In Season: The peak season for turnips and rutabagas begins in October and lasts through the winter. These root vegetables are available year-round in many markets.

What to Look For: In the garden, grocery store, or farmers' market, choose firm, unwrinkled vegetables with root and stem ends intact. Avoid those with soft spots.

How to Store: When you get your selections home, cut any green tops down; wrap the vegetables in and airtight bag and store them in the coldest part of the refrigerator. Use baby turnips within a few days; larger turnips and rutabagas will keep a little longer, some up to several weeks.

This family-favorite cold-weather dinner incorporates sweet rutabagas into the creamy mashed-potato topping. Shepherd's pie freezes beautifully, so consider making an extra one to save for a busy day.

Grated turnips are mixed in with the shredded potatoes and then formed into patties and pan-fried. These crispy golden cakes make an excellent side dish for fish.

Tiny Tokyo turnips are the size of radishes and have a lightly sweet flavor and buttery texture when cooked. Here, they are simply steamed in order to let their delicate flavor come through. Serve with a selection of condiments such as butter, olive oil, vinegar, soy sauce, and lemon juice.

In this variation on a traditional French potato dish, thin overlapping slices of potato and rutabaga are studded with roasted garlic and cooked in a skillet until crisp on the bottom and tender throughout. This lovely side dish can be made ahead of time and reheated in the oven just before serving.

This colorful hash is bursting with fall's best vegetables, including turnips, parsnips, potatoes, and broccoli rabe. Serve this nutritious side dish with roasted meats, or enjoy it for brunch with poached eggs on top.

Humble root vegetables get the royal treatment when baked in a generous amount of heavy cream. Choose a robust herb such as thyme or sage to complement the earthy turnips and potatoes.

A whole chicken, along with carrots, onion, turnip, and rutabagas, goes into this stick-to-your-ribs soup. Heavy cream and a sprinkle of dill tie all the flavors together.