Side

These delicious vegetables can be served at room temperature or hot from the oven.

Couscous is easy to cook—just add it to boiling water, remove it from the heat, and let it stand for a few minutes until the water is absorbed. The addition of cinnamon, lemon peel, garbanzo beans and golden raisins gives this side dish a Mediterranean flair.

In this recipe from Rick Tramonto, chef at Tru in Chicago, chewy pearl barley meets silky European butter in an outstanding alternative to arborio rice risotto. For best results, use Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Thakkali Rasam We liked this soup on its own, but in India it is frequently served over rice and topped with a spoonful of warm ghee.

The porcini mushroom soaking liquid moistens this stuffing from Rochelle Palermo Torres.

If preparing this corn bread for the New England Sausage Stuffing , make it one day ahead.

"Never have I tried a homemade bread as light and delicious as the honey-oat loaf at The Green Mountain Inn in Stowe, Vermont," writes Rebecca Rothaug of Westbury, New York. "With your help, I would like to share this bread with my family and friends." Serve slices of this tender, slightly sweet bread with plenty of butter and honey.

"Ever since I tried the polenta with mushrooms at Vinci in Chicago, I've made a point of stopping there when I'm in town," says Colby L. Crabtree of Lexington, Kentucky. "The dish is so popular that the management counts the orders. Every time they hit ten thousand, the guest who requested it gets a free trip to Italy. I’d be happy just to 'win' the recipe."

Serve these beans with bread to sop up the juices.

Carol Gilbert of Saratoga, California, writes: "I've been many things in my life — including a teacher and a stay-at-home mom — but now, at 63, I am a one-person technical documentation department for a start-up company. The hours are not nine to five, so I can't put vast amounts of time into cooking these days, but I have never lost my love for it. Nevertheless, I cook about five nights a week for myself and my husband, David. Despite the long days, I want to have a home-cooked meal in the evening. So, I'm organized: I draw up a weekly menu plan, make a shopping list, and take one trip to the market. I could not survive without my plan!" You can substitute Boston or butter lettuce if Bibb isn't available. Save even more prep time by using packaged candied walnuts or other nuts that are now widely available and are often displayed in the produce or snack aisles of the supermarket.

Swiss Chard a l'Italienne Swiss chard is a rare gift of winter, and this is my favorite way to eat it. You can use this as a base and add tomato sauce, cheese, or hot peppers.

A spicy spin on the classic side dish. Any leftovers make an excellent omelet filling when paired with turkey and Monterey Jack cheese.

Butternut is one of my favorite squashes. We often bake a small butternut squash (about 1 pound) at home; we split it lengthwise, seed it, score the flesh with a knife, sprinkle on a little salt, and bake, skin side down, for 1 hour in a 400-degree oven. Excellent in soup and pureed, butternut squash is always welcome at our table. This gratin is quite rich and should be reserved for special occasions, like Thanksgiving.

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 3 hr The walnuts in this recipe aren't crucial to its success — some of us like these buns with nuts, others prefer them without. So the choice is yours.