5 Ingredients or Fewer

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A homemade version of vanilla extract.

Radicchio di Treviso has long, narrow, pink-to-red leaves that are similar in taste to Belgian endive. It can be found in specialty food markets.

Variant: Eddie Brown

A bit of water whisked into the eggs tenderizes them. You may fill this omelette with anything you like, of course. It makes two very generous servings. For the mushroom and goat cheese variation, sauté 1 pound of thickly sliced mushrooms in 2 tablespoons unsalted butter until they are golden and most of their liquid has evaporated. Use about 4 ounces fresh goat cheese, and 1/2 cup of chervil sprigs (you may substitute flat-leaf parsley), which you mince at the very last minute, to take advantage of their flavorful oils.

Caramelized Fresh Fruit These crackly-coated fruits bring back childhood memories of candied apples. I've given the Roman recipe here; in Venice, where they're coated with a thicker layer of caramel, they are called golosezzi veneziani. Set aside about 1/2 hour for the caramelizing and finish the procedure no more than 1 1/2 hours before serving so that the fruit remains crisp.

Cornmeal may be either fine- or coarse-grained. Both work well in the following recipe; we used a fine-grained variety found in most supermarkets.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Yogurt Panna Cotta with Cherry and Peach Compote .

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Though the cranberries look gorgeous, you wouldn't want to eat them—they're extremely tart when raw. The mint leaves, however, are positively delicious. Fresh raw cranberries yielded the most attractive garnish; thawed frozen berries may collapse and shrivel. Feel free to increase the amounts we've provided here if you'd like to make your decoration more elaborate.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Toasted Coconut Dacquoise with Orange Pineapple Ice Cream .

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 2 3/4 hr (includes chilling)