Bon Appétit

Accompany the curry with rice, broccoli and a variety of condiments like peanuts, chopped green onions, chutney, raisins and chopped bell pepper.

The mild spice paste is also great used as a base for chicken and shrimp curries.

Use leftover cooked chicken, or buy a cooked chicken at the market or a take-out place. Serve the salad with warm tortillas, or try the chicken mixture (without the lettuce) as a sandwich filling.

The fish cooks in a delicious sauce of onions, parsley, anchovies, garlic, tomatoes and white wine. A large crouton is served alongside to soak up all the good flavors. To round out the menu, offer roasted artichokes, and to finish, a seasonal fruit compote with warm sabayon.

A joint effort by Leigh McLean and Sweet Dreams Bakery in Memphis.

This rich-tasting and easy-to-make dessert can be prepared a day in advance for hassle-free entertaining.

This light soup makes a lovely first course.

This recipe can be increased to serve any number of hungry people as a main course or appetizer. Chopped olives, chopped red or green bell peppers and kidney beans are also good in this dish.

(BISCOTTI ALL'ARANCIO E MANDORLE) While all Italian cookies are referred to as biscotti, these are really "biscotti," which means they are baked twice. True biscotti are made in many different flavor combinations in many different parts of the country. These delicate ones come from the region of Lazio, where Rome is located. The secret to the cookies' lightness is not to use too much flour and to freeze the dough before forming it into logs.

This dish known, as pastitsatha, is one that evolved from Corfu to stretch scant supplies of meat. Consisting of chicken, turkey, beef or veal braised in tomato sauce fragrant with spices, it is served over thick tubular pasta from Corfu called "perciatellli" (if you can't find it, use spaghetti). Kefalotyri is a nutty tasting hard cheese similar to Parmesan. It is available at Greek markets.

Only 1 tablespoon of oil in the filling makes these a low-fat entrée, and using ready-made wrappers instead of crepes makes it an easy one. These freeze nicely.

You can also make these with swordfish, halibut or sea bass.

Be sure to start the brisket at least a day before you plan on serving it - although it can be made up to three days ahead.

Braised carrots, a cucumber salad, and some steamed new potatoes sprinkled with chopped fresh dill are good choices to accompany this Swedish-inspired dish. Holiday cookies and mugs of hot apple cider make a happy ending.