Thanksgiving in the west: cook the best dishes from Sunset's $50,000 recipe contest

2. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine dried apricots and cranberries. Cover with boiling water and let stand until fruit is plump, about 15 minutes. Drain.

3. Place coconut and almonds in two separate 10- by 15-inch baking pans. Bake, stirring occasionally, until golden, 4 to 5 minutes for coconut, 8 to 10 minutes for almonds.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

4. In a 6- to 8-quart pan over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add onion and red and green bell peppers; stir until onion is limp, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add ginger, garlic, curry powder, cumin, salt, pepper, cardamom, orange peel, lime peel, and cinnamon; stir just until spices are aromatic, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Stir in cooked rice, dried fruit, almonds, and coconut. Spoon into a shallow 3-quart baking dish and cover with foil.

5. Bake until hot in the center, about 30 minutes.

Per serving: 481 cal., 52% (252 cal.) from fat; 8.9 g protein; 28 g fat (11 g sat.); 54 g carbo (4.2 g fiber); 514 mg sodium; 31 mg chol.

SIDE DISH RUNNER-UP

CAROLE McDONALD, MILWAUKIE, OR

Poached Pear, Macadamia, and Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese

The McDonald family loves wine-poached pears for dessert. With a can of honey-roasted macadamias on hand from a recent trip to Hawaii, plus some tangy goat cheese and spinach, Carole McDonald decided to put the usual dessert in a salad.

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 1 1/4 hours

MAKES: About 12 servings

NOTES: You can poach the pears up to 3 days ahead; leave in liquid, cover, and chill. The leftover poaching liquid is great in other dishes: Boil it, uncovered, over high heat until reduced by about half, about 25 minutes. Pour through a wire strainer. Cool, cover, and chill up to 1 month. Add a spoonful to glasses of sparkling wine for an aperitif or spoon over vanilla ice cream and berries for dessert.

    Poached pears (recipe follows)
  6 quarts baby spinach leaves (18 oz.), rinsed and crisped
  1 jar (6 oz.; 1 1/4 cups) plain roasted, roasted and salted, or
    honey-roasted macadamia nuts
  4 ounces fresh chevre (goat cheese)
1/3 cup mild olive oil
  3 tablespoons rice vinegar
  1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
  1 tablespoon honey
  1 tablespoon dried thyme Salt and pepper
3/4 cup pomegranate seeds (optional)

1. With a slotted spoon, lift pears from poaching liquid; reserve liquid. Slice pears lengthwise or cut them into about 1/2-inch chunks.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

2. In a large bowl, combine pears with spinach and macadamia nuts. Coarsely crumble half the cheese over salad.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, rice vinegar, 3 tablespoons reserved pear-poaching liquid (save remaining for another use; see notes), mustard, honey, and thyme. Pour over salad and gently mix to coat, adding salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and crumble remaining cheese over salad.

Per serving: 249 cal., 69% (171 cal.) from fat; 4.2 g protein; 19 g fat (3.7 g sat.); 20 g carbo (3.8 g fiber); 132 mg sodium; 4.3 mg chol.

Poached pears. In a 5- to 6-quart pan over medium heat, combine 1 bottle (750 ml.) dry red wine, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 thin strip (3 in. by 1/2 in.) lemon peel (yellow part only), 2 star anise (or 1 teaspoon anise seeds and 1 cinnamon stick, 3 in.), and 1 vanilla bean (6 in.), split lengthwise. Bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, peel 3 firm-ripe Anjou pears (1 1/2 lb. total), cut in half length-wise, and core. Place pears in wine mixture. Cover and simmer, turning occasionally, until pears are barely tender when pierced, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let pears cool in liquid, turning occasionally, at least 30 minutes, or cover and chill up to 3 days.