Of course, your family expects a traditional holiday meal. But, you yearn for the fun and challenge of cooking up something a little different and adventurous. Why not do both? Prepare the traditional meal of time-honored favorites your family loves, but this time, give tradition a tasty timely tweak. Here are some recipes to help you discover that traditional doesn't have to mean predictable. We've taken holiday menu classics and recharged them with a few fresh new ingredients. Try these delectable subtle flavors that add to but don't overpower the familiar ones and take your holiday dinner from being a good meal to a great one.

Cranberry relish gets a new taste makeover - and powerful antioxidant boost - with the addition of a splash of Petite Sirah and a half cup of fresh blueberries mingled with the cranberries. The delicate sweetness of the blueberries helps tone down the cranberries' tartness in a beautiful glistening tapestry of rich jewel colors.

My family is an avid visitor to the Portrait Gallery and for years we parked our cars directly across from a historic looking carriageway portal that led into a beautiful courtyard. Th e sign outside said Poste and for the longest time, we thought this place was a private residence. Later on, we found out that it was actually the Poste Modern Brasserie that was located in the home of the original mail sorting room of the 1841 General Post Offi ce. Get it-La Poste in French means the post office. When you enter the courtyard of this stately stone building, you are greeted by the 16–foot cast-iron ceilings and skylights from the original post office that have been fully restored into an inviting dining room on raised platforms. Poste is committed to using organic and sustainable foods. In the courtyard, the chef’s garden is planted and tended by Chef Weland himself. I was told by my lovely waitress that seasonal herbs like chives, vegetables and greens are grown and harvested for immediate use in Poste’s dishes. During the cooler months, squashes and winter vegetables are grown and brought to your table for immediate consumption.

I recently went to Poste to have what it is called a “Power Lunch” for the curious amount of $20.09. As an appetizer I ordered the French Onion Soup served in the ornamental white soup bowls I am accustomed to seeing when I visit my old aunt in Istanbul. Th e French Onion Soup is served hot, with a delicious onion broth, day old French bread and aged Comté cheese, also known as the good old Gruyère. As an entrée, I selected the Grilled Chicken Cobb Salad. Served over a very unusual rectangular shaped elongated fl at plate, the salad is separated into 3 sections. Starting from the left , you have a mix of lettuce and frisée topped with crumbled blue cheese. In the middle, you find more mix of lettuce topped with quail eggs and grilled green onions. Th e right hand side of the plate has additional salad mix topped with shaved country ham and avocado slices.

The North Dakota Farmers Union had a problem. They were not getting the recognition or price for their high quality products. They wanted to connect consumers and their money with high end food produced by American family farmers without the interference from the middleman. They decided to open a restaurant that showcased their high quality produce, meat and poultry products and that’s how Georgetown Waterfront gained Farmers & Fishers in June of 2006.

According to Wikipedia “Vegetarianism is the practice of following a diet based on plant- based foods including fruits, vegetables, cereal grains, nuts, and seeds, with or without dairy products and eggs.” Many people adopt vegetarianism for ethical, health, environmental, religious, cultural, aesthetic and economic reasons. Vegetarianism is not a new concept and it was practiced by the ancient Greek civilization and in Southern Italy, but it all together disappeared following the Christianization of the Roman Empire in late antiquity. In our country, only 1 to 2.8% of the population of adults is vegetarian. Which begs the question, how good must your food have to be in order to remain open for 13 years in Vienna and 2 years in Falls Church as a vegetarian restaurant? I am about to tell you.

If you are a big meat eater, don’t dismiss this restaurant. Give it a try and you will be pleasantly surprised. If you like eating a vegetable rich diet, you just found a home. I recently visited their Falls Church location for lunch with my wife, who was a vegetarian for 6 years prior to becoming pregnant with our fi rst baby (he is now 8 and he is a big meat eater). When you order from the menu, don’t try the vegetarian versions of the known meat dishes like General Tso’s Surprise. If you want General Tso’s Chicken, then have it with meat at another restaurant. My wife and I tried the Steamed Moo Shu Rolls as an appetizer. They are stuff ed with Vegi-ham, wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, carrots and organic green cabbage. Very fresh and tasty and I highly recommend them. We then ordered Hot Hot Shabu Shabu which is a spicy soup served with Yuba (tofu skin), organic tofu, bean sprouts, bean thread noodle, dried mushrooms chunk, broccoli and baby bok choy. Served in a traditional Japanese black cast iron pot, this is a quintessential winter soup that will warm your body and soul and open up your sinuses all at the same time. With every spoon full of this soup you taste the exotic spices mixed with fresh vegetables and noodles. It is the Chicken Soup equivalent of the Japanese cuisine.