks. Prunes and dried apricots simmered in Port bring a fruity but not overly sweet intensity to the pork and its sauce.

Add broth 1/4 cup at a time, stirring, to avoid sogginess.

When steeped overnight in a grappa syrup, dried fruits plump up with juices that infuse a moist, cakey almond filling in a golden crust.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Crescent Dragonwagon's book Passionate Vegetarian. Dragonwagon also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. This is my favorite Thanksgiving stuffing — in fact, this is my only Thanksgiving stuffing. I've made it for at least twenty-five years, and it's always pleased me, friends, family, and inn guests. To my taste, it wouldn't be right with margarine or oil, just butter. But probably it wouldn't be bad with less fat or a different one. I make the vegetarian version with vegetable stock, for use in a pumpkin; when I cooked at the inn, where the majority of the guests were meat eaters, I also did a batch with turkey stock. I dedicate this recipe to the memory of Sondra Krecker, a friend from my earliest years in Eureka Springs. Every Thanksgiving as I make it I hear her telling me again, earnestly, "You have to toast it dry, bone dry, hard dry." You'll need to do a lot of tossing and tasting to get the seasonings just right. Stuffing can be made ahead of time, but don't stuff it into the pumpkin until you're ready to bake it.

This quickly braised lamb brings a bit of French country straight into your kitchen.

This well-balanced stew is intense yet mellow. The prunes soak up the fragrant spices, and long, slow cooking turns the lamb fork-tender.

Prunes take on a velvety texture in this Port sauce. The resulting syrup is silky and sweet, with a tropical vanilla fragrance.

This is the perfect antidote to the Sunday blues, not least because there will be enough left over to pack sandwiches for Monday's lunch. A mix of beef, pork, and bacon ensures meatiness, with Worcestershire sauce, chopped prunes, and cider vinegar added for good balance and occasional suggestions of sweetness. Because the loaf is baked without a loaf pan, there's plenty of well-browned crust to go around.

These classic candies (called sweetmeats by the British) look sinful but are little more than dried apricots, figs, and plums dusted with nuts, cocoa, or sugar.

The combination of plums and red wine gives this sorbet a stunning fuchsia color and a deep, fruit-filled flavor. Think of it as fruity mulled wine that's been frozen into a refreshing dessert.

Get your chocolate fix with this lush torte from executive pastry chef Philippe Niez at The Mayflower Inn & Spa. It tastes so rich, you won't even want seconds!

You'll feel positively Continental after your first taste of these tartlets, made with the thoroughly French combination of prunes and Armagnac. The creamy Italian mascarpone filling is just the thing to mellow out the sophisticated flavors.

There's lots of bold flavor in this hearty stuffing, which, though inspired by a classic Italian combination, happens to work in perfect concert with everything on the American holiday table. Baking it in a wide dish yields plenty of crusty top for everyone.

The simplicity and speed of this dish belie its deep, complex flavor — sweet, sour, spiced, and savory. Although the plums that once grew all over Epirus have been lost to more profitable crops, plums and prunes still appear in many of the region's dishes.

Utensils needed: Mixing bowl; whisk; wooden spoon; large bowl; three 6-inch loaf pans, lightly buttered and dusted with Wondra flour; wire rack
Baking time: Approximately 25 minutes
Storage: Wrap tightly. Keep at room temperature up to 1 day; refrigerated, up to 1 week; frozen, up to 3 months.

Unlike most Western rice puddings, these desserts are chewy rather than creamy, with a delightful surprise inside. Some Chinese versions can be heavy and overly sweet, but our variation is a nicely balanced finish to the meal.

A boneless center-cut pork loin is incredibly versatile. Infused with the deep sweetness of prunes, it takes on the rich, robust flavors of southwestern France.

Sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, these little prune tartlets (made with just five ingredients) are so delicious, they'll have everyone at the breakfast table begging for more.