Snack

Thick hot fudge sauce spiked with raspberry brandy covers scoops of vanilla ice cream — or any other favorite flavor. The sauce thickens further when it hits the cold ice cream, creating a dessert reminiscent of the one served in old-fashioned ice cream parlors.

Bake some of these for the holidays, too.

The honey makes these delicate cookies light and crisp. Offer them with Vin Santo (an Italian dessert wine made from dried Malvasia and Trebbiano grapes), cream Sherry, Port or Sauternes.

Caffelatte is what Italians of all ages have for breakfast at home. For small children it is a cupful of warm milk lightly stained with coffee, the ratio of coffee to milk increasing with one's years. It is often accompanied by some store-bought biscuits, but not in my assistant Nadia's family. She lives on her father's farm outside Venice with her husband and small boy, and for her son Tommaso she bakes wholesome cakes with fresh fruit. He has some with his caffeelatte and takes another piece to school to eat for merenda, recess. I was particularly taken with the cake Nadia makes when there is no more summer fruit on the farm. She uses pears and apples and always adds a banana she buys in town. The proportions of one fruit to another may vary, and indeed Nadia says they always do, but nothing much can go wrong or affect the cake's plainspoken, engagingly fresh taste.

These five-ingredient sardine toasts make the perfect party snacks to pass around during cocktail hour.

The pleasingly chewy biscotti are coated on one end with white chocolate. In our test kitchen, imported white chocolate, such as Perugina or Lindt, yielded the best results.

Pass around a platter of these curried eggs to enjoy before &#151 or with � the epi:recipeLink="101977"BLTs</epi:recipeLink>.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A classic flavor combination-chocolate and cherries-turns everyday vanilla ice cream into a special dessert. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less, but requires additional unattended time.

Tarama, or carp roe caviar, is a favorite Kytheran ingredient.

Homemade malted vanilla-bean ice cream is layered with a bittersweet chocolate sauce and drunken dried cherries.

Syllabub—a thick, frothy dessert made of wine, sugar and cream—originated in old England. This raspberry-topped version is served at Christiana Campbell's Tavern. Begin preparing it a day before serving.

"I have such special memories of my grandmother Mimi in the kitchen cooking and baking, all dressed up. My favorite cookies were her pecan crescents," says Barbara Hartwig of Sherwood, Wisconsin. "I am most fortunate to have her original recipe card. We still use it every year."