Fruit

Choose a country-style sourdough, preferably not too tangy, and if you prefer hot Italian links, go for it.

This laid-back apple galette got a standing ovation during tastings, thanks to its crisp crust and the ideal sweet-salty balance.

Tart, sour, and just as refreshing as ye olde cranberry sauce.

Warm spices and sweet dried fruit are a perfect pair for rich turkey meat.

To learn how to cut endive into long, layered spears for an elegant look.

A colorful and spicy (but not fiery!) side breaks up all the heavy, rich dishes on the table.

Most butchers will remove the backbone for you; see left to learn how. Lots of guests? Roast two 12–14-pounders; spatchcocking anything larger will be harder and takes longer.

Flip the script on a winter vegetable that's usually stewed: Collards are great when briefly sautéed.

Massaging the dressing into the kale with your hands helps break down some of the fibers so the greens are more tender.

Parsnip, a vegetable usually roasted or pureed, is crunchy, sweet, and delicious raw. Who knew?

This dark-red mixture will bubble and spit like a vat of lava as it cooks. Okay, slight exaggeration, but really: Cook this in a deep pot, and use a long whisk.

Store-bought cornbreads can be very sweet; taste before using, or omit the sugar from your favorite recipe.

Traditionally, punch is made with some kind of spice element. We satisfied that requirement with this tea-infused vermouth, which was a real game changer for us.

I rarely rave about my own recipes, but this is one I can just go on and on about. It is the definition of freshness with its sweet-and-sour late-summer flavors, and it is also an utter delight to look at. But the most incredible thing about it is that it uses a few ingredients that I have been lovingly cooking with for many years, and believed I knew everything there was to know about, yet had never thought of mixing them in such a way. That is, until I traveled to Istanbul and came across a similar combination of fresh tomatoes and pomegranate seeds in a famous local kebab restaurant called Hamdi, right by the Spice Bazaar. It was a proper light-bulb moment when I realized how the two types of sweetness-the sharp, almost bitter sweetness of pomegranate and the savory, sunny sweetness of tomato-can complement each other so gloriously. I use four types of tomato here to make the salad more interesting visually and in flavor. You can easily use fewer, just as long as they are ripe and sweet.

Light, pretty, festive, and special, this can pull off the trick of being either the Christmas Yule log (without the chocolate or the sponge) or the perfect pudding for a midsummer lunch.

This recipe—a rhapsody for sweet, bitter, and salty—is based on one from Ruth Reichl, published in Gourmet Today.