Onion

"Cooking with friends — that's pretty much what my life has been about," writes Louise Pickerel of Muskogee, Oklahoma. "When I moved here from Texas ten years ago, it was hard to leave the people I'd known for so long, but I've probably met two hundred new people since then. I have always entertained, but now that I'm retired, I finally have more time to play bridge and cook." Louise likes to serve this chunky soup with ham or roast beef sandwich wraps.

Many people consider stuffing the best part of a Thanksgiving meal, and they can be quite particular about it — some like it dense and moist from the turkey juices, others fluffy and browned from the oven. We've made sure everyone will be satisfied: This recipe makes enough stuffing for the turkey and the onions, with plenty left over for another baking dish of stuffing. You can easily adapt the recipe to suit vegetarian guests — simply eliminate the bacon (use olive oil instead of bacon fat for sautéing the vegetables) and substitute vegetable stock for the turkey stock. Active time: 2 hr Start to finish: 3 1/2 hr

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 3 1/4 hr

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 2 hr

Unlike most tamal recipes, which use dried corn (masa harina), this one is Cuban-style, made with fresh corn kernels. I've also added a different touch by replacing the traditional pork filling with conch. The flavor and texture proved very popular at Yuca, and it remained on the menu as a fixture. These tamales are very convenient for entertaining. They can be made ahead of time and frozen, or kept in the refrigerator and then popped in the microwave. In fact, it's not worth making a smaller batch, so you'll probably want to freeze some of them. Likewise, the pesto can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated.

Serve this dish, from chef Matthew Reichel, with potato pancakes or rice pilaf.

This soup stands on its own as a main course when paired with a green salad and some crusty bread.

A cross between spoon bread and tamale pie, this flavorful, colorful side dish is a huge crowd-pleaser. Assemble it at least one hour and up to one day before baking.

Kache Piaz In India, most dry meat preparations such as kabobs, _tandoori_food, and cutlets are eaten with raw onions, because the onions provide moisture against the dry meat. Besides, these meat dishes taste better with onions. The onion slices are often squeezed slightly to extract and remove some of the juices; this is done to reduce the impact of too sharp and hot a taste. The onions are washed in several changes of water to rid them of any clinging juices; this also makes them taste less sharp. If you want the onions even milder, soak the squeezed onions in salted water to cover (about 1/4 teaspoon of salt per cup of water) for 1/2 hour, and drain. This will make the onions taste sweet, and best of all, there will be no onion odor lingering in your mouth. To make this salad more aromatic, add leaves from 2 or 3 sprigs of fresh coriander.

Puréeing the corn with low-fat milk gives the soup a creamy texture. Serve it as a starter or as a light main course with a green salad and crusty bread.

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 40 min

Cream takes the place of butter in these irresistible biscuits.

"I have a 'stragglers Thanksgiving' — that's what I call it — at my house every year," writes Frances Teasley of North Hollywood, California. "I know a lot of people who, like me, don't have any family nearby. Thirteen years ago I started inviting a few people for dinner. And that small holiday gathering has become a big tradition among my friends. For weekday meals, I look for shortcuts and do-aheads. But for holiday meals, I like to do everything the same day because I love the smell of cooking that fills the house." Nice, fresh flavors for a side dish or salad.

A great dish from Dalvay By The Sea.

(Cebollas Fritas) These egg-battered onions have a sweetness that marries well with rich dishes such as Churrasco de Sao Paulo a la Parilla .

Active time: 50 min Start to finish: 1 hr