Dairy

Seared beef tenderloin with Mustard-Horseradish sauce. Guests place the beef atop baguette slices to make miniature open-face sandwiches.

Crusts made of ground biscotti and almonds accent this do-ahead dessert.

Start making this dip one day before you plan to serve it, since the yogurt has to drain and thicken overnight. A piece of cheesecloth is needed for the first step of the recipe.

Dorothy Williams of Vancouver, British Columbia, writes: "To celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, my husband and I spent a week in Victoria, British Columbia. We particularly enjoyed Abigail's Hotel, where we had some delicious carrot-coconut cupcakes." For a lovely breakfast muffin, omit the cream cheese frosting.

Large Scone Prince Edward Island traditionalists still enjoy four meals a day — breakfast, dinner (at noon), supper, and "lunch," commencing at 10 p.m. Typical fare includes bannock or biscuits, homemade jam, cheese, and strong tea.

These Colombian corn pancakes do a good job of soaking up the juices from the pork.

A purchased crust and frozen blueberries make this pie a snap to put together.

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 4 hr (includes chilling)

Quick, upscale and delicious. Leftover garbanzo bean spread makes a great dip for carrot and celery sticks.

The word mash means mung bean in Farsi and Farsi-related languages like Azeri and Tajik, as well as in Turkic languages such as Uzbek and Uighur. The word kichiri is like the Hindi word kitchri, a name for rice dishes made by cooking rice together with other ingredients. (The British took the idea and the name and turned it into "kedgeree.") We like this satisfying meal-in-one stew we learned in Tajikistan. Potatoes, carrots, and tomatoes give variety of taste and texture to the main event, a spiced combination of mung beans (yellow dal) and long-grain rice. Mashkichiri is quick and easy to prepare once the mung beans have soaked, and all too easy to eat in large quantities when accompanied by plenty of yogurt. Serve it as a simple meal in one, or serve with kebabs and a side dish of something crunchy, like sliced cucumbers or radishes, or Persian pickled radish. The winter version of this dish would have no tomatoes, and would use more carrots and onions instead. Winters in Central Asia are harsh, and there are few fresh vegetables to be had. Root vegetables, which can be stored and used when other vegetables are available, aren't an important part of the winter diet.

This works equally well with raw vegetables or chips — or as a sauce for cold poached salmon or shrimp.

One of the great blue cheeses of the world, real English Stilton transforms potatoes au gratin into something extraordinary.

Can be prepared in 45 minues or less.