Holiday Open House Recipes

Mixologist Agostino Perrone created this simple sparkling punch. “It would be a great aperitif for a large dinner party,” says Wayne Collins; he recommends serving it in teacups.

Inspired by the classic combination of bagels with lox and cream cheese, Tory Miller devised this variation using smoked, locally raised trout and homemade English muffins. It would be equally good on other breads, such as a baguette, or even the bagel that inspired it.

Bartender Steve Peters dreamed up Caffè di Alpi (“Alpine Coffee” in Italian) as a deliciously warming après-ski drink.

To maintain crispness, toss the salad just before setting it out on the buffet.

The herb-and-cheese combination is infinitely variable: Try cheddar and minced chives or chopped rosemary and Parmesan.

A good loaf of cranberry-nut bread from a bakery has so much flavor that there’s no need to trick it up with lots of ingredients. As the pudding bakes, the bread becomes almost custardlike, with a crispy brown top.

Marcia Kiesel makes easy and impressive roasts that can sit out on a buffet table.

This crowd-pleasing pork roast, made from brined, seasoned pork belly, has crisp, crackling skin and tender meat flavored with rosemary, garlic and fennel.

Bruce Aidells’s inspiration for this Mediterranean-flavored leg of lamb was a dish he tried during the annual sheep festival in St-Rémy, Provence. During the festival, legs of lamb are strung up and cooked over an open fire, then served with a green-olive tapenade, which became the basis for Aidells’s lemon-scented crust.

Chef Ryan Hardy makes his luxurious fondue with two kinds of Swiss cheese (Emmentaler and Gruyère) and two kinds of spirits (white wine and Kirsch), all traditional ingredients.

Winemaker Mario Monticelli learned to make this stuffed steak from his mother.

To make this stunning salad, Alex Stupak roasts carrots with smoky chipotles in adobo.

To get the most out of turnips, Tamar Adler buys them with their greens attached and then uses both parts in this hearty grain salad.

Fabio Trabocchi sears golden, buttery fingerling potatoes and tosses them with fresh dill; if you can’t find fingerlings, try baby Yukon Gold potatoes. For a lighter version, leave out the pancetta.

John Besh’s cake cake pays homage to New Orleans’s classic bananas Foster with a filling of sautéed bananas, cinnamon and dark rum in between each layer of fluffy genoise cake, capped with cream cheese frosting.

These tartlets, made with layered sheets of phyllo and almond cream, are a riff on baklava. If you can, fill the tartlets with Bartlett pears, which are sweet but not very juicy.

This dessert from pastry chef Colleen Grapes, a tribute to the chocolate-covered pretzel, hits just the right salty-sweet note.

These are among the simplest macarons, made with only sugar, almond flour, egg whites and red food coloring—and a filling of raspberry jam.

This dessert is made up of two elements—creamy vanilla panna cotta and a clear cranberry jelly.