Citrus

This is a delicious, low-maintenance alternative to traditional risotto.

Try this for breakfast with a side of yogurt or for dessert with gingersnap cookies.

If you prefer, use honeydew melon for an equally good salsa. Offer buttered new potatoes and sautéed spinach with the fish. Afterward, serve slices of pound cake with rum-soaked raisins and store-bought caramel sauce. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The flavorful olive salad is also nice with sea bass, red snapper or tuna. Serve with steamed new potatoes, and uncork a Sauvignon Blanc to go with dinner.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

We couldn't have an American potluck dinner that didn't include at least one thoroughly native dish. The wild rice, hickory nuts, and dried cranberries in this salad are a nod to the potluck's origins.

Here's a sophisticated combination of homemade blackberry gelatin layered with vanilla cream. Make the gelatin at least one day ahead so that it has time to set.

Ripe tomatoes, basil and fresh corn enhance a terrific side dish.

Some fresh ginger adds zip to this bakeshop classic. It has the perfect balance of sweetness and spice.

This luscious pound cake is not as rich as the traditional version. Note that the cake batter will come only half way up the sides of the pan.

Come September, I prepare this cake often, taking advantage of whatever clusters of grapes I can find on our vines after harvesting. At Chanteduc, we grow a mixture of Grenache, Syrah, and Morvèdre grapes, each of which contributes its own personality to the wine and to this cake. I love the rustic crunch that seeded grapes impart, and so I also recommend trying Zinfandel, Cornith, and Cabenet grapes. For seedless grapes, try Red Flame. The original recipe was given to me by Rolando Beramendi at Italy's fine Tuscan estate Capezzna, where this intriguing not-too-sweet cake appears frequently at the table during the fall harvest. Note that the cake is prepared with half butter and half olive oil, producing an unusually light and moist cake.

(Arrosto di Agnello alla Toscana) Roasted meats are simple by definition, and in Tuscany they are not just simple, but pure and filled with flavor, too. Lamb is one of the Tuscans' favorite meats to roast. The seasonings in this recipe reflect the Tuscan countryside, with its wild rosemary and the aroma of garlic in the air. Though garlic is ever-present in the cooking, it is generally used in moderation so that it doesn't overpower the other flavors.

Velvet restaurant in SoHo serves a pork tenderloin that is the best I've had in this city," says Erika Ferszt of New York, New York."I would like to make it at home."