Midwest Living Holiday Cookbook 2009

Roll a pork loin roast around layers of bacon, chopped spinach and Parmesan cheese to create this appealing holiday main dish, from Turkey Run Inn in Terre Haute, Indiana. When checking the temp of this roast, make sure the thermometer hits meat, not filling.

Rolled Spinach Pork Loin

We spread an herb blend under the skin of a whole turkey then slathered it with maple glaze halfway through roasting. Serve with our make-ahead Apple Cider Sauce.

Maple-Glazed Roast Turkey

Apple Cider Sauce

When you are feeding only a few for the holidays, choose a turkey breast rather than a whole bird. Our nut butter adds a hint of citrus alongside the allspice and pepper. Roast the meat on the grill or in your oven.

Grilled Turkey Breast with Spiced Almond Butter

Turkey dominates the menu at the Strongbow Inn in Valparaiso, Indiana. Use turkey leftovers in their meaty turkey pie recipe. Light eaters might prefer to split a pie.

Strongbow Turkey Pie

Cooked chicken turns this colorful salad into a quick main dish, or use some of your bumper crop of leftover turkey. Walnut oil adds a nutty flavor to vinaigrette in this salad from Clabber Girl Bake Shop in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Harvest Salad with Walnut Oil Vinaigrette

Whether you're looking to tweak your favorite dressing or create a new tradition, Mix and Match Bread Dressing meets the challenge. Start with the basic recipe, then try one of the blends shown at left or craft a custom version.

-- Top right: Whole wheat bread anchors a mix of sweet potato, celery, almonds, apricots and sage.

-- Left: Wild rice stands in for bread in this dressing studded with button mushrooms, celery, bacon, pecans, golden raisins and thyme.

-- Bottom right: Sourdough bread cubes blend with cooked bulk Italian sausage, celery, dried cranberries, pine nuts and rosemary.

More holiday side dishes: Minnesota wild rice and pecans fill Wild Rice, Barley and Dried Cherry Pilaf with crunchy texture as it pops with fruit flavor. A blend of chile peppers and spices give Aunt Maude's Southwestern Turkey Chili a smoky flavor and kick of hotness.

Mix and Match Bread Dressing

Wild Rice, Barley and Dried Cherry Pilaf

Aunt Maude's Southwestern Turkey Chili

This rich blend of two favorite holiday flavors—chocolate and mint—might start a new dessert tradition in your house. Can't find the mint-flavored pieces? Use regular chocolate chips and add 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract to the batter.

Peppermint Brownie Pie

These cupcake-size treats are a fantastically simple alternative to a full-size cheesecake. You could also garnish them with fresh raspberries or blueberries.

Baby Citrus Cheesecakes

We loaded these crisp and chewy chocolate chip cookies with white and chocolate chips along with toasted hazelnuts. They taste great with a cup of Christmas Candy-Cane Hot Cocoa.

Hazelnut-Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Christmas Candy-Cane Hot Cocoa

"This is a twist on a popular dish and is one of my personal favorites," says April Osburn from the Clabber Girl Bake Shop in Terre Haute, Indiana. Thinly slice the apples so they get done in the allotted baking time.

Ginger-Cinnamon Apple Crisp

Add holiday color to the coconut topper by tossing coconut with liquid food coloring. For a striking gift presentation, alternate cupcakes with candy-filled paper bake cups.

Coconut-Tangerine Snowball Cupcakes

The sweetness of dried fruit and chocolate meets salty pretzels and popcorn in our easy food gift. Pour the snack mix in a jar, and cover the lid with a circle of colorful scrapbooking paper. Grosgrain ribbon around the edge of the lid pairs with yarn and a tag to complete the package.

Orange Popcorn Gorp

These yeast rolls poof as they bake, hiding the filled center. Guests will love the spiced nut and brown sugar filling in these frosted treats.

Cinnamon Surprise Buns

This is our give-you-a-break coffee cake. Prepped in a half-hour, it waits in the fridge until you pop it in the oven the next morning. Serve warm, and the chocolate stays irresistibly melty.

Overnight Cherry Chocolate Coffee Cake

Spiced rum, red apple liqueur and cranberry juice add spicy fruit flavor to this crimson drink from Blue Plate Catering of Chicago.

Red Apple Crisp

Len Skvor trades the traditional corned beef for thinly sliced turkey in this twist on a classic Reuben at his Cork 'n Fork Deli 'n Grill in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. To reduce the sodium, rinse sauerkraut with cold water before using.

Rachel Sandwiches

Grilled sweet peppers and onion add crunch to the sweet-smoky Applejack Turkey Sandwich from Gobbler's Restaurant in Gaylord, Michigan.

Another Midwest restaurant favorite: Twisted Seester. A customer inspired this turkey sandwich at The Artichoke Sandwich Bar in Wichita, Kansas. It's a twist on a pastrami sandwich they serve and was named for one of two sisters who was employed there.

Applejack Turkey Sandwich

Twisted Seester

Instead of leftover turkey, start with ground turkey for this tall burger that offers big flavor from curry powder, garlic, red onion and jalapeno pepper. A cool and creamy aioli tops the grilled sandwich.

Turkey Burgers with Poblano Pesto Aioli