Gourmet

This riff on a jalousie, a type of sweet whose top pastry lets you peek at the sweet filling within, features golden puff pastry filled with stripes of sweetened cream cheese and lush guava paste. Test kitchen director Ruth Cousineau conceived of this pastry as a dessert, but it would also make a decadent breakfast treat.

If the famed Italian-American noodle took a trip to the Southwest, it might come back looking a little like this. With a creamy sauce and a duo of chiles that adds smoke and spice, this pasta is packed with flavor.

Green peppercorns (left over from Chicken Spice Rub ) subtly transform the classic combination of mussels steamed with butter, shallots, and wine by adding a bright, floral fragrance. Pluck the mussels from the pot as they open and then enrich the cooking liquid with cream.

From the delicate calamari to the crunchy celery and crisp greens, this salad is a mélange of wonderful textures. Make sure to use the freshest calamari you can find, and cook it quickly over the hot griddle to keep it as tender as possible.

Cornmeal lends these crackers a golden glow and a nice crunch; lots of crushed green peppercorns (left over from Chicken Spice Rub ) provide an intriguing spiciness. Serve them with cheese or all on their own with cocktails.

Deeply chocolaty shortbread cookies get a kick from chipotle chile powder (left over from Pork Spice Rub . If you can restrain yourself, wait a day before serving the cookies—their flavor improves over time.

Fried zucchini is a classic snack, but watch what happens when it's amped up with smoky bacon and spicy jalapeño. The fragrant, floral basil dipping sauce is a terrific complement to the tender, light zucchini bites, filling your mouth with the scent of summer. (Editors' note: This recipe is solely the creation of Andrea Albin and has not been formally tested by the test kitchen.)

Feeling burnt-out on the same old chicken salad from the corner deli? We were, too, until our love was rekindled by this lively version, studded with crunchy walnuts, plump grapes, and little beads of salty capers.

The leftover Savoy cabbage from our <epi:recipelink id="351167"">Winter Minestrone</epi:recipelink> makes a quick and easy side dish when thinly sliced and sautéed with some scallions and garlic. It tastes great with pork chops, chicken, or fish.

In his "A Tuscan Son" menu, Tony Oltranti serves Polenta with Franklin's Teleme as a smooth, soft base for his roast chicken. This recipe takes polenta in a different direction—cooked with sage, rosemary, and Parmigiano-Reggiano, the polenta is then cooled, cut into sticks, and broiled until the outer edges of the "fries" are golden and crisp, a fine contrast to the creamy interior. Serve them with a fried egg and a salad for a vegetarian lunch, or pair them with something saucy like chicken fricassee.

This riff on the classic frisée salad with lardons is the perfect thing to make with leftover hazelnuts from our 10 Minute Main Hake with Hazelnuts and Capers . It looks delicate, but its vinaigrette is enriched with the nuts and some bacon fat, which not only gives it substance but also balances the bitterness of the frisée and the bite of the radishes.

Though slightly unconventional, white wine works incredibly well with steak.

Rosemary's piney scent is so particular you could never mistake it for any other herb. A handful of sprigs (left over from Beef Sautéed with White Wine and Rosemary ) mingle with garlic to cast a spell over roasted potatoes, resulting in something that's just right on a winter night.

"America needs more bran," says food editor Ian Knauer. It's hard to argue when your mouth is full of one of his crumbly, deliciously buttery bran muffins. Golden raisins add sunny bursts to this healthful snack.

This beautiful seafood salad makes a terrific home for leftover Niçoise olives from the braised Veal Cacciatore . Quickly cooking the calamari renders it snowy white and very tender—such a nice backdrop to the salty olives and crunchy celery. Scallion, lemon zest, and celery add freshness.

In a twist on classic tiramisu, the leftover almond-flavored macaroons assume a more prominent role: Layered with an airy mascarpone mousse, they take the place of the traditional ladyfingers.

Punch is one of the easiest ways to set the Halloween mood—all you need is a cauldron, perhaps, or a pointy black hat and ice block "hands."Not every blend of fruit juices takes well to the with-or-without option of alcohol, but the combination of sparkling cider and cranberry juice cocktail, subtly enhanced with a spice syrup, both support an optional dose of dark rum.

What could be more American than candy corn? Try maple pecan popcorn treats, for starters. They're made with three ingredients—maple syrup, pecans, and popcorn—that originated in the New World.

Too often crackers get short shrift as merely vehicles for a slice or smear of cheese. Not here. By incorporating cheese into the dough, along with the tiny crunch of poppy seeds, these crackers become crisp snacks that keep your fingers reaching for another and then another and, well, you know how it goes. In no time, they're history.