Midwest Living Best Recipes Collection

Not every meal comes peppered with fanfare. And that's OK. But then along comes a food so sensational that one bite of it changes your culinary reality. You know the feeling. The helpless melting into your chair over a lush red velvet cake. The warm, contemplative bliss from a sweetly steaming latte eggnog. The fascinating budding on your tongue of the layered flavors of an herb-crusted tenderloin with red currant sauce. These are the foods we remember and the ones we want to experience again and again. These are the types we've harvested for this collection. There's no magic recipe for making this happen, but we do know the main ingredients. Our Midwest Living senior food editor, Diana McMillan culls the Midwest for outstanding recipes from cafes, inns, top restaurants and even from our readers. She and Test Kitchen Project Manager Colleen Weeden taste and test each one to ensure ultimate flavor and best preparation, working and reworking them as needed. Then comes the alchemy. Sometimes on a spring day bursting with unleashable joy; a fresh rhubarb crunch is the perfect expression. Or a harried day when all you want is the solace of a sinfully all-out chocolate dessert. There is the cold autumnal drizzle in which the nostalgic scent of a simmering comfort food curls you in like a mother's arms. There are many more; holidays, weekend brunches, seeing and old friend, picnics, and yes, even the ordinary weekday. When you pair a great food with your mood and moment, magic happens indeed. The recipes await. Happy tasting.