Simmer

Grits (made from dried hulled hominy) are at the heart of many a southern breakfast. Texture is the hallmark of good grits — they should be slightly loose but not too runny on the plate. Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

A refreshing finale to a healthful dinner.

White chocolate can be finicky to work with. We tried making this "leather" with different brands of white chocolate but achieved the most consistently good results with Callebaut and Baker's Premium White. You will need to repeat this recipe 4 times to make enough leather for 8 Tepee Birthday Cakes-do not try to save time by making one big batch.

Miso soup — a fermented-soybean broth — is not difficult to make at home. Freeze the ginger and thaw it before squeezing; that way, extracting the juice will be easy. Chilled sake goes well with the meal.

Lighter in flavor and texture, this is the perfect sauce for ravioli.

Chef Jody Adams of Rialto at The Charles Hotel in Cambridge is famous for this type of rustic dish. At the restaurant she serves the stew on mashed potatoes.

An ice-cream-parlor special comes home in this outstanding treat. The peanut brittle has to be cooked to a very high temperature, so be sure to have a bowl of ice water nearby to cool down your fingers in case of any spills.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This ice cream is served with a hazelnut torte at Die Quadriga in the Hotel Brandenburger Hof.

A simple aquavit-spiked version of the classic French sausage and sauerkraut dish.

We used a Microplane rasp (available at cookware shops) to grate the cheese in this recipe. You can use a box grater instead, but the same amount of cheese (1 ounce) will yield less volume. Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 4 hr

This recipe was created to accompany Ginger Cakes with Molten Chocolate Centers and Ginger Crème Anglaise.