Fruit

If you have a fetish for dark chocolate, this will fuel your flame. It will also energize your body with antioxidants that boost blood flow to the brain (and a few other vital organs). Cocoa, kale, and cherries, three beloved and sexy superfoods, contain flavonoids and antioxidants that fight heart disease and diabetes and even promote brain growth.

The success of a dessert as simple as apple pie depends on using perfect ingredients: tart, flavorful apples like Sierra Beauty, good buttery pie dough, and just enough sugar to bring out the flavor of the apples. You can always make a double-crusted pie, but for something different, try this one with its crumb topping.

I love the crimson glow of juicy little pomegranate morsels. Mix with fresh winter lettuces, serve it European style after the entreé, and enjoy.

Crunch-crunch-crunch will end up as munch-munch-munch when this salad is served. Flavor is obviously crucial in food, and certainly this salad has flavor, but tactile sensation is also a very important factor in our food perception and appreciation. We want pasta al dente, celery crunchy, bread grilled. This salad has a lot of texture to enjoy.

If you don't know what a Sno-Ball is, you should probably move on to the next chapter. Those round, fuzzy pink flavor wads are a staple of childhood (and a guilty pleasure of adulthood). Food coloring is optional here, but without it, this recipe looks much too grown-up.

Make sure to use plain, unflavored rooibos tea, which will complement the other punch ingredients.

Muesli is my go-to breakfast. Pomegranate adds an appropriately seasonal touch.

The tart sweetness of the pomegranate cuts through the richness of the lamb.

Can't find Meyer lemons? Mimic their flavor by mixing half lemon zest and juice, and half orange zest and juice.

Beating the butter and sugar until light and fluffy is essential to this cake's moist, tender crumb.

Coconut oil adds a rich sweetness to the batter; shredded coconut delivers crunch.

Lett prefers Hachiya persimmons for this fabulously simple dessert (they're the ones with the pointy shape). But don't use them until they're super soft and completely ripe; they taste unpleasantly tannic otherwise.

If you like bold, assertive flavors, this rustic side dish is for you. Try it with roast chicken or pork tenderloin.

Sparkly candy canes and winking snowmen aren't for everyone. Salted Honey and Chocolate Bark is a sweet-and-salty confection that even the manliest of men would be pleased to nibble on—or make. No cookie cutters, sprinkles, or icing necessary.