The world looks very different than it did in the summer of 2018. That summer, we gathered around the publication of Feed Your People, with big-batch events from dumpling dinners and paella parties, to soup swaps and big-hearted food events. Comprised of diverse recipes from cooks, chefs and grandmas, Feed Your People features dishes that bring us together. Though we may be socially distanced, people are still feeding each other—in big and small ways. Now more than ever, food is deep source of connection and joy.

The first stamp I ever bought—at the age of eight—showed a woman in a long green dress, carrying an even longer black stick. Behind her, the background is orange and white. I loved that stamp, because I thought it showed Annie Oakley holding a rifle, with fire and smoke rising behind her. Later on, I learned that the picture wasn’t actually of Annie Oakley at all. In fact, it was a miniature recreation of Woman Playing Lute, a painting by Jean-Antoine Watteau.

When I was little, my family and I lived in Paris for a year. While we were there, I started collecting stamps. Friends and neighbors who knew about my collection gifted me with beautiful stamps from France, Russia, and even Japan. To me, these tiny, colorful keepsakes were exciting: a window onto the world.

Cookbook author, writer, and teacher Andrea Nguyen is famous for her sold-out dumpling-making classes. Dumplings are at the center of many Asian celebrations, especially Chinese Lunar New Year, which begins on the first new moon that falls between January 21 and February 20. “It is like all of the major Western holidays rolled into one,” says Andrea. It is also a good time to gather your people for a dumpling-making party, though dumpling time is really any day of the year.

Ding-ding-ding! goes the bell of the Hyde Street cable car, and shivering tourists scurry toward the glowing neon sign of the Buena Vista Cafe. Although this snug saloon at the corner of Hyde and Beach Streets has been serving locals and visitors alike since 1916, it was then-owner Jack Koeppler’s introduction of the Irish Coffee in 1952 that made its reputation. As legend has it, Koeppler first tasted the drink created by local chef Joe Sheridan when he and a group of American passengers were stranded by bad weather at Ireland’s Shannon Airport. Laced with Irish whiskey, topped with thick, sweet cream, and served in a signature glass mug, this fortified coffee still makes an ideal fog chaser.

Gathering friends together around steaming bowls of this homey matzo ball soup—soft, savory dumplings bobbing in golden chicken stock—is like group therapy. The recipe comes from Noah Bernamoff and Rae Cohen, owners of Mile End Deli, who have been serving globally inspired deli food in the highly competitive New York City deli scene since 2009. The stock is a great all-purpose recipe, too, which you can make for using in other dishes. If you opt to do that, you skip the dill, if you like, or make only a half batch, if that’s all you need.

Fruit crisp has to be among the easiest, most delicious, and versatile desserts around. Here, I combine the first two fruits that pop up in Vermont each spring, but this recipe will work with any New England–grown fruit. In deep summer, try raspberries or tart cherries with sliced peaches; in fall, opt for diced apple and blackberries. No matter which fruit you use, serving this with vanilla ice cream on top is nonnegotiable.

Fall brings a cornucopia of squash to farm stands and markets: round, ribbed acorn squash; squat pie pumpkins; and the long, striped delicata—my favorite because of its edible skin and quick cooking time. This season of plenty also means you’ll find nice fat leeks at the market, and the woods will be filled with mushrooms. On top of that, it’s also apple-picking and wild turkey season!

For a vegetarian version, substitute 2 1/2 cups of cooked brown rice and some toasted almonds for the turkey.

Green chile stew is a New Mexico tradition, and it goes with everything. Smother a burrito with it, pour it over your morning eggs, or just eat it in a big bowl with a spoon. Nothing is better in the depths of winter than a big bowl of green chile stew with a soft, warm flour tortilla on the side.

Maple syrup is graded differently in every state, but in Maine, it’s all grade A. Depending on your preference, grade A maple syrup comes in many varieties: golden with a delicate flavor, amber with a rich flavor, dark with a robust flavor, or very dark with a strong flavor. Golden or amber is suggested for this recipe, as the syrup is reduced, thus concentrating its maple flavor.

Wild Maine salmon is getting harder and harder to find, but farmed salmon is quite abundant. Both can be excellent, depending on how and where they were raised. Maine mushrooms in hundreds of varieties appear in damp forests from early spring through late fall. These include hen of the wood, oyster, porcini, chanterelles, morel, and more. If you forage, do it with an expert, or simply look for wild mushrooms at the many farmers’ markets up and down the coast.

Apples can be found just about anywhere, but for many of us, a dessert baked with apples evokes fall in New England. As the days grow shorter, like Cape Codders, you’ll appreciate how quick and easy this recipe is, and really value the payoff—the transporting aroma and taste of sweet, cooked apples laced with warming cinnamon spice and an irresistible sweet and crunchy topping.

Every fall and winter, Oregon’s pumpkin patches and Christmas tree farms trot out their mini-doughnut fryers to offer visitors warm, made-to-order apple cider doughnuts. When you’re cold, muddy, and tired of hauling around a heavy tree, there is truly nothing better than a hot doughnut. These baked doughnuts are just as delicious and don’t require vats of oil. To mimic the decadence of fried doughnuts, they’re brushed with melted butter and then rolled in spiced sugar.

Every year, my family celebrates Hanukkah with a “latke-and-vodka” party for eighty people. Well ahead of the event, my mother, Suzanne, fries all of the latkes, then the day of the get-together my friend Anya Fernald contributes her wine-braised brisket, and my dad leads everyone in taking vodka shots with pickle chasers. As anyone who has ever fried a big batch of latkes can attest, it is a messy job. But it is also a herculean effort that is wildly appreciated by everyone who gets to sit down and eat the latkes.

Eggplant plays many roles in the cooking of London-based, Israeli-born chef and dazzlingly successful cookbook author Yotam Ottolenghi. Fried, roasted, grilled, or steamed, it becomes the star of dips, salads, main courses, and side dishes. Like so many of his creations, this vegetable-based dish, featuring oven-roasted eggplant slices topped with a smoky, roasted pepper yogurt and buttery spiced almonds, is delicious enough to stand on its own, though it can also be part of a buffet alongside grilled meat or an array of vegetarian dishes.

Ashley Christensen is known for her epic macaroni and cheese. Since opening her original restaurant, Poole’s Downtown Diner in Raleigh, North Carolina, she estimates that she has served roughly fifteen thousand orders of the rich, gooey, cheese-capped dish every year. Featured in her cookbook, Poole’s: Recipes and Stories from a Modern Diner, Ashley’s macaroni is simple yet luscious. With only a few ingredients it is truly a revelation, making it known far and wide.

When Michelle McKenzie was program director for 18 Reasons, an important part of her job was organizing affordable, accessible community dinners. Grain salads were one of her favorite ways to round out a menu without meat. She designed them to be flexible and filling, suitable for making in advance and refrigerating until needed, and easy to transport to a picnic, potluck, or other get-together. Here are two of her favorite salads that feature both hearty grains and fresh-from-the-garden vegetables.