Yam recipes

Warm ham salad with a cooked vinegar dressing tossed with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, and green pepper. Topped with American cheese strips and sliced hard-boiled eggs.

Stuff thick-cut French bread with cinnamon cream cheese, soak in custard, then bake until golden and top with Grand Marnier strawberry sauce for an indulgent brunch showstopper.

Ranch cornbread baked in a hot cast-iron skillet with diced ham, sharp cheddar, red bell pepper, and pimentos. A loaded Southern cornbread with crispy edges and savory filling.

Trifle cheesecake on a coconut macaroon crust with sweet sherry, sour cream, and a strained raspberry preserve topping. Finished with whipped cream and slivered almonds.

Raspberry chocolate swirl cheesecake on a cocoa-vanilla wafer crust. Two batters marbled together for a dramatic black-and-pink presentation.

Dainty sandwich cookies are tender butter rounds coated with almond-sugar tops and filled with raspberry jam or chocolate. A classic European tea-cookie tray pick.

Berlin Doughnuts (Bismarks) are classic German jam-filled yeasted doughnuts with rum extract and orange juice in the dough, deep-fried and sugared. Makes 12 pillowy doughnuts.

Your go-to food quantity chart for feeding 100 guests. From fried chicken and baked ham to mashed potatoes and green beans, know exactly how many pounds and gallons to buy for your next big event.

Microwave rum cake with devil's food cake mix, rum-soaked layers, apricot preserves filling, and a glossy boiled frosting made from corn syrup and egg whites.

Midnight cake with Dutch-process cocoa, buttermilk, and oil for a dark, tender crumb. Filled with raspberry jam and frosted with whipped chocolate cream.

French-style apple pie with sauteed tart apples in a single pastry shell, layered with a cooked vanilla custard filling and finished with an apricot preserve glaze on the crust.

Apfeltorte: German apple cake with whole peeled apples baked into a butter cake, their cores stuffed with rum-soaked raisins and chocolate. Finished with apricot glaze and powdered sugar.

Chinese-style braised pork (fantasy pork) slow-cooked in dark soy sauce, rice wine, star anise, and Szechuan peppercorns until fall-apart tender. A rich, aromatic showpiece.

Pumpkin pie built on heavy cream and sour cream for a richer, tangier filling spiced with cinnamon and ginger. Optional apricot preserve layer at the bottom adds a tart-fruit twist.

This recipe, though fussy to make, is attractive and tasty. Cheryl Kaufenberg of Darien said it came from a very old Better Homes & Gardens magazine

Classic cheesecake with amaretto filling and almond-graham crust, topped with warm apricot-liqueur glaze. Rich, creamy, and elegantly finished.