Brunch

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

White chocolate custard tops espresso custard in this luxurious make-ahead dessert. It's pretty garnished with fresh strawberries and coffee beans.

In Japan a bamboo sushi mat, known as a sudare or a maki su, is used to roll this omelet roll. However, even without a mat, you should have no trouble making the roll.

Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 3 hr.

The Shakers, who once had a number of active communities in New England, were known for their creative use of fresh herbs in cooking and baking. This savory yeast bread is a typical example. It is delicious freshly baked or toasted the following day.

Marinate the cheese for a couple of hours, then assemble the salad just before serving.

In a fresh interpretation of the classic Italian dessert, we've replaced the traditional chocolate and coffee with berries and fruit liqueur. For a garnish, we like the looks of fresh berries, but we used frozen berries in the filling to keep it moist. They're also more uniform in flavor--and less expensive.

It's important to note that the pumpernickel used in this tart should be very dense. Although we prefer the light-brown Danish pumpernickel, the dark German-style variety works just as well. For the filling we've suggested lumpfish caviar, which is readily available in the States; in Sweden, the fish roe called lojrom would probably be used. It comes from bleak, an ocean fish from the Baltic Sea.

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.

The following Bloody Mary recipe is based on a spicy tequila-chaser from Mexico called sangrita, which is usually made with the juices of tomatoes and oranges and sometimes other fruit. Adding to our variation's international flavor, Scandinavian aquavit takes the place of vodka or gin.

Irish bacon, sliced and packaged, is increasingly available at supermarkets. If you find it at the butcher counter, ask the butcher to slice it into 1/4-inch-thick slices.