Citrus

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Fresh strawberries and cookies from the bakery round out the meal nicely. Pour a dry white wine or iced tea. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A milk pudding that dates back to the Middle Ages, syllabub was first prepared by milking the cow straight into a bowl containing "Sille," a wine that used to be made in Silléry, in France's Champagne region. "Bub" was medieval slang for a bubbly drink. There are a number of syllabub recipes in eighteenth-and nineteenth-century Irish cookbooks. This modern version calls for a sweet dessert wine and whipping cream.

A simple lemon and oil dressing-which works with just about any fresh vegetable-turns some of your garden's finest into a light summer pasta salad. Serve it in lettuce cups for a nice presentation.

For more information about forming and frying these pastry spirals, see Our Big Fat Greek Pastries.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Chiles Anchos Rellenos de Atún con Papas This is more sweet than spicy, because the chiles are softened in brown sugar and vinegar before stuffing.

This fruity, not-too-sweet barbecue sauce is terrific on any type of grilled poultry, pork, or even salmon. For convenience, it can be made one day ahead.

The cactus pears (also known as prickly pears or cactus fruits) grown in the United States usually have mottled green-and-red skin and beautiful magenta-colored flesh. (The Mexican varieties tend to be smaller, and skin and flesh can be red or green.)

Sprinkling this creamy custard with powdered sugar and then placing the dessert under the broiler gives it a delicate crust. Serve with crisp gingersnap cookies.

(Teules de Taronja) These crisp cookies are shaped like the terra-cotta roof tiles, teules (tejas in Castilian Spanish), that top village houses—old and new—throughout Spain. Almonds are a common ingredient in Catalan cookies, but we took another cue from the Moors and added candied orange.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Madeira is combined with Cointreau, honey and spices in a simple English-inspired hot drink for the holidays.