Onion

Toasted sesame seeds and sautéed green onions add zip to these moist muffins. Serve them on their own or with butter and honey.

Smoked salmon and horseradish cream atop toast points with flutes of sparkling brut rosé make a sophisticated starter for this dinner. The meaty short ribs smothered with a succulent sauce team up perfectly with the Crispy Garlic Risotto Cakes and a simple sauté of red bell peppers and zucchini. Pour a robust Zinfandel to go with it all. Begin preparing this recipe a day ahead. Follow with a warm apple tart and ice cream for dessert.

Chef Beverly Gannon accompanies the bread with this salsa, plus a garlic-ginger yogurt dipping sauce and a tomato-mint sauce.

With steamed asparagus and some rice or mashed potatoes, this easy dish is elegant enough for company.

A jicama, watercress and red onion salad and warm corn tortillas would be terrific with this meatless entrée. Scoop lemon sherbet into cantaloupe halves for dessert. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Greeks have been wrapping food since antiquity, most typically using grape leaves. In early May, Greek country women go to the vineyard to collect their year's supply of leaves. The most famous dish made with them is dolmades, or stuffed grape leaves, a standard appetizer (meze). In this version, they have a simple rice filling.

This is great over steamed rice.

A savory onion-cheese spread turns ordinary packaged biscuit dough into inspired mini appetizer "pizzas."

A mixture of cottage cheese, lowfat yogurt and lemon juice replaces the sour cream in the traditional version of this dish. Ground turkey makes an especially good choice for those watching their cholesterol intake.

Serve this stew over rice or on its own as a soup. Either way, sprinkle lettuce with rice vinegar and oriental sesame oil for a light salad. Sliced blood oranges and holiday cookies will do nicely afterward.

A flavorful accompaniment for roast pork, chicken, burgers, or grilled shrimp.

On a weekday, accompany this main course with breadsticks and marinated vegetables from the deli. Wrap up with grapes and cookies. For a festive occasion, start with an antipasto of olives and roasted vegetables, then serve an arugula, radicchio and toasted walnut salad dressed with lemon vinaigrette. Finish with an Italian fruit crostata.