Sally Schneider

Roasting blanched almonds very slowly insures that they remain crisp for several weeks. In addition to bundling them with bottles of bone-dry Manzanilla sherry as gifts, I often serve the combination when friends drop by for cocktails.

In this recipe, Nicoise olives are marinated in flavorful rosemary oil with masses of rosemary leaves, a simple technique that imparts a wonderful flavor to the olives and seems to intensify their own. The rosemary is cooked in the oil, so it keeps its green color for several weeks. Packed into French canning jars, these olives look like they were homemade in Provence. They make a perfect instant hors d' oeuvre with chilled wine or cocktails.

In this recipe I've replaced the sweet elements in biscotti with pine nuts, Parmesan cheese and fennel seed, to make a savory adult biscotti that is perfect with cocktails. Around the holidays I bundle them with a bottle of sparkling wine to give as gifts.

[This recipe is part of Sally Schneider's fall menu, which includes Bruschetta of Wild Mushrooms, Herb-Scented Tuscan Pork Roast, Roasted Winter Squash Puree and Rustic Rosemary-Apple Tart.]

New potatoes and fingerlings roasted in salt have an extraordinarily pure flavor and creamy interior. Place the dish of potatoes buried in salt on the table (on a trivet) with a serving spoon, allowing guests to dig the potatoes themselves; pass little bowls of unsalted butter or creme fraiche, cracked coriander seeds, and snipped fresh chives on the side for guest to dress them as they like. This is also a great way to dress simple boiled potatoes. Leftover cracked coriander makes a surprising, instant seasoning for all sorts of dishes.

This is the best method I know for making perfect roast chicken. Even novice cooks find it foolproof. By some mysterious chemistry (the discovery of Marcella Hazan) roasting a chicken with a lemon in its cavity guarantees exceptionally crisp skin, very moist flavorful flesh and abundant pan juices, with no added fat: in short everything one could ask of a roast chicken but which ordinarily achieved by slathering the bird with butter.

One of the staples of my pantry is a classic herb salt fragrant with rosemary, sage, and garlic that is used all over Northern Italy. I learned the recipe - or I should say approach - years ago while traveling in Tuscany and have never grown tired of it. It is good on just about anything.

This rich, intensely chocolate cake is the perfect dinner party dessert because it is both so easy to make and seriously delicious. Like a little black dress, the recipe can be improvised on endlessly to create different effects. Add exotic flavorings such as freshly ground pink or black peppercorns, ancho chile, Mexican cinnamon, curry powder or garam masala (about 1/4 teaspoon); dried, unsprayed lavender flowers or herbes de Provence (1/2 teaspoon, crumbled), or ground Earl Gray tea (2 teaspoons). Or stir 3/4 cup coarsely chopped nuts such as roasted pistachios, hazelnuts or pecans into the finished batter. For chocolate almond cake, add the barest whisper of almond extract (a scant 1/8 teaspoon) and chopped toasted almonds (Spanish Marcona almonds are sensational).

A Holiday Breakfast Chive French Toast Smoked Salmon or Caviar

You can make this dish with either sweet or sour cherries, adjusting the sugar upward for sour ones, and cooking down their abundant juices as necessary.