Gratin

Sprinkling this creamy custard with powdered sugar and then placing the dessert under the broiler gives it a delicate crust. Serve with crisp gingersnap cookies.

A delicious and much lighter version of a favorite dish. Serve this gratin with roast chicken, pork, or beef.

(Sliced Potato Cake)

There's horseradish in the cream sauce and, for good measure, some more in the buttery crumb crust.

Active time: 35 min Start to finish: 45 min

"I spend as much time as I can cooking," writes Brigette Lyons of Allendale, New Jersey, "and I'm equally comfortable feeding two or two hundred. I thoroughly enjoy giving sit-down meals, including an annual Christmas luncheon I do for about twenty guests. I just like to cook, period. Cooking for two hundred may be different from making weeknight dinners for myself and my husband, John, but organization is the key to both. I try to keep things on hand that are simple and easy to prepare." These rich and creamy mashed potatoes (thanks to sour cream and cream cheese) can be prepared ahead of time.

Even lean, mean depression-era macaroni and cheese was comforting, a tribute to the twin powers of carbohydrates and melted cheese, which are just as irresistible now as they were then. Some fans love the crunchy crust while others crave the creamy center. This lush and ultra-tangy millennium mac and cheese aims to please adherents of both schools of thought.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

Use fresh button mushrooms if wild mushrooms are hard to get; you will still have delicious results. Yukon Gold potatoes have a pale yellow color and a buttery taste that adds to the richness of this dish.

Herbed rice and sautéed cherry tomatoes are suitable accompaniments for the delicate main course.

If you're preparing this dish as a part of your Thanksgiving meal, put this gratin in the oven once the turkey comes out.

Bruce Aidells, founder of Aidell's Sausage Company, says, "I first discovered that fennel was a delicious vegetable while enjoying Christmas Eve dinner at the home of a dear friend of mine, the late cooking teacher Loni Kuhn. At her own family's holiday meals, a gratin of fennel, potatoes and cheese was a much appreciated standard. The mild anise flavor of cooked fennel goes particularly well with roast turkey or roast pork, and it has been a regular at my family's holiday table for more than twenty years."

A crunchy, savory crumb topping makes broccoli irresistible — really!

This was inspired by a dish created by Alex Padilla, sous chef at Boulevard, the San Francisco restaurant owned by Aidells's wife.