Roast

This elegant dish would make a lovely entrée for a special-occasion dinner.

The combination of dried porcini and fresh crimini mushrooms gives this dish an intensely earthy flavor.

Torquato Innocenti, who sells his just-harvested, still-prickly zucchini — with flowers attached, a sure sign of freshness — offered me simple advice for the vegetable. Roast them whole in a "puddle" of oil and serve with basil. I bought a bag of his smallest (cigar-size) zucchini, pan-roasted them until browned sprinkled them with chopped basil — and loved the results. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Sephardic Jews from Turkey, Greece, Morocco, and other countries of the Mediterranean region say seven special blessings over seven different symbolic foods at their Rosh Hashanah dinner. Five of these blessings are over vegetables — apples (candied or dipped in sugar or honey), leeks, beet greens or spinach, dates, and zucchini or squash. These blessings symbolize their hopes for the New Year. Many of these Jews trace their ancestors back to Spain, which is called Sepharad in the Bible. Over the centuries, the Sephardic Jews took advantage of the abundance of vegetables available in the Mediterranean countries, often throughout the year. Among these vegetables are sweet potatoes and squash, great favorites of my family. The special blessing you can say over your sweet potatoes and squash at the beginning of your Rosh Hashanah dinner goes like this: Yehi ratzon mi-le-faneha Adonai Eloheinu ve-lo-hei avoteinu she-tik-rah ro-a gezar dinenu ve-yi-karehu lefa-neha za-hee-yo-teinu. May it be thy will, Lord our God and God of our fathers, that you should tear up any evil decree and let only our merits be read before You.

Look for wild salmon fillets. You can ask the fishmonger to remove the pinbones, or remove them at home with tweezers. Serve with: Alsatian Riesling • sautéed sugar snap peas • rice pilaf with watercress and green onions • white chocolate crème brûlée

The <epi:recipelink id="102741">sautéed mushrooms epi:recipelinkawould make a great side dish for this fish, along with steamed green beans or broccoli.</epi:recipelinka></epi:recipelink>

<p>This recipe originally accompanied <epi:recipeLink id"100941">Roasted Pousins with Cumin and Lemon</epi:recipeLink>.</p> <p>You can roast these potatoes along with the poussins. Simply put them into the upper third of the oven about 10 minutes before the birds go in. Then move the potatoes to the lower third of the oven so that the birds can fit in the upper third, and roast them about 45 minutes more.</p>

Garnish the turkey with bunches of fresh thyme, sage and parsley.

Although labeled fully cooked, the ham will still need a gentle baking for maximum tenderness and flavor. Be sure the Cranberry Mustard and the Whole Wheat Date Rolls are close at hand and that the ham is sliced thin for those who would like to make small sandwiches.

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 50 min

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 25 min

For this recipe, use a fully cooked bone-in ham that has the natural shape of the leg, and has some fat and rind still attached. Do not substitute a “re-formed” oval canned ham or a deli ham. Serve a malty ale or French Gew‼rztraminer with the ham, and offer the Strawberry Basket Cake for dessert.

(Pollo Arrosto All'Arancia, Limone, e Zenzero) Ginger arrived in Italy with Arabic traders or North African Jewish immigrants, so it's likely that this is a Sicilian or Livornese recipe. Most Italians would use ground ginger, but since fresh ginger is so plentiful at our markets, why not use it?

Roasted radishes for the win.

Dressed in a spiced yogurt, with ginger and garlic, then roasted until caramelized and tender.

A flurry of fresh tarragon makes this speedy weeknight dish of seared cod and luscious, sun-colored pan sauce feel restaurant worthy.

Roasted squash loses its bland reputation and turns glossy and fragrant thanks to a gingery miso-glaze and a quick scallion oil.