Lemon

If Santa's elves grew citrus trees, these sparkling lemony bites would surely be among the branches. Our favorite in a year rich with cookies, these adorable little balls look like nothing found in any store. They melt in your mouth, leaving behind a lovely citric freshness. Roll them in brightly colored sanding sugar to make them twinkle like vintage ornaments.

The crispy, cookie-like crust is incredible with the soft soufflé filling.

The Shakers, an early nineteenth-century religious group who knew that good things like lemon pie were worth waiting for, lived and worked in communities throughout New England, and established a vibrant Shaker fellowship in Pleasant Hill, Kentucky. Preserved as a living history museum, today's Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill illuminates their traditions and creations, including woodworking, farming, spinning, and stonework. Their restaurants serve this signature confection, Shaker Lemon Pie.
For those of us who adore lemons, it is magnificent, and if you simply appreciate thrift and culinary creativity, you'll admire its unique approach. The issue is its pithy-ness. Shaker lemon pie uses the entire lemon, from yellow peel through white pith and all the way to the interior seeds. This means slicing two whole lemons absolutely paper thin, and macerating them for hours in sugar. The resulting pie includes a subtle sharp flavor from the pith, and the texture tends toward the chewy side, but it all works for the aforementioned lemon-lovers like myself. For my version, I chop the thinly sliced lemons coarsely, so that despite my uneven slicing, the lemon pieces are bite sized. I also add a little flour, to thicken the juices a bit. Plan ahead, so that you can set the mixture of very thinly sliced lemons and sugar aside for at least three hours and ideally, overnight. This makes for a softer texture and profoundly lemony flavor in your pie.

The technique: In this recipe, we started with purchased rosemary-olive bread, a single ingredient that's packed with flavor. Fennel, Speck, and raisins round out this super stuffing.
The payoff: There's lots of cooking to be done on Thanksgiving, so why not save yourself some work? Speck—lightly smoked, cured pork—adds a rich flavor to the stuffing.

The technique: Any dish that's topped with breadcrumbs or cheese and then browned is considered a gratin.
The payoff: Layers of flavor and texture and a way to transform almost any vegetable into something special.

The technique: Rub the bird with an herbal, citrusy salt mixture and let it chill overnight. As the turkey sits, the salt draws moisture to the skin. During roasting, the flavorful liquid seasons the meat and keeps it moist.
The payoff: A superjuicy bird with crisp, browned skin.

Shelf Life: 2 years Tomato marmalades are the perfect partners for crackers, cornbread, or sourdough. They have a long history in the United States, where they were traditionally seen as a way to use up extra fruit during summer's long tomato season. Like tomato jam, they tended to be heavily spiced with cinnamon and cloves. For this lighter version, I have introduced saffron into the mix. The result is magic.

Many a copy of JOY has been sold on the strength of this recipe. One fan says her family is sure these are the cakes St. Peter gives little children at the Gates of Heaven, to get them over the first pangs of homesickness. The lemon glaze should be spread on warm cakes or Christmas cookies. It has a fine consistency for embedding decorative nuts and fruits.

Specialty foods stores, Trader Joe's, and some supermarkets carry dried blueberries.

Quick preserved lemon (it cooks for ten minutes) adds a fresh hit of flavor to this warm salad.

Brussels sprouts aren't the first ingredient anybody thinks of when they think of Italian food, but this salad takes a basic equation from the Italian kitchen—fresh vegetables, olive oil, and a little bit of Italian cheese—and makes the sprouts work in the context of the cuisine. It's also a healthier, fresher salad for the winter months.

Fresh sardines are widely available in California, but can be more difficult to find in the rest of the country. If fresh sardines are not available in your area, you can make a terrific spread with canned sardines.

Layers of tangy lemon curd, fresh berry compote, rich mascarpone whipped cream, and purchased gingersnaps come together beautifully in this dessert.

This Peruvian ceviche offers a plethora of interesting textures: the meaty chew of octopus, the refreshing bite of shrimp, and the marshmallowy smoothness of bay scallops. It's all bathed in the electric yellow glow of a sauce made with Peru's most common chile pepper, the aji amarillo. You can find jarred aji amarillo paste at South American markets. The pepper imparts a distinct fruity quality to this dish, and the addition of turmeric and ginger enhances this fruitiness while toning down the pepper's heat. The variety of seafood in the following preparation, along with its exciting color, is certain to be a favorite on your table.

A pat of the slightly tangy butter is tucked into the center of each beef patty. As the burger cooks, the butter melts, giving the meat an extra-tender texture and a hit of citrusy flavor.

Lemon peel and lemon juice, rosemary, and an olive oil dressing give this a nice lightness. If you prefer a creamy potato salad, use 2/3 cup mayonnaise in place of the olive oil.

Great with the Caveman Porterhouse or with chicken, fish, or lamb.