Bon Appétit

Bibb and Boston are both types of butter lettuce; you can use either in this recipe. What to drink: An Australian Sémillon, or a California Chardonnay or Chenin Blanc will stand up to the rich flavors in this meal.

Serve on a bed of lettuce with dill sprigs and sliced ripe tomatoes or pile onto whole wheat bread with crisp lettuce for a satisfying sandwich.

Fragrant lemongrass, chilies and a sweet and tangy sauce flavor this classic Thai appetizer.

Americans enjoyed most of the food at the scores of Italian restaurants that opened in the twenties, but they couldn't understand the appeal of spaghetti and tomato sauce: Where was the meat? To accommodate, the restaurants began to top the pasta with meatballs. This recipe takes the dish a step further by adding the Sicilian flavors of pine nuts and currants.

Here's a centerpiece dish that really lives up to the name. Uncork a Cabernet Sauvignon, red Bordeaux or red Super-Tuscan.

Horseradish, which is found on the traditional seder plate, is used here with terrific results.

To round out the menu, offer a tossed green salad and uncork a Chianti to go with this delicious pasta dish. Sharpen your chopping and mincing skills with our technique video.

This English-style steamed pudding is a bit lighter than the typical rendition — with no candied fruit — and it looks pretty surrounded with holly leaves.

Braised pork shoulder, spicy Italian sausage, and pancetta enrich the tomato sauce. Dried crushed red pepper kicks up the heat.

Set out black beans, rice, lettuce, salsa and hot flour tortillas to go with the chicken.

A thick puree of fresh peaches is added to the rich custard ice cream base. The ice cream can be made up to three days ahead.

"When I was a kid, corn was often served with the turkey dinner in our house," says Jim Fobel, cookbook author. "Even though corn season was over, my mom thought that it seemed appropriate for the meal. Here, I've used corn to make little pancakes. The good news is that they can be made a day ahead and then rewarmed in the oven just before serving."

At La Porteña, an Argentine restaurant in Jackson Heights, New York, spicy chorizo sausage is used to give this frittata-style omelet its heat. If you can't find chorizo, hot Italian sausage makes a nice substitute.

Reduced-fat cream cheese gives this dish a nice texture. Put out some sliced melon with grapes, and offer coffee and orange juice.

This can be used to lighten any casserole that calls for a white sauce.