Beverages

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 40 min

Côtelettes de Porc avec Son Jus au Cidre Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 45 min

Dense, moist and delectable, this homey cake has a lovely balance of flavors.

Until powdered gelatin came on the market in the 1890s, making gelatin molds was a labor-intensive endeavor. By the twenties, electric refrigeration and the Jell-O brand made the salads so easy to prepare that cookbooks were filled with recipes for them. This one incorporates the flavors of sangria. Serve it as a side dish or as a dessert.

Melissa Harden of Omaha, Nebraska, writes: "To celebrate our recent engagement, my fiancé and I spent a long weekend at the Mondrian in Los Angeles. Our stay was perfect, as was dinner at the hotel's Asia de Cuba restaurant, where I couldn't get enough of the rich Cuban Opera cake." A traditional Opera cake is made from very thin layers of cake, coffee buttercream, and coffee mousse — all covered with chocolate glaze. This version, which is perfect for a special occasion, is taller than your average Opera cake, owing to its thicker layers.

From Lidia's in Kansas City, an informal company dish that's sure to satisfy.

In central New York State where I grew up, summertime is speidie-time. Speidies are beef or chicken kabobs marinated in a locally produced spiedie sauce. Nobody makes their own; everybody buys it by the case to make it through the summer's grilling. Now that I live downstate, I've had to devise my own speidie sauce (really nothing more than a quite acidic vinaigrette), which I'm willing to share for the very first time.

Unlike their big brothers, baby artichokes are almost completely edible and require minimal preparation. For this first course, sautéing the artichokes instead of steaming adds good flavor. Some people don't like to have artichokes with wine because they can make the wine taste either metallic or strangely sweet. In Italy, though, artichokes and wine are usually served together. A crisp, steely Pinot Grigio does the trick.

Ruby Port in the juicy filling deepens the fruit flavors in this crisp. Top with vanilla ice cream or the ice cream from the Malted Milk Ice Cream Cake .

We made an already simple recipe even easier by omitting brand names from the ingredient list. Almost any tequila will do — but after experimenting with several different beers, we found we prefer a lighter-style lager here. This recipe can be readily increased to serve a large crowd.

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 3 3/4 hr

Begin preparing this one day ahead.

Because these brownies are thinner than most, they bake quickly.

Though perfectly delicious on its own, this ice cream also makes a great accompaniment to spiced apple cake or caramelized apple crêpes. Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 12 hr