Nut

In this easy starter, a mix of tangy blue cheese, chopped toasted walnuts and peppery arugula makes a delicious topping for baguette toasts.

If you don't have individual soufflé dishes, this can be prepared in a 13 x 9-inch glass baking dish, in which case the crisp will need to bake for about 55 minutes.

If you can't find haricots verts--thin French string beans--buy the slenderest green beans you can find. Pack the prepared potatoes and beans separately, then arrange them on a platter when you reach your destination.

This stuffing is perfect for the Roast Turkey with Herb Butter and Caramelized Onion-Balsamic Gravy

Nice with duck, Cornish game hens or the Thanksgiving turkey.

You will need to bake the Buttermilk Corn Bread and allow it to cool before you begin preparing this stuffing.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

You don't have to be in the kitchen at the crack of dawn to prepare a terrific breakfast. In this recipe the French toast is soaked overnight like bread pudding — in the morning all you need to do is add the topping and pop it in the oven. Serve it with coffee, juice, and fresh fruit and you've got a well-rounded way to start the day.

Michael McLaughlin, cookbook author, says, "Green beans amandine used to be the festive vegetable of choice at any number of my family's holiday celebrations. Over the years, a few of us have improvised here and there, resulting in this easy side dish, a real family heirloom. For a change of pace, orange peel can replace the lemon."

This nucato is related to the delicious nougat noir ("black nougat") still made in the southern French town of Sisteron. But here, there is an additional pleasant surprise when you taste it: the perfumed bite of spices. This is a perfect treat for Christmastime.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A real winner: Delicate "purses" of phyllo pastry hold a banana and hazelnut filling. They're served with white chocolate sauce and a crunchy hazelnut crumble.

The recipe for these melt-in-your-mouth pecan crescent cookies has been in my family for years," says Marilynn Bonecki of Marengo, Illinois. "They can be made a couple of weeks in advance, but it's hard to keep them in the house that long." Be sure to chill the dough overnight before shaping and baking the cookies.