Fiddleheads are an exceptionally simple and exceptionally seasonal dish, great for a spring brunch.

After steaming them and chilling them, you can do all sorts of things with them. They are decorative, but they have enough flavor to be the vegetable accompaniment to a significant spring meal (maybe with shad roe?). 

This dish is simple to prepare and delicious!

It takes longer to preheat the oven than it does to cut and prepare the onions for roasting - it really is simple.

These can be served hot or cold, and they are fine served cocktail-party style with toothpicks and small plates. The flavor is rich but complementary to many savories.

I served these at a wine tasting event at the Old Colony Club. They went well with a good Cabernet Sauvignon and a good Merlot.

This tasty treat with an unappetizing moniker is a variation on the old Bronx cocktail, with added bitters... I guess that's where the name comes from!

Try this with a citrusy gin like Plymouth Gin, or else with one of the softer New England-made  American Gins like Barr Hill Gin, Karner Blue Gin, or Wire Works Gin 

This homey lunchpail classic is really a nice cookie when prepared with good ingredients, and it's a nice change of pace and a welcome addition to many cookie-platters.

The texture is light and crumbly, never tough, and the toasty-peanut flavor is wonderful when they are fresh. In my opinion, this cookie does not store well, but if you make them with good ingredients that should seldom be a problem! 

The distinctive look could be trademarked.

This is a main component of a New England-style St. Patrick's Day corned-beef-and-cabbage dinner, a New England Boiled Dinner, and the Plymouth Succotash, as well as Corned Beef Hash and some wonderful sandwiches.

This recipe is to cook and cool the beef to be used for hash or sandwiches.

You can start with corning the brisket yourself with the recipe in Salt Beef, where you will also find some interesting lore about this old favorite.

This is great sliced thin and served with almost any kind of cheese, especially farmhouse cheese and local ale!

I made this one with King Arthur Irish-style flour and NH buttermilk, but the supermarket stuff makes good bread too - this is an excellent recipe.

Here's a version of the New England and Canadian Maritimes classic, often served for breakfast with Baked Beans (but they're great with fried eggs, too!

You can buy fishcakes in a can. It's easier than making your own. But they're disgusting.

Some restaurants, especially clamshacks, sell fishcakes. In many cases they're no better than the canned ones. Sometimes they're 9-parts potato with a hint of fish essence.

These are not hard to make, and you get enough servings that it's worth your while. The mixture keeps in the fridge for some days so you can fry up a few fishcakes when you want them.

For a simpler, more historical version, see Yankee Fish Cakes. 

Another New England classic, easy to make, with a wonderful old-time flavor!

This is good to make on a snowy winter evening when you've had just about enough of January or February and a little something special is in order, especially if it's not too complicated. 

Sometimes I sprinkle some sugar on top before baking it, or some chopped up crystallized ginger, but honestly it doesn't need any of that claptrap - this is a fine classic recipe for a winter's evening!