Onion

These generous wedges of red onion marinate in wine, olive oil and herbs, then turn crusty on the grill. Outstanding as a side dish, they could also be a meal unto themselves. We always make enough for leftovers because the onions make such a good lunch the next day with bread and cheese.

You won't need sterilized jars or much time for these pickles.

When I have no vegetables on hand, I make this soup, which requires only onions and leftover bread. Grated Gruyère, one of my mother’s favorite additions to the soup, is a great flavor enhancer.

Eaten blindfolded, the mushrooms taste like chicken.

This is good warm and cool and keeps in the refrigerator for a day or two.

Ingredients

1. Make Gravy Broth (can do a day ahead): After turkey goes into the oven, place the neck, giblets and wing tips in a 4 to 6-quart saucepan. Add 1 carrot, 1 stalk celery, 1 large onion, and 2 cloves garlic, all chopped. Cover by 2 inches with 1/2 bottle white wine (inexpensive sauvignon blanc, fumé blanc, or pinot grigio), 2 1/2 cups (20 ounces) canned chicken broth, and water as needed. Simmer, partially covered, 2 to 3 hours. Broth will reduce. Keep solids covered with a little liquid. When ready to start gravy, pour broth through a strainer into a bowl. Discard solids remaining in the strainer.

This requires the least work of all the cooked tomato sauces. With this technique, everything ­ tomatoes, olive oil and seasonings ­ goes into the pot more or less at once, usually with no presaute and simmers until thick. Instead of the distinctively layered tastes of saute-based sauces, the simmered sauce is softer, more tomatoey and mellow.