Horseradish

Serve this appealing hors d'oeurve with cut-up fresh vegetables and breadsticks.

At The Painted Table in Seattle, Washinton, the fish comes with just the beet broth, but the beets themselves are delicious, too.

A seafood spread such as this one—especially when paired with crisp benne-seed (sesame-seed) wafers—has long been a popular cocktail nibble in South Carolina's Low Country.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Makes use of the microwave oven.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Active time: 35 min Start to finish: 45 min

Mashed potatoes are always a crowd-pleaser at holiday meals. But if you want to mix things up a bit this year, try one of our delicious variations, below.

You can grill any cooked sausage you like for this sandwich, but we recommend kielbasa or kosher salami (not dried beef). Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 30 min

Serve with: French fries or potato chips, and steamed broccoli.

For this recipe you will need three mini-muffin pans, each containing twelve 1 3/4-by-1 inch cups.

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 4 hr