Beverages

(with Caramelized Onions and Gorgonzola Cheese)

On the gift card that she encloses with these preserves, food editor Kristine Kidd tells her friends to spread the pear butter on toast, French toast or pancakes or to heat it and spoon it over vanilla ice cream. If you want to omit the canning process, go ahead: The butter can be stored in the refrigerator up to two weeks.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Any leftover sauce would also be terrific served over ice cream. This recipe is an accompaniment for Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding with Cinnamon-Rum Sauce.

A rich paste of roasted garlic and fresh rosemary is rubbed under the skin and over the bird. It also gives a boost to the gravy. See how to carve a turkey.

A small coffee or spice mill makes grinding the whole spices very easy. Serve the lamb with the Indian Ratatouille and basmati rice. Pour a spicy red wine such as Syrah or Zinfandel.

Cipolline in Agrodolce These onions — an homage to New York's Italian-American communities — are great as part of an antipasto or as a condiment for salty meats such as baked ham or duck confit. Although they are hard to resist as soon as they are cooked, the flavors continue to develop over a few days. Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 2 hr (plus 1 day for flavors to develop)

"Inventing desserts is my passion," says Laura Gambrill of Washington, D.C.. "This is a twist on an all-time favorite, bananas Foster. The mango, crystallized ginger and pineapple complement the banana and rum nicely — and so does the toasted coconut that I sprinkle on top."

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 2 hr