This recipe brings a winter favorite—the nut crescents I bake during Christmas time—back to summer, in the form of a tart crust. I bake it with a simple ricotta custard, which provides the perfect base for a partially cooked blueberry filling—a clever trick I picked up here on Food52 a few years ago. I reduce the sugar, however, while adding a touch of apricot jam, spiked with vanilla. N.B.: For a berry-heavy dessert like this, I often select slightly under-ripe berries for about a quarter of what I need for dessert, as they are more tart and just a little bit crunchy.

Fondue is my family's New Years Eve tradition, and there's nothing that brings people together quite like cheese and beer! Everyone devours this recipe, even the non-beer-lovers.

When I was in school a few years ago, one of my favorite desserts we made that took me completely by surprise was a ricotta pie topped with a tangle of candied kumquats. It was that perfect balance of sweet and well, not so sweet, for me. So when I taught a crepe - making class last winter I decided to turn it into a crepe. It's since gone through a few different permutations, and this is my favorite. The kumquats are simmered in a mixture of Lillet, honey, agave nectar, cardamom seeds and cinnamon, and perfectly set off the crepe and its ricotta orange filling. Everything can be made in advance and assembled minutes before serving. But remember to interleave the crepes with wax paper or parchment so they don't stick together, and just reheat the Lillet Kumquat Sauce before spooning over the crepes.

There is something comforting about winter and these crisp and savory bites. Pakoras are the traditional monsoon snack, a perfect complement to the rainy weather. And they fare even better on cold evenings when there is snow. They work well with almost all the winter greens I've tried, but collards have a roughness that produces a crispy texture when fried.