Beverages

This very ancient dish of pickled salmon is of Swedish origin, and considered by a great many Scandinavians to be superior to smoked salmon. It must be made with fresh fish that has never been frozen, and with a plentiful supply of fresh dill weed.

This condiment goes well with Stilton cheese or smoked meats. It also makes a great dessert when topped with yogurt or crème fraîche. Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 1 3/4 hr

Make this a new version of Britain's fish and chips with (frozen) steak fries. Lemon tarts from the bakery would be good for dessert.

This stock is even easier to put together than <epi:recipelink id="105266">Strong Fish Stockepi:recipelink. It does not require fish heads, only the bones of flat fish — sole, founder, halibut, or turbot — and it doesn’t call for the extra step of sweating the bones. It has a more delicate seafood flavor, and it is not as gelatinous as the Strong Fish Stock, making it very versatile. In addition to chowder and seafood stews like bouillabaisse, you can use this to make fish velouté and delicate French sauces such as Bercy (based on velouté and shallots) or bonnefemme.</epi:recipelink></epi:recipelink>

In these sweet tartlets, sliced bananas are sprinkled with brown sugar and caramelized under the broiler. Make the chocolate custard a day ahead to allow it to chill and thicken.

An updated version of Scottish shortbread.

"My husband, Garry, and I do a lot of business travel together these days," writes Sheryl Hurd-House of Jupiter, Florida, "so one of our favorite things is spending a very lazy Sunday morning at home reading the paper, sipping Bloody Marys, and having a nice brunch. This blueberry croissant French toast is one of my fastest, and most popular, brunch dishes. It’s Garry’s new favorite, and when our kids come to visit, they love it, too." A rich and delicious way to use leftover croissants. Sheryl always keeps some in the freezer, just in case.

Serve Champagne with this starter.

June is fresh apricot season, but there are always a few that just won't seem to ripen. This dessert makes good use of those hard apricots.