Shallot

The slightly sweet sautéed shallots add a twist to the classic Swiss cheese fondue. In addition to the bread, boiled red-skinned baby potatoes cut in half make great dippers.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 45 min

Light, refreshing and perfect for summer. Use the vinaigrette on any mixed green salad; it's especially good with butter lettuce, orange segments and sliced red onion.

Truffle oil adds earthy nuances to this summer soup, but don't worry if you don't have any on hand: The soup will still be good without it. Open a nice bottle of Champagne to go with the meal.

The savory butter is also good on potatoes, rice, pasta or bread.

A flavorful turkey prepared in an interesting way. It is soaked in brine, which helps tenderize the bird, and then rubbed with a citrus-thyme butter. The butter keeps the turkey moist and also enriches the pan drippings for the gravy. The stuffing borrows from the long tradition of corn breads in America. Be sure to make the Giblet Broth before you start roasting the turkey. Pour hard cider throughout dinner. Watch how to prepare and carve your bird with our streaming video demonstration.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. All over Southeast Asia, yellow is associated with gods, royalty and feasts, and any celebration is likely to have a large dish of yellow rice like this at the center of the table.

Offer with your favorite tossed green salad and some crusty bread.

"I've been cooking since I was twelve, and my husband, Bruce, picked it up during a 'Mr. Mom' phase after our second daughter was born," writes Renee Davis of Cadiz, Ohio. "Although we've since returned to more traditional roles—I usually cook on the weeknights, and he grills on the weekend—we also have a great time coming up with recipes together. Bruce devised this spicy garlic butter to keep lobster tails moist as they cook on the grill." When you want to splurge, this is a sensational and simple dish with assertive garlic and hot (but not too hot) chili flavors.

Green beans go upscale in this fresh take on a favorite Thanksgiving dish.

Stitt likes to use rock salt — the kind used for old-fashioned ice cream churners — as a bed for these oysters because it keeps the shells from tipping and sliding around in the pan and on the plates. Rock salt is sold at many supermarkets, but kosher salt is a good substitute. At the restaurant, Stitt makes this recipe with local Apalachicola oysters, though he also likes the flavor of East Coast varieties such as Blue Point, Pemaquid, and Malpeque, so feel free to use your favorite.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The 1766 Tavern at Beekman Arms teams this delicious steak with grilled onion rings.

This is one of my mother's recipes and call me biased, but it's the best around. This is a vegetarian black bean soup, and one of the keys to its success is the quality of the olive oil: use the very best you can find. You can make the soup a day in advance and it will taste even better the next day. This is a no-fail recipe that I know you're going to enjoy.