Food Processor

Unlike the sweet animal crackers in the familiar circus box, these boast a savory cheese flavor. They're a nice accompaniment to the chicken soup with rice.

We like this butter on grilled steak.

Bobó de Camarão Though folding the shrimp into the purée is traditional in Brazil, we placed it on top for a prettier presentation.

A slightly sweet tomato sauce blankets these tender baby back ribs.

If your chicken breast halves are large, halve them crosswise. Marinating the chicken keeps the meat moist and imparts extra flavor. Though the recipe says to keep the fried chicken warm, it's equally good served at room temperature. In fact, if you're making this entire menu using a single oven, you'll need to let the chicken stand at room temperature while the squash casserole bakes.

Xinxim de Galinha We debated whether to simmer or boil the coconut milk for this dish, fearing flavor loss or curdling. We ended up adding it at room temperature, with great results.

This is a classic recipe for a Midwest favorite. For a flavorful filling, it's important to use sour (or tart) cherries, rather than sweet.

Think of this flavorful medley as an antipasto pasta. Add sides like tomato bruschetta and a romaine-radicchio salad for a fantastic summer supper. What to drink: A bold Sangiovese or Rioja.

This cake bakes for a long time at a moderate temperature, which helps keep the ripe fruit from bursting and releasing its juices. The easy-to-make pastry bakes up moist and crumbly, with a texture that's like a cross between a biscuit and a cake. A note from our cooks: We've received some letters from readers complaining about a burned crust when making the peach blueberry cake (August 2005 cover), so we ran through the recipe two more times. Baked in a standard light-colored metal pan, the cake was perfect; baked in a dark metal pan, however, it burned — be aware that the cake's high sugar content makes it more susceptible to burning at high heat. As you'll see in "Tips: A Guide to Using Gourmet's Recipes" (located on the recipe index page) we recommend always using light-colored metal pans for baking. Dark metal pans, including nonstick, will cause your baked goods to brown more quickly. Manufacturers suggest reducing the oven temperature by 25 degrees when using dark pans.

Smear on crackers for an hors d'oeuvre or on bread for a flavor-packed sandwich.

This dip is our version of a Catalan sauce that has many variations and tastes great with almost any type of grilled meat or fish. It's worth the extra trouble to use hazelnuts (which need peeling), as well as almonds. Even though 2 tablespoons of hazelnuts seems a small amount, they round out the flavor of the sauce.

Gravlaks — fish cured with salt, sugar, and dill — is usually made with salmon, but we like the milder flavor of arctic char for this particular dish. Keep in mind before starting to cure your fish that you will need to turn it every 12 hours for a total of 36 hours.

Testers refused to believe that chef Terry Conlan's ultra-creamy cheesecake was low in fat — but we triple-checked the numbers, and they're gloriously correct. Calories are still a bit high, but light butter and fat-free cream cheese drop the fat count to only 20 percent of the recipe's calories (less than half that of a regular slice), and goodies like caramel sauce and chocolate chips maximize the taste.

Based on a classic pâte brisée, the buttery French pastry dough used for making pies and tarts, this pie crust dough is easy to work with and wonderfully versatile.

Begin making this at least one day ahead.