Poultry

If you like fried chicken with cream gravy, you'll love this sauce —sophisticated and rich, with a bit of sweet fruitiness from the Madeira. It's a wonderful alternative to traditional pan gravy. You'll have to choose between this gravy or the cider sage version for the holiday meal, as you'll need the neck and giblets as well as the pan drippings for this recipe.

About two centuries ago, field workers near Valencia began sharing a luncheon dish made of rice, vegetables, snails and eels cooked in a flat, oval, two-handled metal pan known as a paellera. And so paella was born.
Rice dishes made in such a pan, whatever the ingredients, are called paella or just arroz con ("rice with"), followed by a description of the contents. The traditional components of this particular version are snails, rabbit and rosemary, which are found in the Valencian mountains.
This equally delectable rendition omits the snails and substitutes chicken for rabbit.
This recipe can be made in a paella pan, a flameproof earthenware casserole or a large skillet.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

For centuries, the French have been braising duck as a way to tenderize it, whether the duck was wild or tame (use only farm-raised duck in the recipe below). The slight bitterness of turnips nicely offsets the flavorful meat rich but simple sauce. The appropriate wine choice here would be French-splurge a bit for the season and pour a good Burgundy or Chablis with this.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

Try preparing this salad for casual luncheons.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Serve white rice with saffron on the side, and orange sorbet topped with chocolate shavings for dessert. Look for the herbes de Provence in the spice aisle at the market.

When cooking for my college roommates years ago, I discovered that although tuna-fish casserole is consumed in millions of households, love of mother's own must be imprinted during infantile nurturing. As my friends summarily banished all my childhood favorites, I concluded that a hankering for mother's recipes could be used to distinguish genuine family from interlopers (call it genetic tasting). But I soon forgot the recipes. So, it took a call to Pam Ross, my sister and sole surviving mother in our clan, to retrieve this cholesterol-boosting pleaser from our Mom. My nieces like it, and it doesn't wear out the cook. Pam serves it with garlic mashed potatoes.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. This new version of spaghetti and meatballs still goes well with the usual accompaniments: green salad, crusty garlic bread and some red wine. End with spumoni ice cream.