Nut

As Italian restaurants continue to grow in popularity, so does tiramisù. We updated this dessert made of triple cream cheese from Italy (mascarpone), ladyfingers, espresso and cocoa powder by adding nuts and tangerine juice and serving it frozen.

From Charleston Grill, Charleston, South Carolina.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The Smashed Yukon Gold Potatoes and a quick sauté of blanched green beans with red bell pepper strips are colorful side dishes. Finish with slices of angel food cake sauced with thawed sweetened raspberries and generous dollops of brandied whipped cream.

This crisp and creamy dessert pairs pistachio praline meringues with lemon buttercream. The unique praline is also used to garnish the sides of the cake. Assemble it a day before serving to allow the buttercream to set and the flavors to come out.

The traditional apple, walnut and chopped celery salad is updated with a yogurt and low-fat mayonnaise citrus dressing, pine nuts and Cajun seasoning.

Grand Marnier gives an extra kick to the frozen orange mousse, and pistachios make the crust crunchy. Start preparing this at least a day before you plan to serve it.

Good as an entrée or served in smaller portions alongside chicken or beef.

Romesco sauce, a piquant mixture of chilies, nuts, and tomatoes, is a typical seasoning for seafood in the Catalan province of Tarragona. Although fresh coriander is not an ingredient found in the traditional Spanish pantry, its flavor lends a nice touch to this dish.

December bonus: great for gifts, too.

Sicily, Italy In Sicily, gelato usually doesn't contain any cream or eggs. The coffee and chocolate-almond flavors here are true to tradition; the zabaglione is enriched with eggs.

Little polenta "tarts" are filled with tomatoes, pine nuts, and blue cheese, then popped into the oven until the cheese melts.

Sortilège is a blend of Canadian whiskey and maple syrup. Here it infuses the chestnuts with maple flavor and picks up the sweetness of the green beans. Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 1 hr

Though this ice cream was delicious made with regular butter and table salt, it was even better with European-style butter (like Plugrá) and fleur de sel. Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 5 hr

You can start making these savory cookies up to three days ahead. Even easier: Serve the cheese roll with store-bought crackers. (We especially liked this roulade made with a spiced cranberry-apple chutney, but any thick chutney will work.)

Sfratti means "sticks" in Italian, as well as "evicted," for at one time landlords were allowed to persuade unwanted and delinquent tenants to leave by force of a rod. A similar practice was employed to chase away Jews during all-too-frequent periods of expulsion. This nut-filled cookie, a popular Italian Rosh Hashannah treat, got its name from its resemblance to a stick, the Jewish sense of humor transforming an object of persecution into a sweet symbol.