Celery Root

This simple but satisfying dish — full of slightly sweet parsnip and celery root chunks — can be made ahead and just reheated before serving.

What the New Sammy's menu describes as a broth is really a purée. The dish is somewhat monochromatic, but its fascinating flavor spectrum will make your mouth extremely happy.

Pair this with a crisp French Chablis, the Chardonnay-based white from Burgundy.

"I recently had lunch at Café Boulud here in New York," says Shelli Rafkin of New York, New York. "My entrée, blanquette de veau, had the most incredible sauce I've ever tasted. The whole dish, in fact, was sensational." In this variation on the classic stew, the veal and the vegetables are cooked separately and combined at the end, when they're topped with a rich white sauce.

"As a confirmed New Englander, I was surprised to find a terrific seafood restaurant in Phoenix: Steamers Genuine," says Barbara J. Johnson of Worcester, Massachusetts. "The baked halibut was perfectly complemented by roasted vegetables and potatoes au gratin. I know how to make the fish, but I wouldn't know where to start with the other two dishes." This side dish and the Potato Gratin with White Cheddar Cheese would also be good with roast chicken or beef.

Active time: 50 min Start to finish: 50 min

If you plan on preparing this side dish the day before serving, reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid and add it to the puree when reheating it.

Celery root gives the potatoes an intriguing new taste; mascarpone cheese provides the ultimate in creaminess.

We recommend using the freshest watercress possible — if not at its best, it can give the sauce a slightly bitter taste. (Try hydroponic watercress; it's generally better than conventionally grown supermarket cress.) Tanis suggests skimming all the fat from the cooking liquid and serving the broth as a first-course soup, garnished with toasted slices of French bread.

This dish can be baked along with Pork Loin with Morel Stuffing, but it should go into the oven about 30 minutes before the loin does. Transfer the celery root to the lower third of the oven after 30 minutes so that the loin can be put in the upper third.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A traditional French assiette crudités (raw vegetable salad) just like those served all over Paris.

Strong beef broth and garlic, not sugar, make a true Ukrainian borscht delicious. Fresh root vegetables and roasted beets provide plenty of sweetness which is balanced by an acid edge of lemon.

This one is delicious made with shrimp and/or scallops, too. If using lobster, garnish the plates with the empty shells.