YumSugar Recipes

While you want Thanksgiving tipples to be memorable and festive, make sure to keep them accessible enough for the whole family (including your less-than-experimental sister-in-law). One way I like to approach this is by placing a contemporary twist on an otherwise standby cocktail.

Much like a pear essence cosmopolitan mellows out the cosmo, here, ginger and maple syrup add a Winter twist to the classic World War I-era sidecar. It won't rouse any raised eyebrows, but do prepare yourself for a table full of compliments. For a timeless cocktail with a hint of sugar and spice, read more.

If you're planning to indulge in a big meal this weekend — or at least on Thanksgiving — an after-dinner cocktail makes a nice alternative or addition to dessert. Though the vodka-infused cream liqueur Adult Chocolate Milk is plenty tasty on its own, it's also pretty potent, so I was curious how it would taste mixed with other sweet booze.

Cheekily titled the Naughty Nightcap, this cocktail is cute served in a classic juice glass with a straw. But if you want to be more sophisticated, I'd suggest serving it up. Despite the triple-dose of sweet liqueurs, this is a surprisingly well-balanced drink. Get the recipe.

Roast chicken makes a ridiculously easy weeknight meal, but in the past, my recipes often resulted in too-dry meat. Then, I discovered the cast-iron method, and I've never looked back.

With this recipe, all you need is a chicken, a cast-iron skillet (a 10-inch skillet works well), and salt and pepper. Getting the chicken super dry before roasting produces a perfectly browned skin, and the cast iron keeps the rendered fat from burning. Follow this method, at this temp, for this amount of time, and the chicken will come out perfectly moist and delicious. Get the best, easiest roast chicken recipe.

If you're looking for a more low-key way to ring in Halloween, then enjoy a festive, color-coordinated pasta dish at home. If you loved electric-pink rigatoni this time last year, then you'll find black-and-orange pasta just as fun. Squid ink provides the midnight color while roasted butternut squash lights the dish up with an incandescent glow. Make it even creamier by adding a generous pat of butter and a shower of freshly-shaved pecorino romano. For the spirited and spooky recipe, read on.

Veggie burgers don't have to be boring or bland, and this awesome recipe proves it. The patties are made from garbanzo beans, so if you're a fan of falafel then you'll enjoy this burger. The spicy lemon mayonnaise and crunchy carrot slaw are essential to the dish. Don't leave them out; each component comes together to make a wonderfully flavorful and filling burger. When I made the patties the first time, I didn't use an egg; however, they started to fall apart, so I recommend using the egg as a binder. I warmed the patties in a skillet, but they would be great grilled. Ready to get cooking? Here's the recipe.

When it comes to candy making, a great place to start is with bark. The technique for making bark is simple: you melt chocolate, spread on a baking sheet, throw on the toppings, refrigerate until cold, then break into pieces.

Use whatever kind of chocolate (milk, white, dark) and toppings (nuts, dried fruit, candy) you feel like. When selecting toppings, choose an assortment of flavors and textures: chewy, crunchy, sweet, salty — this will result in a delicious bark where each bite is filled with layers of goodies.

To celebrate Halloween, I made black and orange bark with a mixture of dark and milk chocolate, dried apricots, pretzels, and candy corn. It's a great after-dinner treat, or packaged in a pretty cellophane bag makes a fun edible gift. To learn the easy and adaptable method to making bark, keep reading.

Ratatouille may be the perfect Summer-to-Fall transition dish. It savors the heartiest of late Summer's vegetables, namely eggplant and zucchini, but offers the warm, slow-cooked comfort you need in cooler weather. It's traditionally prepared as a stew on the stove top, but this simple recipe roasts the vegetables in the oven along with bell peppers and plum tomatoes, then serves them over polenta.

The recipe calls for fresh shucked corn stirred into creamy polenta, but since corn is on its way out of the farmers market, I left it out and opted for oven-baked polenta instead. Also, I subbed in Greek yogurt for the ricotta, just because I thought it would be interesting, and it was. Ease into Autumn with this easy recipe after the break: