By Katie Workman The Associated Press

Full confession: I’ve never known what Swedish meatballs were.

Those of us who celebrate Hanukkah already are in serious prep mode (or realizing we should be). I like the lighting of the candles. I love giving people the perfect gift. But what we all probably love most are the latkes, or potato pancakes.

I am an unabashed fan of refrigerated pie crusts. I am certain that the number of pies I would make if I was only allowed to make crust from scratch would be about 15 per cent of my current pie output. And I know that my friends and family would be very sad should that happen.

Need to know what to do with all that leftover butternut squash from Thanksgiving? I’ve got you covered.

During fall and particularly at Thanksgiving — we often find ourselves searching for just the perfect side dish. We want recipes that will be at home next to a roasted chicken or turkey, or maybe a beef roast or ham. We want recipes that are crowd-pleasers, recipes that shimmer with the glow of comfort food. We want side dishes that people inch toward while contemplating second helpings.

Plain old mashed potatoes are always brilliant, and it’s hard to imagine a Thanksgiving table without them. Still, every once in a while we like to change things up. But not too much. Here, a small amount of Parmesan cheese adds earthiness and nuttiness to the classic smooth, creamy potatoes, and turns a traditional side into something inspired with no extra work.

Creamy, comforting, earthy, warming, silky and gorgeous. Butternut squash — and many other winter squashes — cozy right up to traditional Indian flavours.

Sometimes restaurant meals really stun you. You experience a dish so amazing you find yourself saying, “Oh, I could never make that at home.” But then you pause for a moment and think, “Or could I?”

Does back-to-school time have you humming a few bars of the weeknight dinner blues?

I get it. I know you’re tired. I know that when 5 p.m. rolls around you aren’t always feeling inspired. I know that the notion of chicken again makes you roll your eyes. How can we get excited about chicken over and over?

I have such nostalgia for noodle kugel, specifically the one my father’s mother used to make it. This is particularly notable because she wasn’t much of a cook, though her kugel was really quite good.