5 Ingredients or Fewer

The brittle is a great gift on its own.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The trick to a successful pastry dough is to handle it as little as possible and to keep it cool. For 2 pies, you will need to make 2 batches of pastry dough (do not double the recipe).

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This is a delicate onion soup, a nice change from the heartier types which are so well known.

The key to this crisp, flaky pastry is to handle the dough as little as possible and to keep it cool.

This refreshing salad is delicious and ideal as a snack or light dessert in the heat of summer. This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Serve atop mashed potatoes or, for a nice twist, on a piece of toasted garlic bread.

Either pink or green gooseberries work well in this rendition of the traditional English dessert.

The following recipe uses whole chicken breasts with the "tenders" (fillet strips) still attached. Because some supermarkets remove the tenders and sell them separately, it is best to buy your chicken from a butcher. All is not lost, however, if you use chicken without the tenders ­ simply stuff the chicken breasts with basil and wrap with bacon as described below.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Michael McLaughlin, cookbook author, says "When I was much younger, the requisite Thanksgiving cranberry sauce always came out of a can and lay quivering on the plate, just waiting to be sliced and served. As I got older, I came to prefer the whole-berry-style sauce to the smooth. Then, once I began making my own cranberry sauces from scratch, I settled on a great-tasting compromise: This recipe features tangy bits of cranberry in a smooth jewel-toned mold."

Partnered with a green salad, these little sandwiches are terrific with the flavorful barley soup .

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Although this dressing is rich in flavor, it has a surprisingly light and silky texture, which keeps it from weighing down the fragile lettuce.