Saute

Key lime pie, with its tangy custard filling and pastry crust, was popular in the Florida Keys at the turn of the century. The pie eventually evolved to include the graham-cracker-crumb crusts created in the thirties. We’ve layered all the components in wine goblets.

Leaping off the backs of onion-soup-mix boxes and showing up at cocktail parties everywhere, Lipton’s sour cream-and-onion dip took the country by storm. Convenient and quick, the dip also tasted great on potato chips, without which, in the fifties anyway, it wasn’t a party. These days it isn’t a party without little toasts topped by something Mediterranean-hence this zesty update.

To offset its bitterness, the endive is caramelized with sugar in this recipe.

Always cool the stuffing completely before filling the turkey.

Americans enjoyed most of the food at the scores of Italian restaurants that opened in the twenties, but they couldn't understand the appeal of spaghetti and tomato sauce: Where was the meat? To accommodate, the restaurants began to top the pasta with meatballs. This recipe takes the dish a step further by adding the Sicilian flavors of pine nuts and currants.

Reduced-fat cream cheese gives this dish a nice texture. Put out some sliced melon with grapes, and offer coffee and orange juice.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

As the planner and coordinator of a cookbook for gourmet groups in Bakersfield, I test a lot of recipes," says Jackie Mote Carlile of Bakersfield, California. "This is one I developed and refined, and my friends and family agree that the final results are outstanding.' A quick and elegant entrée for the holidays.

Purchase a roasted turkey leg or whole chicken at your market. This is also a great use for leftover turkey.

Ideally, the sweet wine in the marinade should be Muscat, a famous Samos wine.

This is a coleslaw-style salad — its sweet, spicy, and crunchy elements make it a terrific accompaniment to anything fried. Sichuan peppercorns, sometimes called fagara, can be found at many Asian markets (though they're technically banned from import because they come from a plant that is susceptible to citrus canker, a disease that devastates citrus orchards). There's no substitute for their flavor, but if you can't find them, the recipe works perfectly well without them.

Accompany these with your favorite purchased or homemade tartar sauce.

Called "French pasta" at the restaurant, this Provençal-style special (using no butter and a minimum of oil) is typical of Méteigner's light French fare.

Jeera Aloo This is one of the most popular everyday techniques for cooking vegetables in North India. It's so simple: cooked vegetables are pan-seared in a spice-infused oil. Any seasonal vegetable will work although starchy vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes, taro root, and plantains are preferred. The potatoes are great at breakfast or with grilled meats. For a vegetarian meal, roll them in a flatbread or stuff them in pita pockets with lettuce and tomato slices.

A Roman-style pasta carbonara can be presented as a first course, in true Italian fashion.

"I was in Boston on a business trip when I discovered the city's North End and its many old Italian restaurants," writes Jennifer Fassman of Westport, Connecticut. "After wandering around the small, quaint streets, I was surprised to find a bright, modern restaurant — Marcuccio's. I took the waiter's advice and ordered the sea bass with parsley sauce. It was incredible." At the restaurant, this entrée is served with sautéed broccoli rabe (also known as rapini). It would be great with spinach, too.

Cook and refrigerate the rice ahead of time. This meal needs only a bottle of Chardonnay.