American

There's Carolina Red Barbecue Sauce in this, a "must" with the pork.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Daniel Boulud's Short Ribs Braised in Red Wine with Celery Duo.

The curd can be prepared up to four days ahead; the assembled tartlets, one day ahead.

The mashed sweet potatoes with sage butter are a great side dish for calf's liver. We recommend asking the butcher for the freshest calf's liver available, since it can vary in quality. Soaking the liver in milk, a method typically used for pork liver, helps soften and mellow its flavor.

The combination of anise seed and basil in the following recipe may seem unusual, but it enhances the faint licorice flavor in basil.

In addition to being great with milk at breakfast time, this is nice sprinkled over yogurt, fruit or ice cream, or baked into your favorite granola cookies or bars.

Using canned yams in this old-fashioned pie makes it especially easy to prepare.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Fresh cherries take center stage in this version of an old favorite.

Because the more traditional dark fruitcakes aren't really to her liking, senior editor Sarah Belk created this one, filled with her favorite nuts and dried fruits. To make these gifts even more festive, she suggest decorating the glazed cakes with additional dried fruits and nuts.

Cider was one of the most popular drinks in Colonial America, and each year some of the pressing was turned into vinegar. A tart-sweet cider vinaigrette dresses this light and lovely green salad, which includes thin slices of crisp apple.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

For a particularly light and crunchy coating we used panko (coarse Japanese bread crumbs) on these crab cakes rather than regular bread crumbs. Panko is increasingly available in this country, not only in Asian markets but also in seafood shops.