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I hated this salad when I was growing up: It was pink, had too many ingredients in it, and my very Southern family loved it — three good reasons to abstain. During Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, my mother would always go back for seconds, chiming, "You don't know what you're missing." But I knew, all right — an unappealing mishmash of canned fruit and mayonnaise. No thanks. However, as I've grown older my family's "Southern classics" don't embarrass me as much. I've actually eaten this salad many times as an adult, and though I'm not saying it's my favorite, sometimes I need seconds to be sure.

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

Asparagus Soup with Saffron

This recipe doubles or triples easily.

This dessert, from The Cascades Restaurant, is made with a cookie crust and a brownie filling. The chef serves it with whipped cream, passion fruit sauce and raspberry sauce.

Start preparing this elegant layered treat at least one day before you plan to serve it.

On a weekday, accompany this main course with breadsticks and marinated vegetables from the deli. Wrap up with grapes and cookies. For a festive occasion, start with an antipasto of olives and roasted vegetables, then serve an arugula, radicchio and toasted walnut salad dressed with lemon vinaigrette. Finish with an Italian fruit crostata.

Eggs provide the leavening in this spiced cake, and melted butter keeps it tender.

The cake has an appealing, somewhat coarse texture; drizzled with a honey-lemon syrup, the dessert is reminiscent of baklava. Both matzo meal and the more finely ground matzo cake meal are used here.

The star of this dish is skordalia, a garlicky dip that is the Greek version of aioli.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.