Citrus

Because of its seductive red color, this granita is the sexiest slushy on earth. It’s incredibly easy to make and requires the simplest of equipment. To take it over the top, serve with whipped cream or, for that Creamsicle effect, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. If blood oranges are not available, you can also use ruby grapefruit, Valencia oranges, pomelos, or Meyer lemons. Tarter citruses will require additional sugar, so taste a bit of the mixture before you freeze it.

This salad demonstrates how fresh winter can taste. The raw fennel is clean, aromatic, and crisp, the citrus sweet and a touch bitter, and the avocado rich and smooth. You can substitute other citrus with similar success or even use several types. To really take this salad over the top, I love to top it with fresh plucked Dungeness crab meat (another winter wonder); about 8 ounces is perfect for four servings.

Olive oil cakes are a traditional Italian treat; this one is unusual in that it uses whole oranges and lemons, not just their zest. This barely sweet dessert—a sophisticated amalgam of heady olive oil, aromatic fruits, and toasted almonds—will win you friends wherever you serve it. Be sure to use good-quality olive oil in this recipe. I prefer a Tuscan blend with a bit of peppery bite to give the cake an interesting dimension. I love serving this cake with whipped crème fraîche that has been lightly sweetened.

If you’ve been looking for an excuse to stop buying bottled salad dressing, this is it. Delicate and well balanced, this dressing complements just about any veggie or grain you choose—in fact, it is the backbone of some of our most popular deli salads. One batch is enough for many salads, so make this, keep it in the fridge, and don’t look back. You can use different vinegars with equally successful results, but you might need to adjust the quantity of vinegar depending on its acidity. Use good-quality extra-virgin olive oil—the flavor will be well worth it on your beautiful greens.

A staple of the Moroccan kitchen, preserved lemons have a tangy, fermented taste. For most recipes, the pulpy flesh is cut away and only the thick peel is used. Brian uses preserved lemons in a flavored butter for Grilled Mahimahi with Preserved Lemon Butter (page 113) and in Manila Clams, Arugula, and White Beans with Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette (page 54).

Brian does most of the cooking at home for his wife, Kristina, and their two small children, but this salad is one of Kristina’s specialties. She adapts it to the season, but quinoa is always the starting point. Nutty and quick cooking, quinoa is high in protein and will hold up for about an hour after it’s dressed. Serve this refreshing winter salad with pork, chicken, or fish, or with feta for a meatless meal.

A light, bright, citrusy hors d’oeuvre for a warm summer night, this tartare requires impeccably fresh tuna. Keep the fish on ice as you prepare it and serve it immediately for the most vivid flavor. To preserve the tuna’s plum-red color, don’t add the salt or soy sauce until the last moment. You can present the tartare in lettuce cups, if you prefer, instead of on fried wontons or crackers.

The lime version of the buttermilk cookie is a tart, refreshing treat—perfect for a summer day. You can also easily substitute lemon or orange for the lime; all are especially welcome at brunches or tea parties. This recipe directs you to spoon the icing over the tops of the cookies, but if you like the playfulness of the rounded bottoms from the Mini Black and White Cookies (page 77), you can flip them over and ice the bottoms using the same technique.

With their tart flavor and sunny color, these lemon bars are sure to become a favorite year-round treat. Use a serrated knife to cut into bars, wiping the blade with a damp towel after each slice.

This cheesecake-like tart has a crust made from ground vanilla wafers rather than the standard graham crackers. The top of the tart might brown irregularly; conceal any spots by dusting the surface lightly with confectioners’ sugar (use a fine-mesh sieve).

Olive oil and white wine may seem like unfamiliar ingredients in desserts, yet here they combine to produce a subtly fruity cake. For a crunchier topping, use coarse sanding sugar, available at many grocery stores, in place of the granulated sugar in step 3.

For best results, bring all of the ingredients to room temperature before mixing. When zesting and juicing lemons, grate zest first, then squeeze halves to extract juice. To make one large cake, bake the batter in a twelve-cup buttered and floured Bundt pan.

Uncooked salmon patties can be refrigerated, tightly wrapped in plastic, up to one day. Or wrap individually and freeze up to two months in a resealable plastic bag (thaw in refrigerator before cooking). Serve with the mayonnaise and noodles below, or mixed greens.