Food Processor

This recipe comes from Chef Barry Maiden, of Hungry Mother Restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It's wonderful with any pie filling, but do try it with his scrumptious Hungry Mother Spicy Peanut Pie. His piecrust uses a combination of butter and shortening. The butter delivers flavor, while shortening provides a flaky texture. The soft texture of this dough makes it best for single-crust pies.

The technique: Streusel—a crumbly mixture of flour, butter, sugar, and spices—often shows up on coffee cakes. The sweet, crunchy stuff also makes a great pie-topper.
The payoff: You have to roll out only one pie crust instead of two, and the streusel adds texture and flavor.

The technique: Simply roll out the dough, mound the pear filling in the center, and fold the edges of the dough up and over the edge of the filling, creating free-form "sides" to hold in the fruit.
The payoff: No pressure, no crust anxiety. Just loosely shape the dough for a rustic and beautiful Thanksgiving dessert. Using unpeeled pears in this dessert saves time—and adds texture.

The technique: Sautéing is just cooking something quickly in a small amount of oil on the stovetop.
The payoff: The dish comes together quickly and the vegetables retain their texture.

The technique: To show off the tangy freshness of cranberries, don't cook them at all. The payoff: Chopping the berries in the processor gives them a coarse texture, which is great alongside the turkey and the trimmings. Plus, the recipe comes together in 20 minutes.

To make fresh whole wheat breadcrumbs, cut off the crust from country-style bread. Tear the bread into two-inch pieces and grind in the food processor until the breadcrumbs resemble very coarse sand.

In Morocco every meal is a special occasion, and almond-paste sweets are always part of the menu. M'hanncha (snake) is made from rolled phyllo pastry coiled to look like a serpent. The orange-flower water and cinnamon flavorings are very North African, revealing the Persian influences in the region.

Vitaly Paley, Paley's Place, Portland, Oregon
Barb Foulke, Freddy Guys Hazelnuts, Monmouth, Oregon (hazelnuts) Nyora peppers are authentic to making true Catalan romesco sauce. If they're not available, substitute additional large red peppers such as dried ancho chiles. Barb and Vitaly love the idea of using hazelnuts instead of almonds, which are more common in this sauce. Use spot prawn instead of extra-large shrimp when available at your local fish market.

The delicious breadcrumb crust was probably created when white flour wasn't readily available in Friuli.

These buttery cookies would be fantastic with a cup of tea.

Because the veal shanks are so impressive, Lidia likes to bring the veal (still on the bone) to the table for guests to admire. She then takes the meat back into the kitchen, carves it, and serves it family-style.

The combination of shrimp and root veggies is unexpected—and fantastic. For a vegetarian main, skip the shrimp.

The shredding disc on the food processor makes quick work of grating the beets and carrots. For a pretty presentation, spoon the salad onto a bed of beet greens, spinach, or arugula. Serve with burgers or fish.

In this delicious dessert, tender spice cake is layered with maple-sugar frosting, candied pecans, and a salty-sweet caramel sauce

To serve cleanly cut cheesecake bars, dip a sharp knife into a tall glass of hot water. Wipe the knife dry with a thick kitchen towel, then cut the bars in the pan. Repeat dipping the knife and wiping it every few cuts. (This works for slicing cheesecake, too.)