Pecan

Easy, do-ahead heart-shaped cookies to go with the strawberries.

Toss chopped endive, radicchio, fennel and roasted bell peppers with oil and vinegar for a pretty salad course. For the finale, offer poached pears drizzled with chocolate sauce and sprinkled with crushed toffee. Learn how to make your own ravioli with our hands-on streaming video demonstration.

The almond-scented blueberry filling is sprinkled with a pecan topping.

English toffee enhances both the cake and topping of this delicious treat.

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 45 min

When Archibald makes this recipe, she uses a kind of apple called Yellow Transparent, grown in the Pacific Northwest. We substituted Macouns, Fujis, and Jonagolds (which hold their shape during baking), all with great success.

Here's a terrific quick bread for any time of day. If there's any left over, this bread is great when lightly toasted and spread with some cream cheese. For an added tart flavor, substitute cranberries for half the apples.

"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."

Hollowed-out orange halves are filled with mashed yams and topped with marshmallow creme and pecans.

"There is a very special bakery in New Orleans that I visit on my many trips south," writes Lisa Despirito of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. "Piece of Cake serves luscious pastries of all sorts, but I always drop in for a maple-pecan scone and a cup of coffee." Serve with whipped butter sweetened with a little maple syrup, if desired.

The recipe for this bread pudding was created by the Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania's Central Bar & Grill's former pastry chef, Alison Barshak. She is now the executive chef at Striped Bass in Philadelphia.

This dairy bread pudding–like custard baked between layers of matzo is delicious for brunch or dessert.

Filled with a mixture of nuts, brown sugar, honey and grated orange peel, this tart will dress up any holiday table. Serve it with whipped cream and, if desired, the Orange-Cranberry Compote

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.