Dairy

If you have a set of clay tiles or a baking stone, place it on the oven rack while preheating the oven. It will absorb the heat, and putting a pizza pan or baking sheet directly on top will ensure a crisp crust.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A tangy tomato-herb sauce and Parmesan accent chicken that's cooked in a flash.

This do-ahead main-course strata is simply a savory bread pudding. Pour a Pinot Blanc or Viognier throughout the meal.

Turnips stand in for the usual potatoes, giving this gratin a rich, hearty taste.

Arrange the candy cups in single layers in decorative boxes lined with tissue paper.

Juana Vázquez-Gómez of Redondo Beach, California, writes: "Growing up in Cuernavaca, just outside Mexico City, I remember my grandmother cooking elaborate Mexican meals every day. My mother continued that tradition, but not in such an all-consuming manner. For her it was a great joy to plan a menu and then invite people to help with the preparation. "The women in my life taught me the beauty of a good meal. I still use many of their recipes today, but unlike my grandmother I don't spend an entire day in the kitchen. Fortunately, my husband and kids like to cook, so I've found a balance between my grandmother's time-intensive recipes and my mother's practicality. "

Personalize these pizzas after cooking them by adding your favorite toppings, such as prosciutto, basil, arugula, or roasted vegetables. Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 20 min

Chocolate cake, chocolate ganache, and chocolate mousse team up with fruit in this incredible dessert. Begin making the cake one day ahead. Enjoy the extra mousse later.

We adapted this from the recipe for Supper Onion Pie, in the "Savoury Pies" section of Nigella Lawson's _How to Be a Domestic Goddess._We played with the crust to make it lighter and substituted a yellow onion for the red ones (they turned an unappetizing mauve). We love the way Lawson's books are written—and agree she's got some great ideas—but we think you should know you may need to tinker with the recipes before they yield dishes that appeal to an American palate.

The classic Hungarian dish relies on sour cream both to thicken the sauce and to balance the heat of the paprika.