American

Braising the cabbage in cider gives it a light but distinct apple flavor.

If you prefer, use honeydew melon for an equally good salsa. Offer buttered new potatoes and sautéed spinach with the fish. Afterward, serve slices of pound cake with rum-soaked raisins and store-bought caramel sauce. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The coconut in this recipe gives a chewiness to these thin cookies.

A sinfully rich dessert that's amazingly easy to prepare.

Thanks to the native Wampanoags, the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620 were quickly introduced to such important New World foods as cranberries and corn. The newcomers returned the favor by planting apples, which flourished and were soon available in many American varieties. This wonderful holiday pie, with its cornmeal crust and mixed-fruit filling, celebrates that early culinary sharing. It's a delicious combination of some of our most traditional American flavors.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Along with corn on the cob, serve some deli macaroni salad gussied up with chopped carrots and green bell peppers. Also have lettuce, sliced tomatoes and other condiments to pile onto the burgers. Strawberry shortcake is just right for dessert.

Sweet potatoes have been cultivated in the South since at least the 1700s. A touch of cardamom gives this dish modern flair.

Spritz cookies-from the German Spritzen, meaning "to squirt"- are formed into fanciful shapes when the dough is piped through a cookie press. One food editor still uses her aunt Carol's old metal spritzer to make these delicate cookie.

Here is a delicious interpretation of a campfire classic.

From the Snake River Grill in Jackson, Wyoming.

Excellent with crackers, on crusty country bread or served as a dip with crudités.

Cardamom and nutmeg are lovely notes of spice in these super sundaes. Caramel ice cream would be good here, too.

Similar to the Latin posole, this stew would be terrific with yellow rice (there are several supermarket choices) and an avocado, grapefruit and red onion salad. Cinnamon-spiced brownies make a good dessert.

Oyster-roast masters like Louis Osteen, who have been doing this for years, use huge pits or grills that are large enough to cook sausages, oysters, and clams all at the same time. We recommend using whatever type of oyster is locally available to you. Examine them carefully—discard any that smell bad. If any are cracked or open, and don't close when tapped, discard those as well. When roasting oysters, it's important to keep them moist enough to create steam (hence the soaked burlap or water in the roasting pan). If roasted dry, they can explode. To make this menu simpler, you could skip making the clams; there will still be plenty of food for everyone.