Bon Appétit

"I recently had lunch at Café Boulud here in New York," says Shelli Rafkin of New York, New York. "My entrée, blanquette de veau, had the most incredible sauce I've ever tasted. The whole dish, in fact, was sensational." In this variation on the classic stew, the veal and the vegetables are cooked separately and combined at the end, when they're topped with a rich white sauce.

Steaks at Tequila restaurant are offered with sautéed chard and roasted red potatoes.

Even the ranch dressing gets a Cajun kick in this lively main-course salad.

Brandy, apples and cream add a taste of France's Normandy region to this entrée.

"We lived in New York for several months, long enough to learn to love the creamy polenta at Union Square Cafe," says Ross and Karen Martin of Pasadena, California. "If you can't get their recipe, we might need to fly across the country to have the dish again." This polenta gets its richness from being cooked in a milk-cream mixture instead of the usual water or broth.

Here's a rich, creamy classic with a tropical twist. Begin preparing it a day ahead.

For this treat, mashed potatoes — the quintessential comfort food — are combined with lobster, everyone's favorite celebration seafood. Leftover sprigs of fresh tarragon make a nice garnish for the entrée plates.

Dark rum moistens the cake layers and adds another festive flavor to this beautiful and delicious holiday dessert. The cake can be made and chilled two days ahead.

Here is an Asian twist on stuffed mushrooms. Chinese plum sauce and sesame oil make the satisfying, intensely flavored glaze. Small portobellos can be substituted for the shiitakes, if you like.

Bacon drippings add extra flavor to the dressing. Crumble some Gorgonzola cheese over the finished salad for even more punch. Serve with: Tomato soup with a dash of Tabasco and corn bread squares. Dessert: Brownies topped with coffee ice cream.

A decadent, impressive dessert that appeals to everyone's inner Boy Scout or Girl Scout. Begin preparing this a day ahead.

This cookie launched a thousand memories—and a literary masterpiece—for Marcel Proust. The group enjoys madeleines with tea, just as the narrator did in Swann's Way.

Susan Murphy of Kansas City, Missouri, writes: "My daughter and I love to spruce up boxed cake mixes with spices, nuts, or fruit. One afternoon we decided to experiment with banana muffin mix instead. We made a very moist cake, filled it with fresh banana slices, then topped it with creamy homemade frosting. It's one of our favorite creations to date."

Toasted onion bagels are great with this.

"My husband, Greg, and I cook together a lot," writes Sara Hainsworth of Frederick, Maryland, "which is fun and makes weeknight dinners and cooking for friends easier to manage now that we're starting our own family. I worked before our son, William, was born, but as my husband says, William is my boss now. So I count on quick, dependably good dishes like this more than ever." Sara says that this soup tastes even better the next day (which makes it an ideal party dish). But we thought it was delicious the same day, too.

"A few weeks before my best friend’s wedding in San Francisco, I flew into town for her bridal shower," writes Constance Stevenson of Portland, Oregon. "The luncheon was catered by Thymes Two Catering. For dessert, they served an elegant blueberry and lemon layer cake with a tangy lemon frosting."