Whipped Feta with Sweet and Hot Peppers

This comes together in about the time it takes to order takeout, and is miles more nuanced than your average Chinese restaurant's sweet and sour sauce. Ketchup, soy sauce, sugar, and rice or cider vinegar are boiled together with water (though pineapple juice makes for a tasty tropical twist), and thickened to the perfect dipping consistency with a little cornstarch slurry. Serve this with egg rolls, wontons, rangoons, and whatever other fried foods you want to perk up. Feel free to add some heat to the sauce with minced ginger, garlic, or chiles (or all three).

Chewy Asian-inspired tofu gets coated in a perfectly balanced chili sauce that draws on sweet, salty, and tangy flavors. Pair with broccoli for a wholesome meal.

Squeeze the lemon onto the towel, not your hand.

This is not your mother's sweet potato casserole (and that's a good thing). This version is only lightly sweetened, tender rather than gloppy or mushy, and accented with a hint of ginger. It's still topped with browned, gooey marshmallows, though, because some traditions are worth sticking to.