Dairy

Think of a strata as a savory bread pudding; here, leftover stuffing serves as the bread.

A coarse grating of pecorino cheese adds a little creaminess and tang to this dish, but it's equally delicious without it.

The bold flavor of turkey is a natural with Mexican food. Fire-roasted salsa can be found in the refrigerated deli case at most supermarkets.

You don't need a panini machine to make these; use the low-tech method of weighting the sandwiches with a baking pan filled with canned goods. If you're making just one or two sandwiches at a time, you can cook them in a skillet and top them with another skillet weighted with cans.

If your Thanksgiving dinner is a formal affair, serve the crostini on small plates with the frisée salad. If your guests like to hang out in the kitchen until dinner is served, offer the crostini as passed hors d'oeuvres topped with a sprig of dressed frisée.

The puffs can be formed and chilled or frozen on baking sheets well ahead of time, then simply popped into the oven.

Tabat Jibneh In Kuwait it's common for women to gather at least twice a week for a couple of hours before lunch. When I lived there, most of the women at these gatherings were not employed outside the home, making these subheys, which means "mornings," a cherished part of our social life. We enjoyed visiting one another and sampling the delicious refreshments that were always an important feature of the get-togethers. Savory pastries, sweets, and coffee were usually served, and there was always an unspoken challenge to come up with uniquely delicious recipes in order to impress one another. Since I love cheese, and especially the combination of cheese and bread, I invented these fragrant cheese-filled rolls to serve at one of our subheys. Tabat Jibneh can be frozen uncooked, right in the pan, for up to 6 weeks. Double-wrap the pan with one layer of plastic wrap and another of heavy-duty aluminum foil. When you are ready to bake them, defrost the rolls in the refrigerator, then bake them in a preheated 425°F oven until they are pale gold, 30 minutes. You can also freeze fully baked Tabat Jibneh, tightly wrapped, for up to 2 weeks.

This stuffing uses polenta two ways—half of it is left creamy, while the other half gets browned, for a nice contrast of texture.

Creamy, cheesy, and light, this wonderful custard packs a few of the most delicious ingredients—sweet corn, earthy mushrooms, and spicy chorizo—into one amazingly satisfying dish.

It's hard to improve upon the honest goodness of mashed potatoes, but here scallions and brown butter do the trick. The scallions provide sweetness, and the brown butter adds a beguiling nuttiness.

The hearty greens in this dish retain a bit of their pleasing crunch.