Pearl Onion

Zia Maria is a simple but delightful restaurant in Alghero, a popular tourist resort on a part of Sardinia's west coast known as the Coral Riviera. The dining room is very basic; a large fireplace and some antique cooking equipment are the only things to distract you from the traditional Sardinian menu. But that's a good thing, because once you start in on pickled artichokes and mushrooms, wild boar in sweet-and-sour broth, or ricotta ravioli with tomato sauce, you'll appreciate having few distractions. Each dish, like these tangy onions from the restaurant's selection of antipasti, is cooked and presented in straightforward fashion.

"I recently had lunch at Café Boulud here in New York," says Shelli Rafkin of New York, New York. "My entrée, blanquette de veau, had the most incredible sauce I've ever tasted. The whole dish, in fact, was sensational." In this variation on the classic stew, the veal and the vegetables are cooked separately and combined at the end, when they're topped with a rich white sauce.

Nice with duck, Cornish game hens or the Thanksgiving turkey.

Mary Risley, director of Tante Marie's cooking school, says, "I dreamed up this recipe years ago when I was trying to cook Thanksgiving dinner on a four-burner stove with only one oven. And I've found that this is really the only vegetable needed to go with the turkey and mashed potatoes. It has the creamed onions everyone wants, it has the corn the Pilgrims must have eaten, and it has the fresh vegetables my Northern California friends and family have come to expect."

This combination of slowly simmered carrots and onions is loaded with deep, full flavor that goes well with grilled meats.

(POULET AUX ARTICHAUTS)

Neither peas nor potatoes are indigenous to North America. Peas were introduced in the seventeenth century and flourished over time. While sweet potatoes were popular with the settlers, white potatoes took getting used to; they had to cross the Atlantic twice (from South America to Europe, then from Ireland to the colonies) before they were widely grown.

Colcannon (Mashed Potatoes with Kale ) and steamed asparagus tossed with lemon juice strike the right note alongside this braised beef dish. Rhubarb pie from the bakery is our choice for dessert.

Turnips stand in for the usual potatoes, giving this gratin a rich, hearty taste.

Creamy fresh cheese meets spinach in this Indian classic.

If you can't find fresh porcini mushrooms, buy whole frozen ones, defrost them in the fridge, and drain them on paper towels. Then roast them, uncovered, until tender and golden brown (and for about half the time as the fresh ones). As a last resort, other exotic fresh mushrooms mixed with reconstituted dried porcini would provide the body and flavor the dish needs. (Avoid dried porcini that are broken up.) Pair this dish with a few risotto cakes to make a main course.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Brined Pork Loin with Onion, Raisin, and Garlic Compote .

Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 2 3/4 hr