Bon Appétit

For a sophisticated touch, crumbled goat cheese is sprinkled over the fennel and broiled until just beginning to brown.

Serve these atop rice, and offer cherry tomatoes tossed with ranch dressing on the side. Purchased peach tarts wrap it up.

Watch how to fillet fish and sharpen your slicing and chopping skills with our technique videos.

"My friend Lily Shapiro and I developed this recipe together," says Amy Lesen of Oakland, California. "It has been tested on many friends with great success; the blend of ingredients is just delicious." If you'd like to make your own pasta, our technique video will show you how.

Grilled bread and tomatoes give this salad wonderful toasty flavors, and the chipotle chili adds a touch of smoke.

"My daughter and son-in-law spend their summers on Stuart Island, one of the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington," says Ann Ayres of Santa Barbara, California. "On my way back from a visit, I planned to stop in Victoria, British Columbia. My daughter suggested that I try Paprika Bistro. The beet soup I ordered there was delicious."

The traditional French "Christmas log" is accompanied by meringue mushrooms; the ones here—formed out of marzipan (a paste made from almonds, sugar and egg whites)—are much easier to do. Look for marzipan at specialty foods stores and in the baking products section of supermarkets.

Adding fleur de sel at the end transforms this tart into a delicious cross between a cheese course and dessert.

A simple recipe for an impressive main course. Serve the lamb with the Saffron Couscous and baby carrots. Pour a Cabernet Sauvignon.

While apple pie has an all-American reputation, both the fruit and the dessert are of European origin. However, several centuries of apple cultivation and dessert baking have given us de facto ownership, and the pie has become a must on many Thanksgiving tables. Cheese was produced by many of the German dairies in and around Philadelphia. The pie has no bottom crust and is baked in an oval dish, so it resembles a cobbler.