Oven Bake

Serve polenta alongside this dish, which is also nice spooned over pasta or onto French rolls to make hero sandwiches.

In this interesting Tunisian specialty called farka, the semolina grains take a sweet turn. It is enjoyed as a breakfast dish or afternoon snack, rather than an after-dinner dessert.

A good cut of meat for this recipe is the butt portion of a bone-in, water-added ham. For optimum flavor, I like to prebake the ham, then simply slice away what I need from the bone.

Sliced avocado and purchased salsa are great additions to this Tex-Mex entrée. Let guests assemble their own tacos.

All the flavor of individual tamales, but much easier to make.

This not-too-sweet potato dish is reminiscent of tzimmes, a traditional sweet potato, carrot and short rib stew. Using a four-millimeter slicing blade in processor makes the preparation a snap.

Teamed with meats of all kinds in Moroccan cooking, dried fruits and honey impart flavor and sweetness to the sauce in this rich stew. Serve it with a Cabernet Sauvignon.

You won't want to miss a bit of the wonderfully aromatic sauce, so serve either the Smashed Yukon Gold Potatoes or plenty of French bread to catch every drop. Round out the menu with buttered carrots, a spinach and toasted walnut salad with walnut oil vinaigrette, and mocha layer cake for dessert.

Food writer Janet Fletcher says, "During my childhood, the only salad on the Thanksgiving buffet was an old-fashioned Waldorf with chopped apples, celery, walnuts and mayonnaise. Frankly, I don’t miss it. This contemporary salad has the walnuts and the crunch, but is much fresher and far more inviting."