When we see parsnips at the store or in most markets, they're big, with a tough inner core. We were thrilled, then, to see smaller, in-season parsnips, split down the middle like a serpent's tongue, at the Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market. The slimmed-down root vegetables have not yet formed the woody center that we chop from normal versions. That means higher yield and less work for the home cook.

Given the odd carrot colors on display at the country's most upscale market, you'd be forgiven for thinking that parsnips are nothing more than beige carrots. They are cousins, but parsnips have a nutty, apple-like taste distinct from their more famous kin. At this time of year, they also have a delicate sweetness, thanks to the root's cold-activated system for converting starch to sugar.

Photo by Melissa Schneider

Winter's deep chill has arrived, and you can expect it to stay here for a few months. Forget salads for dinner; our bodies need food that coats our bellies and warms our hearts. And few dishes heat us like cheese fondue, the perfect dish with which to greet cold friends coming to your home for dinner.

When was the last time you dunked bread cubes into a simmering soup of liquid cheese? Fondue went out of fashion in the 1980s, but only after it had been in fashion so long that it became trite. Only in the last few years have food magazines unearthed their old fondue features. Dig your fondue pot out of the closet, or pull it off that high shelf, and whip together a batch for you and your friends to enjoy.

Photo by Melissa Schneider