Eating, drinking, and entertaining gives us great pleasure. So, once a month, we’ll ask talented chefs around the country to help us put together a virtual recipe box. We aim to capture the culinary zeitgeist (and satisfy personal cravings). February is about warming dishes and carbo-loading one last time before giving in to the lightness that spring brings. Dig in!

Los Angeles-based Stephanie Jayne Shaiken has chosen to live a life of pie. And in the inaugural season of Crust, her bake-to-order dessert biz, this means classic apple, rich Missouri butter, and fleur de sel caramel tarts topped with salty-yet-sweet cracker brittle. Don’t worry if you’re not a local — you can bake her cherry pie at home.

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Chad Robertson’s love letter to his art, Tartine Bread, is the gorgeous cookbook where you’ll find his leavened creations, as well as recipes for days-old bread, like this savory bread pudding. Prepare this crowd-pleaser the night before a party; bake it an hour before you’re ready to serve.

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Comforting Mexican classics are what San Franciscans crave when the weather turns chilly. Tacolicious’s hearty chicken soup topped with creamy avocado and crumbled cotija cheese can help ward off the chill at home.

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To get your mind off the wind, pop-up snowstorms, and dry elbows, we asked NYC Fatty Crew’s (Fatty Crab, Fatty Johnson’s, Fatty ’Cue) beverage director Adam Schuman to come up with something alcoholic. The resulting refreshment is best sipped by a fire whilst wearing head-to-toe velvet.

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Is there a season when pot roast isn’t welcome on the menu? Take Portland’s Mother’s Bistro’s advice and set this hearty one-pot meal on the table during the rainy days of spring.

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The potato pancake, with its sweet-savory tendencies, is always a crowd-pleaser. But for a fresh twist on the old favorite, we went to Floyd Cardoz, famed chef at former NYC Indian restaurant Tabla.

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Drown your sorrows in dessert, courtesy of Chicago’s The Hearty Boys (Steve McDonagh and Dan Smith). New to their comfort food menu is chocolate caramel banana pot pie, a sweet take on the savory classic. It’s like calorie-packed Prozac — without the side effects.

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Your main grain is couscous and you’re hip to quinoa. Take your appreciation of cereals to the next level by cooking farro, a toothsome wheat grain. Atlanta restaurant Miller Union uses it in a comforting vegetarian dish that’s a healthier take on risotto.

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This winter the words “another cold front blowing in” have become code for “don’t bother getting out of bed.” But we’ll give you a reason: Peels NYC pastry chef Shuna Lydon’s Bircher muesli. One loving spoonful of the scrumptious, hearty stuff and you’ll be sprung. 

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Says Sophie Dahl: “This is the mother of all chocolate cakes. It is incredibly rich and very good cold from the fridge, smothered in creme fraiche. Eat it at your discretion.”

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One of the best things we did in Sri Lanka was take a cooking lesson at Amangalla. One that made cooking an easy, no-need-to-measure breeze. The vegetarian meal of lentils accompanied by onion-chili sambol took no longer than a half hour from start to table.

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When combined, the words “fish” and “soup” probably trigger your gag reflex. Duluth, Minnesota, restaurant At Sara’s Table Chester Creek Cafe seeks to win over fussy pharynges with a creamy herb- and mushroom-flecked soup that’s a nuanced take on traditional chowder.

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Even the shortest days of the year become bearable with a coffee klatch that includes thick slices of this cake-like dessert created by St. Louis’s Schlafly Tap Room. Consider bumping happy hour up a few and pair it with a milk stout.

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There’s nothing better than a hot cup of soup on a cold day. Before your nose freezes off, gather the butternut squash and stockpot for Firecreek chef Carlo deMarco’s secret bisque recipe.

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Get into the Mardi Gras spirit early with a cocktail created by the folks at New Orleans bar Cure. The frothy sweet-and-sour cocktail has an eggy lightness and hint of orange that makes it dangerously drinkable. But, hey, moderation is decidedly un-NOLA-like.

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