Polenta

"The crisp little pieces of turkey skin called 'cracklings' were another annual Thanksgiving treat of mine. They reminded me of bacon, and I could never get enough. My buttermilk corn bread—which is sweet and savory, moist inside and crunchy outside—puts some real bacon into the feast." Start preparing this one day ahead.

"We lived in New York for several months, long enough to learn to love the creamy polenta at Union Square Cafe," says Ross and Karen Martin of Pasadena, California. "If you can't get their recipe, we might need to fly across the country to have the dish again." This polenta gets its richness from being cooked in a milk-cream mixture instead of the usual water or broth.

Raw sugar can be found in the baking aisle.

Peperonata is a mixture of bell peppers, tomatoes and onion used in Italian cooking. Chef Joseph Simone of Tosca in Hingham, Massachusetts, suggests serving this quick adaptation of one of his meatless main dishes with a salad of baby greens, sliced fresh fennel and crumbled goat cheese in a simple vinaigrette. For dessert, have baked apples with cinnamon and vanilla ice cream. This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Serve roasted bell peppers and olives before this hearty entrée. Spoon sliced and sugared strawberries over ricotta cheesecake to complete the meal.

This easy side dish pairs perfectly with our Pork Chops with Coriander-Cumin Spice Rub .

Little polenta "tarts" are filled with tomatoes, pine nuts, and blue cheese, then popped into the oven until the cheese melts.

A beautiful, colorful and delicious appetizer. Open a bottle of Sangiovese with dinner.

This soft polenta is good topped with parmesan and fresh thyme and rosemary.

Begin this dish early in the day to allow the polenta to set.

Cornmeal may be either fine- or coarse-grained. Both work well in the following recipe; we used a fine-grained variety found in most supermarkets.

Although traditional Italian polenta is simmered for nearly an hour, resulting in a very creamy consistency, for the following recipe we preferred the more rustic texture of this quickly cooked version.

These can be served with the Veal, Mushroom and Red Wine Sauce or as a side dish for grilled meats.

This recipe originally accompanied Rib-Eye Steaks with Roasted Red Peppers a Balsamic Vinegar .

Once the polenta is made (which, for convenience, can be done a day or two ahead of time) this dish is a snap to put together. Simply sauté the polenta pieces, grill the flank steak, place them on the plate, and spoon on the luscious roasted shallot vinaigrette and you have a quick and very satisfying plate of food. A mound of sautéed mushrooms, or for something lighter, asparagus or haricots verts, is a perfect accompaniment. Crispy potatoes are a splendid substitute for the polenta.

Karla Medina of League City, Texas, writes: "At a food festival in downtown Houston, I had a sampler plate from Carmelo's Italian Restaurant. The eggplant Parmesan and spicy meatballs were very good, but the polenta was out of this world. I'd love to know how they prepared it."