American

These adorable sweets are festive, fun — and so easy to make. Just be sure to freeze the scoops of ice cream overnight before dipping and coating them.

If your tomatoes are on the acidic side, add a little sugar to the sauce. Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 14 hr (includes chilling)

Like gumbo, this is a thick and flavorful stew. But it takes a lot less time to make. Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

Despite its name, this dish is not rice at all but noodles—and not even rice noodles but shimmering, transparent bean threads with lots of chicken flavor. Got that straight?

There will be a large amount of rendered goose fat left over from this gumbo. The French often use the fat to coat potatoes for roasting. Rendered goose fat keeps, covered and chilled, 3 months. Two 8-pound ducks can be substituted for goose if desired.

A pretty pink dessert that is refreshing and light. Plums with dark purple skin or flesh will give the sherbet beautiful color. Serve a pot of green tea alongside.

Silky and sweet, these onions add a sophisticated touch to adults' burgers (adventurous younger eaters will enjoy them, too).

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 20 min

Adapted from a recipe by chef Phillippe Padovani of the Manele Bay Hotel on Lanai. Serve it as a topping for grilled skinless, boneless chicken breasts.

Sandra Sowis of Allenhurst, New Jersey, writes: "My mother loved bananas and used them in anything she could dream up. She made this banana cake for my birthday more than ten years ago, and it has traditionally been my birthday cake ever since." Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

A refreshing starter from Arrows in Ogunquit, Maine.

"Every Christmas, my grandmother's best friend, Mrs. Mack, would give me and each of my brothers just one of these cookies, large and exquisitely decorated," writes Wendy Phillips Kahn of New York, New York. "I would save mine for days and then nibble carefully to make it last. Today, it seems a little decadent to make a whole batch, yet my daughter and I love the excuse to use our extensive collection of cookie cutters, and then enjoy painting our reindeer, Christmas trees, bells, birds, and snowmen, complete with jaunty ribbons around their hats. They may not be as elegant as Mrs. Mack's, but they're a colorful highlight in gift boxes of treats." Note: One of our readers alerted us to a problem with the cover recipe for cinnamon cookies in our December 2000 issue. We forgot the eggs! In order to make the cookies properly, add 2 lightly beaten eggs after beating together the butter and sugar, mix until blended, then follow the rest of the recipe. We apologize to Mrs. Mack, Wendy Phillips Kahn, and all of our readers for this oversight. These cookies are truly delicious, and we hope that you enjoy them.

Mark Taylor of West Hartford, Connecticut, writes: "I started cooking out of necessity when I first graduated from college, since I couldn't afford to eat out. Having grown up watching my mother cook for our large family, I used her recipes. She was always trying new dishes whenever we had guests and sharing her adventurous attitude toward eating. These days, even though my wife and I both work, we still cook several times a week. Now I tend to rely on recipes I've picked up from restaurants and friends. I enjoy experimenting with different ingredients and figuring out new ways to improve a recipe, as I've done with the one here." Serve the fish and sauce over couscous.

Cornmeal gives these blini a slightly crunchy texture that is perfect with the salsa.