Citrus

Add the grated peel from half an orange to the dressing if you want a more intense orange flavor in the salad.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A mixture of cottage cheese, lowfat yogurt and lemon juice replaces the sour cream in the traditional version of this dish. Ground turkey makes an especially good choice for those watching their cholesterol intake.

Serve this stew over rice or on its own as a soup. Either way, sprinkle lettuce with rice vinegar and oriental sesame oil for a light salad. Sliced blood oranges and holiday cookies will do nicely afterward.

I hated this salad when I was growing up: It was pink, had too many ingredients in it, and my very Southern family loved it — three good reasons to abstain. During Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, my mother would always go back for seconds, chiming, "You don't know what you're missing." But I knew, all right — an unappealing mishmash of canned fruit and mayonnaise. No thanks. However, as I've grown older my family's "Southern classics" don't embarrass me as much. I've actually eaten this salad many times as an adult, and though I'm not saying it's my favorite, sometimes I need seconds to be sure.

A flavorful accompaniment for roast pork, chicken, burgers, or grilled shrimp.

Like the cake layers, the frosting is made in two separate batches; each batch yields about eight cups. Ivy is for decoration only; please remove ivy before cutting cakes.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This recipe doubles or triples easily.

In this recipe, the oven does the frying, eliminating most of the fat, and all of the messy splatter of traditional pan-frying. This quick and easy supper will be a sure family favorite, especially if you serve it with steamed green beans, sliced tomatoes, and biscuits.

Eggs provide the leavening in this spiced cake, and melted butter keeps it tender.

Roasted peppers, marinated olives and artichoke hearts make good antipasti. Afterward, sprinkle melon slices with chopped fresh mint, and pass amaretti cookies.

To go with the crispy oysters, place sliced beets on a bed of frisée and top with balsamic dressing, crumbled blue cheese and toasted walnuts. Finish with wedges of angel food cake and caramel sauce.

The cake has an appealing, somewhat coarse texture; drizzled with a honey-lemon syrup, the dessert is reminiscent of baklava. Both matzo meal and the more finely ground matzo cake meal are used here.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.