Food Processor

Margaret DeMatteo of Stirling, New Jersey, writes: "My husband recently took me to the nearby Perryville Inn to celebrate my birthday. We had a fabulous 'BLT' appetizer made with layers of fried green tomatoes, pancetta, and basil mayonnaise. I would greatly appreciate it if you could get the recipe."

This recipe is an accompaniment for Apple Crisp with Prune Tequila Ice Cream . Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 2 days (includes macerating and freezing)

Though the chips and purée can be served at room temperature, the caviar should be chilled, so assemble these hors d'oeuvres in batches as platters need replenishing.

This recipe yields more meringue squares than you'll need for the ice cream–filled napoleons. The extras can replace any that break — and they also make a delicious snack.

Some of the tenderest pasta is made with Italian "00" soft wheat flour. Since this flour can be hard to find, we used a combination of cake flour and all-purpose flour with good results.

This classic regional dish is from Ralph Potter, chef at Darley's at Lilianfels in the Blue Ridge Mountains west of Sydney. "Wild mushrooms are so plentiful when the sun has come out after it's been raining for a few days, why not be indulgent and make a special soup out of them to celebrate the season."

"During a vacation in Scottsdale, Arizona, my brother-in-law took me to his favorite restaurant, Cowboy Ciao," writes Linden Avery of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. "It serves a very colorful, delicious chopped salad called a Stetson. Could you get the recipe so I can re-create it at home?" This main-course salad is presented with the ingredients lined up in rows. For convenience, you could just toss the salad instead.

Yogurt gives this dip a refreshing tang.

Start this a day ahead and freeze overnight. For the crust, blend crumbled vanilla wafer cookies in a processor until crumbs form.

Gazpacho de Habas This gazpacho has a haunting flavor — barely identifiable as lima beans — and is also excellent when you substitute pine nuts for the limas, as the chef at El Churrasco, in Córdoba, often does. The addition of an egg — not at all unusual in white gazpachos — gives this soup a creamier, richer taste. It is best served in small portions.

One of the most popular flavors in gelaterie in Italy is crema, a simple frozen custard unenhanced by any flavoring. It has a rich, yellow color due to the brightness of the yolks of Italian corn-fed chickens.

Egg fettuccine, rather than regular durum pasta, makes all the difference in this dish. It's usually sold curled in nests or loose in trays. Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 45 min

The Spanish sauce known as romesco is usually high in fat; this version contains less oil, but just as much flavor.

Chef Ian Algerø‸en of Skadi restaurant serves this side dish with duck. It's also terrific with roast pork or Cornish game hens.

I didn't grow up eating pork, so I was pleased to find out how lean and flavorful it was when I made this roast loin of pork. I cooked it the way I cook lots of meats — roasted with carrots, potatoes, and fennel. It's important to let meat rest after it's cooked; you'll find that all meats become juicier and more tender after 15 to 20 minutes. The rub on this comes from my dear friend Anna Pump and her wonderful Loaves and Fishes Cookbook.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Mushroom Tortellini in Mushroom Broth . Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

"When a friend celebrated her birthday at El Teddy's in New York City's TriBeCa, I really enjoyed trying the innovative dishes there," says Thea DeSando of New York, New York. "But the one thing I couldn't get enough of was the salsa—smoky and full of tomato flavor. Is there any way you can get the recipe?"

Here's a good example of Thomas Keller's culinary magic: Simple flavors come together spectacularly in this special dish from The French Laundry in Napa Valley.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 1 3/4 hr