Sauce

Go ahead and double this tomato sauce. It freezes well—ready for other pastas or for simmer-poaching eggs

Both bright from the fresh limes and buttery from the diced avocados, this sauce adds color and flavor to broiled fish, roast chicken, or huevos rancheros.

A dollop of this romesco sauce improves everything from steak to roasted cauliflower.

Who knew Cabernet and cranberries would make such a dynamic duo? Add dried figs (plumped in the Cabernet ahead of time), and you end up with a winey, fruity fig bar, minus the cookie. This sauce is so fine, you'll be spooning leftovers on ice cream or slathering it on toast in place of jam. It's worth buying extra cranberries and freezing them so you can make more to last you through the winter. Editor's Note: This recipe is part of our Gourmet Modern Menu for Thanksgiving for 2 or 20. Menu also includes: Citrus-Sage Roast Turkey with Gravy (whole turkey or breast ); Roasted Butternut Squash Ribbons with Arugula, Pancetta, and Hazelnut Salad; Mashed Potato and Cauliflower Gratin; Challah, Sausage, and Dried Cherry Stuffing; and for dessert, Apple Crostata with Spiced Caramel Sauce .

We like to brush this sweet sauce on steaks, grilled or roasted chicken legs, and slices of roasted eggplant. Try it on salmon, too.

The cherry-cranberry combination achieves the perfect balance of flavors alongside a roasted turkey or ham—or drizzled on vanilla ice cream. If cherry cider is hard to find, substitute a sweet-tart fruit juice such as cranberry or pomegranate.

Pistou, the simple combination of fresh basil, garlic, and olive oil, introduces the same savory spirit when tossed with tender, buttery green beans. One of the secrets to this salad is soaking the red onions: a quick water bath moderates their intensity without diminishing their crunch.

Charmoula, an aromatic Middle Eastern herb and garlic sauce, combines mint, parsley, sweet smoked paprika, cilantro, and cumin. It comes together in minutes in the food processor, and the lamb can marinate all day.

Editor's note: Use this chive oil to make White Bean Soup with Chive Oil from Kim Severson and Julia Moskin's cookbook, CookFight.

Our Granny Smith Apple Cider Vinaigrette is enlivened with fresh apple and a squeeze of lime juice.

Adding cream of tartar to the caramel prevents the sugar from crystallizing. Drizzle the sauce over the cake; save the rest for passing alongside.

Raw Green Tomatillo Salsa While salsas made from red tomatoes are often on the table, especially in central Mexico, it is the green salsas made with tomates verdes, the smaller, papery husk–wrapped tomatillos of the same nightshade family, that predominate in most of the country. This simple salsa with its tart chile flavor is a surprising accent for any grilled meat.

This classic gravy recipe includes options for jazzing up your gravy with a bit of white wine, Worcestershire, or apple cider. 

This recipe is part of the Epicurious Online Cooking School, in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America. To watch it being made, and to learn how to make other Mediterranean classics, check out the video classes.