This recipe was featured as part of our Super Bowl Party Playbook menu and our Chocolate Desserts photo gallery.

Special equipment: A 12-inch cast iron skillet is perfect for making chilaquiles, but any large, heavy-bottomed frying pan will do.

What to buy: Look for dried ancho chiles and Cotija cheese in Latin grocery stores and gourmet markets.

Crème fraîche and crema are both types of naturally thickened fresh cream (the French and Mexican versions, respectively) with a tangy flavor and rich texture. If you can’t find either, sour cream is a decent substitute, but you may need to thin it with a little water so that it’s easier to drizzle.

Game plan: Top the chilaquiles with leftover rotisserie chicken from the grocery store or poach your own. To poach, combine 3 skinless chicken thighs, 1 peeled garlic clove, 2 bay leaves, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, and 10 peppercorns in a medium pot, cover with cold water, and simmer until chicken thighs are cooked through. When the thighs are cool enough to handle, shred the meat.

If you’re sensitive to spiciness, remove the seeds and membranes from the serrano chiles.

This recipe was featured as part of our Chile Pepper Recipes photo gallery.

This recipe was featured as part of our Drinks Around the World story.

Game plan: The following baking method may seem time-consuming and (admittedly) strange, but it results in a smooth cheesecake without having to use a water bath.

If time permits, make this cake a day in advance. It’s best after being refrigerated overnight.

This recipe was featured as part of our Cooking with Winter Ingredients photo gallery.

What to buy: Look for Treviso radicchio, radicchio rosso di Treviso, at gourmet grocery stores or the farmers’ market. This radicchio has a subtler bitter flavor than the more common Chioggia radicchio, radicchio rosso di Chioggia, though it is not as widely grown in the United States.

Game plan: If you want to increase the bitter flavor of the dish, use more of the white ribs and core of the radicchio. If you want a sweeter flavor, use mostly the purple parts.

If you can’t find tasty tomatoes to make this dish, simply substitute a 28-ounce can of high-quality diced tomatoes.

The sauce and the pasta can be prepared up to 1 day ahead and stored covered in the refrigerator in separate containers. To assemble, heat the oven, pick up the recipe at step 4, and bake the mixture until it is heated through and golden brown (which may take a little longer than 20 minutes).