5 Ingredients or Fewer

Just four ingredients add up to a rich and delicious side dish. Once the potatoes are sliced, the gratin comes together quickly and then bakes unattended for about an hour and 15 minutes.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This bean dip is a staple at Fresco — we use it instead of butter with our homemade breads. It will last 2 or 3 days in the refrigerator.

If you can't get premade patties, buy bulk pork sausage meat and form your own.

Janet Fletcher, food writer, says, "Sure, I loved sweet potatoes with marshmallows when I was a child, but some tastes you leave behind. Now I prefer a more grown-up preparation, with an intriguing hint of Sherry."

If you've never thought of roasted squash as a side dish, try this recipe. Just rub pieces of butternut squash with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake until their flesh is tender and roasted to tawny gold. Serve the squash the way it's eaten in country houses in the part of the Emilia-Romagna region where nearly every family makes its own balsamic vinegar. Small bottles of balsamico are set out on the table, and everyone seasons their squash to taste with the vinegar. Try the squash with grilled lamb chops, roast chicken, pork and simple sautéed fish dishes.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 30 min

Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 2 1/4 hr

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 1 hr

An obvious friend to bacon and eggs, these lacy cakes are also good with almost any roasted meat or bird. The sweet-salty flavor and crispy texture are irresistible and appeal to those not usually fond of sweet potatoes.

Eremo della Giubiliana is a magical hotel near Ragusa in southeastern Sicily. Housed in a converted fifteenth-century convent and with just nine guest rooms, it manages to combine serene simplicity with modern day pampering. The high-beamed, airy restaurant underscores the feeling and complements the chef's fresh new takes on traditional foods. Each dish of the five-course meal is simple, authentic, and utterly delicious. This orange salad is a wonderful example: Made with the local blood oranges and olive oil, its flavors are both pure and distinctive. Blood oranges make for an impressive and classic presentation, but navel oranges work just as well.

This jam is tasty on toast alone, or with some Manchego cheese. Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 2 1/4 hr

Serve these beans with bread to sop up the juices.

Start with a platter of smoked salmon drizzled with olive oil and garnished with chopped chives and lemon wedges. Pour an Australian Shiraz to go with the roast, and serve sautéed teardrop tomatoes and the sweet potato puree . Top it all off with fresh raspberries and mango splashed with Sauternes.

Serve with a crisp romaine salad and the Saffron Rice and Red Pepper Pilaf. Marinate the veal six hours before grilling. What to drink: A dry Italian white wine, such as a Vernaccia di San Gimignano.

Swiss Chard a l'Italienne Swiss chard is a rare gift of winter, and this is my favorite way to eat it. You can use this as a base and add tomato sauce, cheese, or hot peppers.