Mexican-Style Pork Carnitas

Use this succulent meat in tacos or as a main course

Carnitas means “little meats.” In Mexico, you often find these served as “street food,” usually in freshly made corn tortillas. But you can also use the meat in tamales, burritos, sandwiches — or just piled up on a plate.

Carnitas are perfect for festive occasions (think Cinco de Mayo). So grab that party sombrero and get your Mexican on.

Marinated Cauliflower Salad with Capers

This healthy Mediterranean-style starter can be made ahead for extra versatility

Cauliflower has been an “it” vegetable for years. And why not? It’s flavorful and nutritious, and works well in lots of dishes.

We particularly like to marinate cooked cauliflower in olive oil and vinegar, then serve it as a salad. Adding capers gives it tang. Tossing in some parsley and pimento ups the flavor and color.

Best of all, you can make this salad ahead of time. So it’s perfect for entertaining – no last-minute rush to get that first course on the table.

The Pendennis Cocktail

This classic has the clear, cleansing flavor of an April shower

The weather is finally getting warmer in our part of the world. Soon we’ll be craving cool libations to sip during those long spring evenings.

The Pendennis Cocktail, with its pink hue and enticing apricot aroma, is perfect for that. Named after a Louisville private club, the drink is less well known than it deserves to be. Once you taste it, though, we’re betting this will become a regular in your drinks rotation.

Be sure to share it with your friends, too. They’ll toast your generosity.

Italian Ricotta and Cream Cheese Pie

Traditional for Easter, you can skip the crust for a gluten-free sweet

Should we call this a pie, a tart, or a custard? It has elements of all three.

Ricotta pie is an Italian favorite, especially at Easter time. With the addition of cream cheese, it becomes something halfway between pie and cheesecake. So we guess you could call this cheesecake, too.

But what’s in a name? We just call it delicious

Welsh Rarebit

An open-face toasted cheese sandwich, extra savory

Welsh Rarebit – a/k/a Welsh Rabbit – is comfort food with savor. It’s quick and easy to make too, so it’s perfect for a weeknight dinner. Or maybe a midnight snack.

Fast and flavorful, this dish will put a twitch in any bunny’s nose.

Wine-Braised Beef Short Ribs

Served over mashed potatoes, comfort food at its finest

Spring may be coming, but it’s still plenty chilly in our part of the world. So we’re not putting away our braising pot just yet. And what better than braised beef short ribs to chase away the last days of winter?

After a few hours luxuriating in a rich wine sauce over low heat, the meat becomes soft, yet retains its toothsome character. And the rich flavor is succulent beyond belief.

Best of all, this dish tastes better cooked a day or two ahead, then reheated. So it makes perfect party food.

It’s so good your guests will applaud. Or even better, request seconds.

The Paddy Cocktail

This Prohibition-era classic is an Irish whiskey Manhattan

OK, we’re not wild about the name of this drink. Back in the day, “paddy” was pretty much an ethnic slur against Irish immigrants. Fortunately, these days the insult has lost most of its sting.

That is the name of the cocktail, though, and has been since the drink was invented (probably in the 1920s). And since the drink tastes really good, we’ll just have to live with it.

Because once you taste this, you won’t want to live without it.