Nut

A dish to convert all the Brussels sprout haters. By cooking the sprouts only briefly, you preserve their great nutty flavor. This side pairs nicely with roasted rack of lamb or whole chicken. For a Middle Eastern-flavored meal, rub either meat with olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, and cayenne pepper before cooking.

If your pears are on the dry side, the caramel will form more quickly than if they are juicy. Any variety of pears can be used in this recipe, but Bosc pears hold up especially well because of their firm texture. Almost any cheese would be great with the pears: Head to your local farmers' market or cheese shop and do some sampling.

Grains and nuts are great at balancing the bitterness of broccoli rabe.

Egg white binds the sugar and spices to the nuts.

Brushing the pastry with egg adds shine while it bakes.

Bundt cakes are always crowd-pleasers, and this dark, moist one won't disappoint. The combination of time-honored ingredients—sweet dried figs, crunchy pecans, and aromatic bourbon—will have your guests clamoring for the recipe.

More nuts than filling and a seriously buttery crust make for a beguilingly sweet finish.

Think of the best sweet-potato pie you've ever eaten and then take away the crust so you can revel solely in its silky goodness. A bite of this pudding is full and round, with hits of chestnut and dried fruit.

Small wedges of this luscious, superchocolaty cake go a long way.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Rick Tramonto's book Fantastico! If you like hummus—and most people do—you will love this bean puree, which could be called an Italian version of the classic bean spread. For my mother, ceci beans (chickpeas) were a household staple, so they are for me, too. I keep cans in my pantry at all times because they are so versatile. You could cook your own instead of relying on canned, but for this puree I find the canned beans are just fine. And so much easier. Don't scrimp on the olive oil—you want the puree to be juicy and rich. The squeeze of lemon juice at the end will make you sing "hallelujah!"

This variation on spice cookies will beguile with its unlikely ingredients: A little curry powder provides an unplaceable base note for flat brown-sugar tuiles studded with pistachios and chocolate chunks. And these are the least fussy of cookies—just spread the batter, sprinkle with chocolate and nuts, and then break up into pieces after baking.

We'll admit it—we all love a wedge of iceberg with blue-cheese dressing. So there's no need to apologize for serving this beautiful plate of sweet lettuce, slices of good Stilton, and toasted walnuts, along with an excellent vinaigrette that brings out the best in all of them.