Rutabaga

The glaze adds just the right sweet-hot note to this interesting mix of vegetables. Try the roasted veggies with pork chops or chicken.

Not everything Feniger serves at her restaurant is typical street food, and here's a delicious case in point. The intriguing combination of shredded brisket, diced root vegetables, and apples is based on a recipe that Feniger's grandmother Sylvia Morgan often made for family meals in Toledo, Ohio. Roasted poblano chiles, a nod to the chef’s days at Santa Monica's Border Grill, add a spark of heat, and a fried egg makes it enormously satisfying.

Rutabaga adds an appealing, slightly sweet flavor to the potatoes.

If you've never had rutabagas, here's a great way to try them. Ginger-roasted pears add sweetness and a touch of spice—the perfect balance for this earthy root vegetable. Slice one extra pear and roast it (with the cubes) to use as garnish.

Roasted carrots, parsnips, and rutabagas add great depth of flavor.

Editor's note: This recipe is adapted from chef Paul Flynn of The Tannery in Dungarvan, Ireland. The French regard rutabaga as animal feed, but the Irish know better and use it in numerous beloved dishes. In this recipe, the root vegetable's sweet starchiness is the perfect foil for smoked mackerel, another ingredient for which the Irish have great respect.

Look for malanga at Latin markets or online at melissas.com.

Be sure to start marinating the game hens at least six hours ahead. At Standard Tap, Carolynn Angle uses poussins — small chickens that weigh about a pound each. If you can find them (they're sold frozen at some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores), buy six and cook them whole.

Related to the turnip, rutabagas are slightly sweet, and their flesh has an orangey hue.

Chef: Wylie Dufresne, 71 Clinton Fresh Food, New York City. Claim to fame: His restaurant won a rave review from The New York Times — now it's a hot spot. How he defines natural: "Clean, simple food tastes best; by happy accident it's also healthiest."

This puree is a wonderful vegetable side dish for any cool-weather braise or stew.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Pork Tenderloin with Cider Jus .

Star anise, cinnamon, and apple cider give this dish the flavors of fall. Add some wilted greens and a nice Zinfandel, and you've got a sophisticated dinner party.

Rutabagas and buttermilk add wonderful taste and texture to the potatoes in this recipe.