Keto

Try tucking this simple make-ahead salad into pita bread halves and adding some ruffly-edged lettuce for color.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A light and flavorful way to cook fish.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

(Chile Verde Con Carne or "Caldillo")

Serve this hearty stew over noodles. Market Tip: It's best to buy pork shoulder from the Boston butt: This less-tender but well-marbled cut produces succulent results when braised.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

As all southerners know, eating Hoppin' John—black-eyed peas and rice—on New Year's Day ensures good luck. But it is the collards, traditionally eaten alongside, that bring good fortune! An added bonus to cooking up a mess o' greens is the resultant pot liquor—the delicious, nutritious broth left in the bottom of the cooking pot or serving dish. It is usually served as an accompaniment to that last piece of corn bread.

Carne Adovada At Maria's New Mexican Kitchen, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, this stew is used to fill enchiladas and burritos, but it also makes a very satisfying meal served alone or over rice.

These mussels, flavored with garlic-herb butter and baked instead of steamed, beg for some crusty bread to sop up the wonderful sauce. Try them over pasta, too. Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 35 min

"I have a 'stragglers Thanksgiving' — that's what I call it — at my house every year," writes Frances Teasley of North Hollywood, California. "I know a lot of people who, like me, don't have any family nearby. Thirteen years ago I started inviting a few people for dinner. And that small holiday gathering has become a big tradition among my friends. For weekday meals, I look for shortcuts and do-aheads. But for holiday meals, I like to do everything the same day because I love the smell of cooking that fills the house." An impressive holiday entrée.

Wonderful as a side dish with grilled sea bass, halibut, or marinated, skewered shrimp.

Salsa di Pomodoro d'Emilia Emilia would add a sprig of basil or rosemary or a glass of red wine along with the tomatoes, according to her mood. The sauce always turned out a bit differently, yet it was always delicious.

Ravigote sauce is piquant vinaigrette that typically contains onions, capers, and herbs. The hard-boiled egg in this rendition gives the sauce body. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

Prosciutto is more familiar in this type of appetizer, but bresaola, beef fillet cured in a similar fashion, gives it a fresh interpretation. When paired with golden Spanish Manchego, the combination is deliciously bold in flavor.