170 brandy recipes

A robust vegetarian nut loaf packed with chestnuts, walnuts, and cashews, bound with red wine and brandy. Herb-seasoned, sliceable, and worthy of any holiday table.

Penette in padella toasts dry pasta in olive oil, flambes with brandy, then cooks risotto-style in vegetable stock with dried mushroom cream. A one-pan Italian technique that builds deep, nutty pasta flavor.

Chicken breast with sour cherry sauce, cracked peppercorns, and coriander in a white wine-brandy reduction. A French-inspired pan sauce built right in the skillet.

Traditional Swiss Basel Leckerli: honey-spice cookie bars with cinnamon, cloves, candied peels, kirsch, and almonds under a crackly sugar glaze. Makes 50 to 60 bars that keep for weeks.

Olive oil marinated mushrooms simmer button mushrooms in herbed wine vinegar with thyme, garlic, and brandy. A make-ahead antipasto that gets better after a night in the fridge.

Green tomato mincemeat made from scratch with suet, apples, raisins, citron, and warm spices. A traditional preserve for holiday pies, sealed with a splash of brandy.

Spanish bean dish with kidney beans, smoky liquid smoke, dry mustard, strong coffee, and a finishing pour of brandy. The vintage retro casserole that builds layered flavor from pantry odds and ends.

Marinated venison roast soaked overnight in spiced vinegar and brandy, larded with salt pork and slow-roasted until tender. Finished with a glossy currant jelly pan gravy. A classic hunter's table centerpiece.

Cherry and almond Christmas cake: maraschino cherries, apricots, ginger, and almonds macerated in amaretto and brandy, baked into a lighter apple-puree batter, then soaked in more amaretto. A boozy, fruit-packed festive cake that keeps for a month.

Pickled pineapple meringue freezes a meringue with pink-peppercorn-pickled pineapple, almonds, and cream, then plates with raspberry sauce and dramatic chocolate spires. Restaurant-style frozen dessert.

A Swiss showstopper: fresh plums caramelized in red wine, kirsch, and honey with pine nuts and pistachios, topped with homemade cinnamon ice cream. Serve warm or cold.

Cornish hens stuffed with turnip-apple-potato mash, browned in clarified butter, and braised in Calvados and apple juice. An elegant French-inspired dinner with autumn flavors in every bite.

Smoky puréed black bean soup loaded with cumin, coriander, chili, and eight cloves of garlic. Finished with brandy and topped with Parmesan and fresh cilantro.

A traditional mincemeat recipe that actually has meat in it!

Guilt-free pumpkin swirl cheesecake uses yogurt cheese and egg substitute to drop the fat without losing the creamy body. Marbled pumpkin filling, spiced cinnamon graham crust, holiday-worthy flavor.

Vegan Black Forest cake with whole wheat pastry flour, applesauce, and a kirsch syrup. Cashew-tofu icing replaces dairy whipped cream. Three layers of chocolate cake, cherries, and creamy frosting.