Sweet Potato

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Purchase a roasted turkey leg or whole chicken at your market. This is also a great use for leftover turkey.

A well-sharpened French mandoline with a fluted blade is the secret to these paper-thin potato wafers with a waffle design. Active time: 55 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

Chef Jean-Charles Bredas has this entrée on the menu at Habitation Lagrange in Martinique. Have the butcher cut the lamb neck bones for you.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The potatoes and yams are perked up with fresh ginger and with lemons.

This is a sophisticated first course. The soup is also nice without the lobster. Uncork a Chardonnay or a French Sancerre.

Aromatic spice and herb blends can quickly turn an ordinary soup recipe into something extraordinary. Here they transform a basic carrot soup into a special concoction you'll crave again and again. So start utilizing the "cook once, eat twice" theory; just freeze half of the recipe or make a double batch whenever possible.

This recipe was created to accompany Herb-coated Lamb with Port-Red Wine Sauce .

The lull between the main course and dessert is the best time to top the sweet potato pie with meringue and brown it. Cooks tempted to do this several hours ahead should be aware that the meringue will most likely weep.

The following tsimmes with beets, turnips, carrots, and meat came from Vilna to Brooklyn earlier in this century. When I make this for my family I do not tell the children that it includes beets and turnips. For some unknown reason they never ask me how the dish became so red. They love it.

It's believed that this stew — called mafé or maafe — originated among the Bambara people of Mali. Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 2 1/4 hr

Janet Fletcher, food writer, says, "Sure, I loved sweet potatoes with marshmallows when I was a child, but some tastes you leave behind. Now I prefer a more grown-up preparation, with an intriguing hint of Sherry."

An obvious friend to bacon and eggs, these lacy cakes are also good with almost any roasted meat or bird. The sweet-salty flavor and crispy texture are irresistible and appeal to those not usually fond of sweet potatoes.

These delicious vegetables can be served at room temperature or hot from the oven.