Beverages

A great substitute for the truffle butter is an equal amount of plain butter seasoned with a drizzle of truffle oil. Parmesan cheese rinds are available at cheese counters and cheese shops.

Order pork shanks and pig's foot from nimanranch.com or 866-808-0340.

Lentilles du Puy are lighter than other lentils and hold their shape especially well during cooking.

Nothing melts in the mouth like baked bananas. Served with any kind of cream topping, it is a simple, unsurpassed dessert. Adjust the ingredients and flavors to your personal taste.

Reproduce our handsome cover in your home to add a note of distinction to your entertaining during the warm summer evenings. This is "Watermelon" a creation of the Bourbon Institute. The colors and styling are most appropriate for summer entertaining. And the novelty will appeal to your guests.

What to drink: Serve a splurge-worthy aged rum in a snifter, to sip like brandy.

The famous coffee flavors both the brownies and their ganache topping. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is prized for its bold, clean flavor, but good espresso beans and strong brewed espresso work well, too.

Citrus lovers, pull up a bar stool. Ginger beer creates a lively base for this orange-and-lemon-spiked gin drink.

We can't imagine buying this drink necessity—it's so easy to make at home.

This sweet-tart cocktail will take you from Florida to Kentucky to Vermont for a sampling of eastern-state offerings.

This classic tomato juice cocktail gets extra flavor from aquavit, a distilled spirit infused with fragrant herbs and spices.

Aperol, a popular Italian spirit, is often served on the rocks.

Though these tarts look and taste as if a French grandmother had slaved over them, the abbreviated cooking time is more suited to an American's pace. The apples, cooked first in syrup, are juicy and intense.

This gorgeous dessert is a not-too-sweet symphony of nectarines and almonds. With its juicy fruit, creamy filling, and intense, slightly sticky glaze, all nestled into a crunchy, nutty crust, it would please any tart lover.

The heady flavor of almond is threaded through this lovely dessert. The combination of Amaretto and warm pear juices creates a fragrant syrup, and a crisp, nutty topping adds welcome contrast to the tender roasted fruit.

With just the right balance of sweetness from the pomegranate juice and sour notes from the sumac, this layering of flavors accomplishes the enviable task of enhancing the flavor of the steak without overpowering it.

The richness of pork is lightened with tangy cabbage for a hearty German-style meal that seems made for autumn.