Sauce

This clever caramel sauce is made from coconut milk instead of the usual condensed milk. SERVING SUGGESTION: Over vanilla ice cream sprinkled with toasted coconut.

This intense base is the secret to the full-bodied richness of the stew. Roasting emphasizes the vegetables' best qualities, and they're simmered with red wine and plenty of herbs and aromatics.

Ruby Port makes for a cranberry sauce that's all grown-up—and its robust flavors, paired with a bit of tangy citrus, complement all the other foods on the plate.

Kumquats and cranberries turn out to be a perfect match, since their flavors are similar in intensity: The former contributes a pleasant citrusy bitterness to the latter's signature tartness.

Use this classic Mexican mole sauce to marinate the Mole-Roasted Turkey with Masa Stuffing and Chile Gravy . You'll be left with plenty of extra, which can be served alongside the turkey or frozen for later use. (Try it on turkey sandwiches, roasted chicken, or as a sauce for turkey or chicken tamales.)

Rouille is a Provençal sauce that's traditionally made with peppers and served with fish. Here, it's the spread for an easy, flavorful appetizer.

Dried and fresh cranberries are simmered in Port for a not-too-sweet, grown-up take on the classic.

Like tsatsiki, but with cilantro standing in for the mint, this tangy sauce packs a sneaky cayenne kick and makes an ideal accompaniment to grilled shrimp as well as the rice pilaf and the chicken kebabs.

This can be tossed with a pound of pasta (serve warm or chilled), used as a topping for grilled chicken, or spread onto toasted slices of baguette or focaccia.

A sweet substitute for traditional steak sauce. Try it on a rib eye, use it to marinate flank steak, or mix it into ground beef for burgers.

For the best flavor, use very ripe tomatoes and don't refrigerate the sauce. Toss it with pasta, spoon it onto baguette slices, or use it as a topping for grilled chicken, seafood, or tri-tip.

This classic "green sauce" (not related to the Mexican tomatillo salsa of the same name) can be used as a dip for crudités, grilled shrimp, or focaccia; or spooned over grilled fish, chicken, or lamb.

All-American hot fudge gets a jolt of flavor from ground coffee beans.