Thyme

Smoked salmon and horseradish cream atop toast points with flutes of sparkling brut rosé make a sophisticated starter for this dinner. The meaty short ribs smothered with a succulent sauce team up perfectly with the Crispy Garlic Risotto Cakes and a simple sauté of red bell peppers and zucchini. Pour a robust Zinfandel to go with it all. Begin preparing this recipe a day ahead. Follow with a warm apple tart and ice cream for dessert.

Corsica's finest dishes feature fresh seafood. Here's an uncomplicated and delicious example.

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

"Common crackers," good-keeping hard wheat flour crackers akin to ship's biscuits or hardtack, were found in early New England households and often made their way into poultry dressings. In this recipe, we add leeks and large quantities of the kinds of herbs cultivated in Colonial kitchen gardens.

A perfect partner to salad. Accompany with a platter of celery sticks and radishes with their tops attached.

Once the polenta is made (which, for convenience, can be done a day or two ahead of time) this dish is a snap to put together. Simply sauté the polenta pieces, grill the flank steak, place them on the plate, and spoon on the luscious roasted shallot vinaigrette and you have a quick and very satisfying plate of food. A mound of sautéed mushrooms, or for something lighter, asparagus or haricots verts, is a perfect accompaniment. Crispy potatoes are a splendid substitute for the polenta.

At Mirabelle, chef Reuge serves the paillards, in this case thin slices of strip steak, on a bed of red cabbage braised in red wine and garnishes the dish with fresh herbs.

Lane Crowther, Bon Appétit contributing editor, says, "When I was young, the potatoes on the holiday table were always mashed. Even today, my mother, who is still in charge of our Thanksgiving dinners, will rarely stray from tradition. Either there has to be a trade-off to get her to try something new, or—as in the case of this recipe—innovation simply comes as an addition to the menu, not a replacement. Well, with so many different kinds of potatoes available nowadays, I like to mix varieties for their contrasting flavors, textures and colors. This combination of red potatoes and Yukon Gold is an easy-to-make and great-tasting accompaniment to any meal."

When shopping for ham, be aware that smoked pork shoulder is available partially or fully cooked. This will affect the braising time (partially cooked takes about 1 hour longer). We found that blanching the ham before braising helps eliminate excessive saltiness in both the ham and the broth. Leaving the skin on the ham adds body to the resulting sauce.

A 3 1/2-pound chicken works well, too, in this dish from Syracuse.

This is exactly the kind of dish that conjures up visions of Greeks spit-roasting lamb on rocky hills above the sea, and basting it with branches of thyme dipped in olive oil. (Which is not a bad recipe itself, especially if you have the rocky hills and sea.)

In this recipe, the delicious taste of risotto is blended with the crispiness and convenience of griddlecakes. They can be reheated in a very hot oven at the last minute.

One of the pleasures of a dish like this is sopping up the wonderful sauce with crusty bread; make sure to have plenty on hand.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 20 min