Over the holidays, if you actually had holidays, you may have set out on a cooking marathon, but now that January is here, quick and simple meals may seem pretty appealing.

A new cookbook from The Culinary Institute of America, "One Dish Meals: Flavorful Single-Dish Meals from the World's Premier Culinary College," weds traditional comfort foods to unusual ingredients to make for new recipes both seasoned and beginner cooks would want to try.

Besides the classics like French Onion Soup, Macaroni and Cheese and Eggplant Parmesan, there are some less familiar recipes among the 150 in the book, such as Bolivian Beef Stew, Paella, Vegetarian Moussaka, Bibim Bap and Prosciutto-Wrapped Hake. There are quick-fix sautes for a weeknight, slow braises or stews for winter weekends and salads or sandwiches that require no cooking at all. Recipes are both easy and flexible, so cooks can flavor them with personal touches.

When the goal is a one-dish meal, cooks think about bubbling pots of soup, stews, braises and layered pasta like lasagna. But various cultures use other terms for this type of cooking, most of which refer to minimal time in the kitchen. For some faiths, Sunday or Sabbath meals are made the night before and left to cook to observe prohibitions against working on the Sabbath. Another names for one-dishers is "wash-day meals," which are made when the cook has other housework to do. "Peasant cooking" is a term for dishes that are complete and inexpensive. "Once-a-week cooking" uses recipes that can be doubled or tripled so that the time spent cooking will be multiplied several times in the time spent eating.

Three misconceptions about one-dish meals is that they are only for cold weather, that they have to take hours to cook and that they are boring.

One criticism of CIA's "One Dish Meals" is that many of the recipes call for ingredients that would not be found in many local grocery stores, but probably could be found at city groceries that carry gourmet foods. Most of these ingredients are not the primary ingredients but are the spices or a variety of vegetable for which we carry a more common variety here.

A few of my favorite recipes from the book are provided here:

fresh corn chowder

with Green Chiles and Monterey Jack

This chowder is best made with fresh corn on the cob, since you can only get corn milk from the whole ear. After you cut the kernels away, hold the cob over a bowl and use the spine of your knife to scrape out the flavorful juices. Add this corn milk along with the cream when you puree the kernels.

Serves 8

6 ears of corn, shucked

1 cup of heavy cream

2 slices bacon, minced

1-1/4 cups minced onion

1 cup minced red bell pepper

1/2 cup minced celery

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic clove

6 cups chicken broth

3 cups diced yellow or white potatoes

3 cups chopped tomatoes, peeled and seeded

One 4-ounce can green chiles, drained and chopped

1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

Salt as needed

Freshly ground black pepper as needed

Tabasco sauce as needed

1 cup corn tortilla strips, toasted, optional

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1. Cut the corn kernels from the cobs with a sharp knife, capturing as much of the juice as possible. Reserve 3/4 cup of the corn kernels for later use. Puree the remaining corn kernels with the heavy cream in a food processor or blender set aside.

2. Cook the bacon in a soup pot over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Add the onion, pepper, celery and garlic. Reduce the heat to low and cover.

3. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the broth, potatoes and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Skim any fat from the surface and discard.

4. Add the pureed corn and cream, the reserved corn kernels, chiles and cheese. Cook on low heat just until the corn is warmed, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper and Tabasco. Serve in heated bowls, garnished with tortilla strips and cilantro.

SMOKED CORN AND POBLANO CHOWDER

CAUTION! Do not try this smoking process unless you have a well-ventilated kitchen. Turn the exhaust fan on high, and monitor the process constantly.

Substitute 2 fresh poblano chiles for the canned green chiles. Core and remove the seeds from the poblanos and the red bell pepper. Cut them into large flat pieces, approximately 4-inches square.

To smoke the corn and peppers, place fine wood chips in a disposable aluminum roasting pan fitted with a wire rack. (If your rack does not have feet, use balls of aluminum foil to raise the rack a few inches above the wood chips.) Use only wood chips that are specifically meant for smoking food. Have ready a fitted cover or sheet of aluminum foil large enough to cover the pan. Heat the roasting pan over high heat until the wood chips begin to smolder and smoke.

Place the corn and pepper sections on the wire rack over the smoking chips. If the chips are smoldering and creating sufficient smoke, remove the pan from the eat. Otherwise, reduce the heat to low. The idea is to keep the chips smoldering and creating sufficient smoke, remove the pan from the heat. Otherwise, reduce the heat to low. The idea is to keep the chips smoldering, but not to catch them on fire. Cover tightly with the lid or aluminum foil and allow the vegetables to smoke for about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the cover and allow the vegetables to cool. Dice the red pepper and poblano chile. Follow the recipe above, adding the poblanos at the same time as the red pepper.

a really big chili

You may think of chilis as stews of meat and beans, but in this instance pork is the star, in a flavorful sauce of vegetables and spicy chiles.

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

1/3 cup canola oil

3 pounds lean pork loin, cut into small dice

Salt as needed

Freshly ground black pepper as needed

2 cups small-dice yellow onions

2 tablespoons minced garlic

4 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup tomato puree

1 cup diced green chiles

2 fresh jalapenos, minced

3 tablespoons mild pure chili powder, or to taste

3 tablespoons ground cumin or to taste

2 teaspoons ground oregano

4 cups diced red-skinned potatoes, peeled

2 tablespoons green Tabasco sauce

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

Four 8-inch flour tortillas, warmed

1. Heat the oil in a casserole or Dutch oven over high heat until it shimmers. Season the pork generously with salt and pepper. Add the pork to the hot oil, working in batches if necessary, and saute, turning as necessary, until browned on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and reserve.

2. Add the onions and garlic to the casserole and saute, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent, 6 to 8 minutes.

3. Add the broth, tomato puree, chiles, jalapenos and the browned pork along with any juices it may have released to the casserole. Stir well and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce the heat to establish a gentle simmer.

4. Stir in half of chili powder, half of the cumin and half of the oregano. Add the potatoes, green Tabasco and vinegar, and continue to simmer, adjusting the seasoning with additional chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper, until the pork is fork tender, 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Serve in heated bowls topped with the Monterey Jack and accompanied by the tortillas.

bacon and Gruyère quiche

This simple quiche is rich and delicious. To create your own quiche, try other cheeses or even a blend of cheeses. Replace the bacon with diced ham or prosciutto, or try adding some sauteed domestic or exotic mushrooms.

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup minced onion

3 large eggs

1-1/2 cups heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese

8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

One 9-inch pie crust, prebaked

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Heat the butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until golden, about 8 minutes. Remove and reserve.

3. Combine the eggs, heavy cream, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl and whisk until evenly blended. Stir the cheese, bacon and reserved onion into the egg mixture. Spread the egg mixture evenly in the pie crust.

4. Set the quiche on a baking sheet and bake until a knife blade inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. If the pie crust begins to over brown, cover the edges of the pie crust with strips of aluminum foil or pie shields. Remove the quiche from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Let the quiche rest at least 20 minutes before cutting. Serve hot, warm or room temperature.

chicken pot pie

Use either white or light meat, or a combination of both, in this pot pie. Top your pot pie with pie crust, as done here, or substitute two sheets of puff pastry for a more dramatic presentation. Another option is a layer of your favorite biscuit dough (whether scratch, from a mix, or purchased), dolloped onto the filling just before the pot pie goes into the oven.

MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS

3 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil

1-1/2 cups diced yellow onion

2 teaspoons minced garlic

3 tablespoons flour

3 cups chicken broth

Salt as needed

Freshly ground black pepper as needed

1 cup diced carrot

1 cup diced celery

2 cups diced red or Yukon Gold potato

4 cups diced cooked chicken meat

1 cup green peas (thawed if frozen)

2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Two 9-inch prepared pie crusts or puff pastry sheets

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Heat the butter or oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the onion and saute, stirring frequently, until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until aromatic, about 30 seconds, Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until pasty and thick, about 2 minutes. Add the broth, whisking well to work out any lumps. Bring to boil and then immediately reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently, until thick, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Add the carrot, celery and potato, and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Add the chicken and peas and remove from the heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the chopped parsley.

4. Spoon the filling into individual crocks or a baking dish. Cut pie crust or puff pastry dough to the appropriate size and shape and cover the filling. Cut vents in the crust and press the edges of the dough onto the baking dish or crocks to seal.

5. Bake the pot pie until the pie crust or puff pastry is golden and flaky, about 45 minutes for a large pot pie and 25 minutes for individual crocks. Serve immediately.

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