This month’s 30 minute meals are: Chicken Satay Noodle Soup, Tango Joes, Penne with Mushrooms, BLTT (Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato Jam and Tuna Steak) Sandwiches, Lamb Chops with Roasted Vegetables and Spring Pea Risotto, Pat’s Stromboli Bread, Spring Fish in Parchment, Leeky Linguine with Shrimp, and Indian Spiced Meat with Curried Potato Salad and Creamed Spinach.

In the No-Recipe Zone, find out how to make Spring Minestrone Pasta with Crispy Bacon from Editor Silvana Nardone. If you’re looking for some sweets, you’ll find recipes for Bacon-Crumble Apple Pie, “Yellow Flag” Dessert Skewers, and Banana-Walnut Muffins. Alicia Silverstone shares her own recipe for Crispy Brown Rice Squares. The Burger of the Month looks interesting: Ham Burger.

For you travel fans, you can get details on trips to Boston, Omaha, and Taos. And if you’re a celebrity watcher, check out the B, L, D, feature on CSI: Miami’s Emily Procter and take a look inside Alicia Silverstone’s vegan fridge.

The basic idea is that you can simplify it all by picking a few really great recipes that can be made ahead of time and then choose a few prepared foods to supplement the menu. That way you can spend your time chatting with guests instead of slaving away in the kitchen. Sunset picked smoked salmon, salami, cheeses and chocolates from all over the West and recommends the items for hostess gifts, too. Pretty good idea, huh?

The recipes below serve 25 for an open house, or 10 for a sit-down dinner if you’re having a smaller crowd. Check out the full article for recommendations on products to supplement the recipes and serving suggestions.

• Smoked Salmon Canapés (variation: Tapenade Goat-Cheese Canapés)
• Radicchio Salad with Citrus, Dates, Almonds, and Parmesan Cheese
• Spiced Beef Tenderloin
• Sweet-Potato Soup with Prosciutto Crisps

My favorite section is, of course, the 30-Minute meals. This issue teaches us how to make Roasted Lamb Meatballs with Red Sauce and Polenta, Spicy Lentil Stoup, Lemon Cream Chicken with Champagne Risotto and Asparagus, Red and Green Winter Stoup, Jon’s Grilled Tuna Salad, Alentejo Pork with Chorizo and Mussels, and Spanish Spaghetti.

I’m also a fan of the Menu Planer, which includes quick recipes for each day of the week. This month, the recipes are Pork Tenderloin with Cheesy Polenta , One-Pan Chicken Dinner, Sausage Flapjack Stacks, Sirloin Veggie Stir-Fry, Lamb Chops and Chickpeas, Coconut Curried Shrimp, and Three-Cheese Broccolini Turnovers.

In the No-Recipe Zone, Silvana Nardone shows us an easy method for making Italian Pasta Bake and she shares a recipe for Cherry Breakfast Cake in the Sweet Spot feature. The pet-friendly food page shares a recipe for Peanut-Carob Isabooscotti. The Burger of the Month is Salmon Burgers with Dill Mustard.

In the Get Togethers section, which focuses on entertaining, Rachael gives some great cookie swap ideas. There are recipes for Peppermint Meringue Kisses, No-Bake Mocha Bonbons, and Cinnamon Cornmeal Wafers, and there are tips for how to pack them up for a party. Also, make sure you check out the Holiday Planner.

The travel section this issue gives us a local’s perspective on Boston. The travel section also features road trips to meet your New Year’s Resolutions, a trip to Park City, Utah, and bargains in Waikiki.

The highlight of this month’s issue is the Thanksgiving on a budget feature, which provides a menu for about $10 a head. The meal includes Autumn Greens and Apple Salad, Maple-Glazed Roast Turkey with Apple Cider Gravy, Toasted Cornbread, Bacon and Chestnut Stuffing, Chive Mashed Potatoes, Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake, and Caramel Apple Layer Cake. You can even get a handy dandy shopping list for the whole menu. There’s also a Thanksgiving Planner than includes a variety of recipes and menus from this issue and previous issues.

The Step by Step feature continues the Thanksgiving theme, with instructions on how to carve a turkey. You can watch an online video to learn the technique.

In the all important 30 Minute Meals section, find out how to make Chipotle-Pumpkin Black Bean Soup, Jambalaya Supper Stuffing, Qué Pasta Mac ‘n’ Cheese, Spaghetti with Sardine-Fennel Sauce and Spinach Salad, Butternut Squash Risotto, Roast Broccolini and Beans, Strip Steaks with Salsa, Roasted Potato Wedges and Hearts of Palm Salad, and Smoky Chicken with Sweet Potatoes and Chorizo.

In Kitchen Fix, Evette Rios finishes off a kitchen remodel with some extra storage space. You can get some tips from Evette in these videos. In her Mucho Gusto column, Daisy Martinez offers are recipe that combines baked apples and pumpkin pie - Cazuela Baked Apples.

In a new feature called Remix, the magazine tells us how to transform the leftovers from five of the recipes from this issue into lunch: Stuffed Avocado, Ham “Salad” Sandwich, Bavarian Gyro, Squash Apple Soup, and Chicken Tortilla Salad. The No Recipe Zone offers a method for making Stuffing Squares.

In the entertaining section of the magazine, get the menu for a Retro 80’s party (including a music playlist) and a Thanksgiving Leftovers Cocktail Party. This month’s Celeb Fridge features Susan Sarandon in the back of a City Harvest truck.

Now if all those treats are a little overwhelming, have no fear. Sunset also offers some candymaking tips so you can get the best results possible. Here are few excerpts to help you out:

Melting chocolate: Be gentle. Fill a saucepan with 2 to 3 in. of water. Put finely chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl that will fit over pan (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water); set bowl aside. Bring water to a boil, turn off heat, then set bowl over pan. Use a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon to stir the chocolate frequently and encourage even melting. Once the chocolate is melted, stir well and use immediately.

Caramelizing sugar: Watch closely. Sugar cooks quickly once it begins to brown, so have your ingredients measured and your tools assembled before you start. Before bringing your sugar mixture to a boil, make sure you completely dissolve the sugar and melt the butter: Stir the mixture with a flexible heatproof spatula over medium-low heat, running the spatula around the inside of the saucepan a few times to thoroughly mix everything together.

Using a candy thermometer: It can be tricky to know when a sugar mixture has reached the temperature that will yield the texture you’re after. Thankfully, candy thermometers eliminate the guesswork. You’ll find them at supermarkets and some hardware stores; make sure to choose one that measures temperatures up to 400°.

The cool thing about this article is that the piece isn’t written about Rachael Ray, it was written by Rachael Ray. If there was ever an example of “do what you love and the money will come,” it’s Rachael Ray. For those of you needing some inspiration, I highly recommend reading the whole piece.

Rachael explains the basics of how she got the 30 minute idea way back in the day and how her career just blossomed from there. This stuff is interesting, but the part that really grabbed me was this:

Food was always a conduit in our family for storytelling, and it was a way for us to keep in touch and remember things. We’re people that use food to keep each other together and to always cheer us up and make all of our days better.

And that’s what is so easy about my job. I am sharing the idea that just learning how to make a few simple dishes for yourself or with your kids or for your friends or your lover or your brother or your cousin or your neighbor not only improves the quality of your life, it improves the quality of the lives of those you choose to share the food with. It just does. It’s one of the easiest ways for a poor person to feel rich. Make good food.

I read that and said to myself - yes, that is exactly it! That’s why I am a fan of Rachael Ray and her recipes. It’s not about impressing people or creating some crazy perfect gourmet meal; it’s about connecting with your friends and family and showing them you care. I certainly feel that way when I cook for my friends and family.

The piece goes on to discuss the genesis and development of Yum-o! and the sense of accomplishment that the charity brings to Rachael. I consider this a must read article, people!