Cranberry

Here's a colorful and creative pie: Apricots, which flourish in California, Hawaiian pineapple and Oregon cranberries come together in a filling that offers a terrific balance of the exotic and the traditional. It's good with vanilla ice cream.

Ginger, curry powder and Chinese five-spice powder turn up in this northwestern version of a classic holiday relish.

Here, the classic cranberry sauce becomes a salsa. The traditional ingredients — cranberries and orange — are enhanced with decidedly untraditional ones, such as a poblano chili and cilantro.

This super easy relish stays on the savory side. It makes a wonderful accompaniment to poultry, beef, or game.

Shortbread cookie crust meets airy filling.

Sweet and tart at the same time, the compote is spooned atop creamy chilled custard for a satisfying Italian dessert.

Cranberries make a traditional breakfast spread festive and seasonal.

From the Spa at Doral in Miami.

If you think novelists do research only in libraries, think again. Culinary mystery writer Diane Mott Davidson has a different approach: She caters. Far-fetched? Not when your perennial protagonist is one Goldy Schulz, a caterer who has cooked her way through such delicious mysteries as Dying for Chocolate and Killer Pancake, stories that include the author's own enticing recipes and mentions of cranberry and orange, both significant flavors in her comfort-dessert memory file. "My husband was in the Navy and was often away at sea, so there was little opportunity to cook," she says. "One day I was with some Navy wives, and somebody set out a cranberry-orange bread. I raved about it. Not long after that, I drove to Norfolk to meet my husband's ship, and stayed with the woman who had baked the bread. While I was there, she slipped another loaf of it into my suitcase. It was the nicest thing anybody could have done." Prepare the cranberry glaze for this lovely orange layer cake a day ahead to allow it to firm up and chill. And consider presenting the finished cake as a gift; you're sure to make someone's day.

With a hint of smoky chipotle chile, this relish is a delicious departure from the usual cranberry sauce.

A well-sharpened French mandoline with a fluted blade is the secret to these paper-thin potato wafers with a waffle design. Active time: 55 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.