Food Processor

Ultra-rich mascarpone in the batter produces an extraordinarily creamy cheesecake. The cheesecake must be chilled at least six hours before serving.

The salty nut topping provides a nice contrast to the sweet mashed turnips.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Fish Cakes with Caper-Parsley Sauce This versatile sauce, which can be made one day ahead, also complements roast beef, hard-boiled eggs or potato salad.

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 3 hr

What makes these moist bars double cherry? They are flavored with both tart cherry preserves and sweet dried cherries.

Serve this with sweetened whipped cream.

Pork fillet, or tenderloin, contains about as little fat and cholesterol as chicken. Available now in most supermarkets, it is tender and moist. In this recipe, the pork is marinated in honey, jalapeño peppers, and nuoc mam, the fish sauce of the Vietnamese, then grilled.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Butternut Squash Soup with Roasted Red Pepper Puree .

Imported from Italy early in the decade, sun-dried tomatoes seduced the nation. Two other obsessions were pasta and pesto. All those ingredients combine here in a dish that doesn’t age.

This recipe hails from France.

This dessert, called sciummette ("little sponges") in Liguria, is the Italian version of the French oeufs à la neige. One look at these fluffy ovals of meringue will tell you where the name comes from.

These would make nice presents, too.

Dutch speculaas cookies are similar in taste to gingerbread men. This treat combines the spiced speculaas dough with another Dutch tradition: giving almond-filled tarts as gifts. Use a two-inch gingerbread-man cutter to make the cookies for the topping.

These are, without a doubt, the best rugelach I've ever tasted, and, to my mind, there is no point whatsoever in improving on perfection. From my friend Lora's wonderful book Cooking with Memories, this recipe was passed down to her from her mother. One of the reasons these rugelach are so special is that the dough itself contains a little sugar, making it softer and more cozy and buttery than the usual. Then there is the extra zing of tartness from the apricot preserves and the sweet, sharp sting of lots of plump golden raisins. As I mentioned, perfection! As Lora warns: "Beware, you can't eat just one!"

The streusel topping adds nice crunch.

Waffles put on their black-tie best in a treat that is both elegant and homey.