Not a secret, but there this sponge cake my grandmother used to make that now only my mother knows how to bake because her sisters never learned the recipe.
"Grandma's salad." Fold a package of pistachio Jello pudding into a tub of Cool Whip. Add drained can of fruit cocktail and drained can of Mandarin oranges. Sprinkle chopped hazelnuts on top. We have it at Thanksgiving and Christmas. (Also better known as Watergate Salad.)
I bought Julia Child's mastering the art of French cooking and the way to cook and it consistently tops whatever version of a childhood dish I remember. That meatloaf with ketchup on it? Pass. Instead one made with beef chuck, Italian sausage, savory herbs, baguette crumbs, eggs, and aged cheddar.
Apple pie & pecan pie. My sister makes apple. I make pecan. Pecan recipe can interchange with walnuts by substituting walnuts (no shit) and bourbon (instead of rum). I feed that to the damn Yankees. Don't cheap out on the booze, either. You can tell. No, it doesn't all cook off. I make a virgin version for Muslim friends, but you need orange peel or something else a little bitter to make it taste right.
Potato Salad. Mind you, it's just seasoning, shredded chicken, and other assorted veggie pieces. Sometimes beets, sometimes slight spices, etc.
It's a favorite of anyone that tastes it, but it's like, super common from where we come from. (Panama)
U.S. peeps really have it rough when it comes to food during the holidays. :(
My mom makes a killer turkey and black bean chili.
My grandmother was the chef in the family but she never wrote her recipes down before she died so everything besides her chocolate chip cookies went with her.