Nut Free

To bake individual pies, use 6 10-ounce ramekins, and reduce cooking time to 20 to 30 minutes.

Garlic gives the dish a mellow flavor.

Moussaka may be assembled 1 day in advance and refrigerated; bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until the center is hot.

We serve this flavorful gravy over meatloaf and mashed potatoes, but it is equally good with other classic comfort foods, such as ham and biscuits.

If you can’t find precut chicken quarters, ask your butcher to quarter a 5-pound chicken and remove the backbone.

Add the giblets and neck to the pan with the turkey 1 1/2 hours after the oven temperature is reduced to 350°F in step 5 (recipe above).

We brined our turkey for 24 hours, so leave plenty of time for this recipe. If you don’t brine yours, skip steps 1 and 2. The USDA recommends cooking the turkey until the thickest part of the thigh registers 180°F. For a moister bird, we cooked ours to 165°F; it continues to cook outside the oven as it rests.

Leftover crème fraîche makes a delicious accompaniment to fruit desserts.

To tone down the sauce for little mouths, omit some of the chiles.

These can be made up to 1 day ahead or frozen up to 1 month ahead. Bring to room temperature before baking.

Serve this stewlike chicken dish over couscous or mashed potatoes, or with a crusty baguette to soak up the flavorful broth. We used Cerignola olives from southern Italy; they are large and firm enough to hold up to slow cooking methods like braising.