Lemon

Evelyn Herring of Laguna Woods, California, writes: "My mother was raised in Scotland and learned to cook at a time when quality ingredients were hard to come by. She had to be imaginative, often substituting ingredients and improvising recipes. My own cooking has become Americanized over the years, but I still rely on her recipes. They're easy and always taste as good as the first time I tried them." These savory treats, called biscuits in Scotland, go well with cocktails or tea.

Budino is Italian for "pudding."

Garcia likes making this bread pudding because "we buy wonderful rustic Italian loaves for the restaurant that are just too good to waste," she says.

Meyer lemons add a floral note, but if you can't find them, regular lemons work just fine.

We can't imagine buying this drink necessity—it's so easy to make at home.

This classic tomato juice cocktail gets extra flavor from aquavit, a distilled spirit infused with fragrant herbs and spices.

Aperol, a popular Italian spirit, is often served on the rocks.

Capon's richness is perfectly complemented by mellow roasted onions and shallots. Though you can find frozen capons in almost every supermarket, we recommend ordering a fresh one from the butcher—the meat will be silkier and more delicious.

Coleslaw and a great loaf of bread are all you need with this. (But don't forget a good bottle of white wine, too.)

This delicious tweak on a classic is from Hip Sips by Lucy Brennan (Chronicle Books, Spring 2007) and was featured as a Cocktail of the Month.

Delicate with tender stems, Broccolini tastes great simply on its own. Adding a little lemon oil reveals perky new dimensions to its flavor.

If you've never had pie made from wild blueberries before, you'll be bowled over by the intensity of this one. The light, tender crust provides a sublime foil for the deeply flavorful fruit. Take heart if you can't find fresh wild blueberries in your area—frozen ones also yield excellent results.

This smooth and creamy chiffon pie is utterly dependent on the fruit; be choosy and select only perfectly ripe, aromatic nectarines to produce the ambrosial flavor you're after.

Steamed quinoa has an unbelievably light and fluffy texture. If you can get fresh-picked corn, you can add it to the salad raw—even without cooking, the kernels will be sweet and tender.

This is the ideal way to prepare young chickens, since there are two safeguards against their drying out (always a risk with small birds). The herbed butter slipped beneath the skin melts, basting and flavoring the meat as it cooks; the gentle, indirect heat lightly chars the skin without toughening the meat. As a result, every bite is juicy and perfectly seasoned.

Pesce al coriandolo in salsa di aceto
The alluring scents of coriander seeds and a whole handful of bay leaves perfume the fresh, flavorful flesh of bluefish.

Splashes of lemon add a bright note to this simple chicken dish seasoned in the Provençal tradition with rosemary and garlic.

Straight anchovy butter can be intense (indeed, we've given a range on the anchovies, so salt fiends can indulge), but the toasted, ground fennel seeds make these crunchy hors d'oeuvres taste clean, not heavy. Roasted red peppers add a burst of juicy sweetness and a hint of smokiness.