Leek

The porcini mushroom soaking liquid moistens this stuffing from Rochelle Palermo Torres.

Lobster stew is a very traditional dish made with lobster, milk, butter, salt, and pepper. You will find this in many restaurants in Maine, the best being the ones with the most lobster. I have embellished on the original dish but have left intact the strong and rich lobster flavor. When Craig Claiborne asked me to put together a New England Thanksgiving dinner, this was the soup I served. It is also great as a hearty main course soup.

The Mediterranean fish soup bourride is something like a bouillabaisse but has a consistency more like stew. Instead of putting the aïoli directly into the soup, as is traditional, Adams likes to dollop it onto toasts.

The lamb in this recipe is blanched to make a light-colored stew. Active time: 1 1/4 hr Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr

If an herbes de Provence blend isn't available, use a combination of dried thyme, basil, savory, and fennel seeds. Dried porcini can be found at Italian markets, specialty foods stores, and many supermarkets.

To make this a vegetarian chili, use an additional eight ounces of lentils instead of the pound of ground beef.

You can use frozen baby lima beans (with the same delicious result) instead of the fresh favas, which are harder to find.

Also delicious served atop steak.

This filling is definitely not peas and hard carrots and tough chunks of chicken. Instead, there are sun-dried tomatoes and shiitake mushrooms with flavorful pieces of thyme-seasoned chicken. And best of all, the individual pies can be assembled a day ahead, leaving only the baking to be done before sharing them with the family.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Regular button mushrooms are a nice substitute for the portobellos in this side dish.

Leeks and sour cream combine here in a terrific take on mashed potatoes.

At the Perryville Inn chef Paul Ingenito uses the succulent bits of meat from lobster knuckles in a bread pudding, which he bakes and serves in empty lobster tail shells as an adjunct to a whole lobster. We thought the pudding was stunning enough to stand on its own and so adapted the recipe, using the meat of a whole lobster for the pudding and the shells and body for the sauce.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.