Gourmet

A few fresh vegetables and a leftover turkey is all you'll need to create this phenomenal soup — perfect for cold nights and holiday nostalgia.

This is best done on a large gas grill fitted with a thermometer — it's more labor-intensive to keep a charcoal grill at a constant high heat. You'll need a disposable roasting pan large enough to fit the turkey on a V-rack.

We used strongly flavored wild greens because a mild salad would get lost with the rest of the menu. The dressing is a simple and classic vinaigrette.

Grillades The grillades served with Baked Cheese Grits make for perfect comfort food — breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

This jam has all the kid-friendly sweetness you remember, but with lovely floral notes and a thick consistency that come from using Concords at their peak.

Duck breast is a sadly underrated meat. Served rare to medium-rare and sliced on the diagonal, it has the mineral tang of beef. This southwestern version, with its slightly spicy sauce, elicits every ounce of flavor from the bird. And it's so easy!

Nobody is indifferent to sea urchin roe: You either love it or hate it. Personally, its rich and sexy taste is my favorite flavor on earth. Until I tried the extraordinary mousse invented by Jean-Georges Vongerichten, I preferred it raw. Now I know better. The best sea urchin roe comes from southern California, and is sold in little wooden trays at Japanese markets. It is extremely fragile. It's important to use very fresh roe with a clean, ripe, rather fruity scent.

This recipe isn't easy, but if you're looking for the wow factor, here it is. Coming at the end of the meal, the dish reprises the flavor of the stuffed dates because each bite packs enormous punch as the sweet, savory, and acidic flavors come rushing forward.

Missy Johnson of Fairway, Kansas, writes: "My husband and i had a wonderful spiced banana ice cream at bluestem, in Kansas City, Missouri. Do you think the pastry chef would share the recipe?"

This dish, typical of West Africa, is traditionally accompanied by foo-foo (a porridgelike side dish made from corn, sweet potato, plantain, or cassava meal). We strongly recommend serving the stew with rice to sop up the delicious sauce.

Green wheat was originally the Middle East's answer to a dwindling winter wheat supply; immature wheat was set ablaze to roast it and ready it for eating.