Flour

This simple, rustic cornbread is best used for making stuffing.

This no-bake dessert features alternating layers of savory pistachio-studded semolina and a cooked cream called kashta, set into a springform cake pan and chilled in the refrigerator overnight. If you are feeding a crowd, double the recipe and forgo the cake shape for a looser presentation: Spread all the semolina mixture on a large platter, spoon the kashta over it, and garnish with the nuts and powdered sugar; then spoon it into dessert bowls. There is no English translation for kashta, pronounced "ahshta," but it is often described as the Arab equivalent of clotted cream. This fragrant cake filling is also delicious as a breakfast treat, drizzled with honey or swabbed on a piece of toast.

If any cake could be called refreshing, this would be the one. Rich but light, it loses absolutely nothing from the absence of white flour.

This crispy crust won't flop over on you, so it's wonderful for cocktail parties. It's delicious simply brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, focaccia-style, or topped with 1 cup tomato sauce, 1/2 pound sliced mozzarella, and 2 tablespoons shredded fresh basil leaves.

What to drink: Try these with a lightly chilled Oregon Pinot Gris.

This wheat loaf is nothing like your standard "health bread" — the oats make it soft and slightly sweet, ideal for sandwiches or buttered toast.

This cornbread is a little firmer and denser than one made for eating on its own so that it will hold up to grilling and tossing with the dressing for the Grilled Cornbread Salad with Red Onions, Arugula, and Red Wine Vinaigrette.

These thin cornmeal fritters go nicely with the flounder in jalapeño cream. They are made from the same type of batter as hush puppies, but not deep-fried.

Crostata con Crema di Formaggio e Marmellata di Arance Amare Florentines aren't big dessert-eaters, so many menus have a limited array of sweets. Not so at Zibibbo. Chef Vitali's delicious selection includes this cream cheese tart, which is one of the restaurant's most popular desserts. What to drink: An estate-bottled Vin Santo. Try: Capezzana Vin Santo di Carmignano.

Polenta stands in for flour with delicious results in this Venetian dessert.

Ravioli al Radicchio Rosso Stuffed pasta shows up less frequently in Florence than it does in the nearby Emilia-Romagna region. But when it does appear on menus, it's usually dressed simply, like the ravioli here, with a little butter and a bit of grated Parmesan.

This is a popular street food in Sicily, especially in Palermo, where warm panelle are served between two pieces of country bread.

Don't be concerned if the pudding cracks a bit when you invert it onto the plate; it will taste just as good.

We made our potpie in an oval baking dish, but you could also use a square or rectangular one.

This dish would be great served with fried eggs for brunch.

Ambrosia may sound exotic, but it's simply chilled fruit (typically oranges or bananas) tossed with coconut and sugar. In some homes, it is served as a salad as well as a dessert. Here, food editor Alexis Touchet put her own spin on this southern classic by bringing cake into the picture, and moving the oranges to the filling and pressing the coconut into the frosting.

Corn bread sweetened with sugar must be a Yankee invention, because corn bread in the South is always a savory staple. We like to keep it simple, but don't stint on the fat, whether butter or bacon fat (or oil, if you must). Corn bread, corn muffins, and corn sticks should all be cooked to a dark shade of golden brown and turned out while hot, the steam rising fragrant with the aromas of corn and bacon, as you break into them.