Bon Appétit

Don't worry if you can't wait for this yummy cake to cool - it's also delicious warm.

A light texture and a sweet honey flavor make these bran muffins irresistible.

An Asian take on pasta salad. Soba, or Japanese buckwheat noodles, have a brown-gray color and nutty flavor.

Serve the fish with steamed rice and braised bok choy or Napa cabbage for an elegant and easy Asian-inspired dinner. Begin marinating the fish at least three hours before you plan to cook it.

Radicchio, curly endive, butter lettuce and arugula are perfectly blended in this simple salad and tossed with a lemony dressing. Chef Hearon suggests uncorking a crisp Ligurian white wine or a California Charbono.

These wholesome flapjacks are filled with the energy-boosting carbohydrates found in whole wheat flour and multigrain oatmeal. The fat is kept down by using low-fat cottage cheese, only two egg yolks and just two tablespoons of milk. To cook the pancakes, make sure to use a nonstick skillet brushed lightly with oil. Top them with the Peach and Berry Salad, and serve with reduced-fat sausages.

The classic appetizer incorporates sweet and luscious ingredients for a terrific dessert from ObaChine in Beverly Hills.

Mashed Yukon Gold potatoes, brussels sprouts tossed with slivered pimiento, and gingered baked apples are updates of American classics that would go well with this turkey twist on Salisbury steak.

Fresh, colorful and simple, this salad is the essence of summer. In the picnic basket, tuck a cold pack next to this dish to keep it at the right temperature.

Have fun with this variation on an old favorite.

Oats, brown sugar and walnuts team up with cinnamon and cloves in the terrific streusel topping for this homespun treat.

Here's a colorful and creative pie: Apricots, which flourish in California, Hawaiian pineapple and Oregon cranberries come together in a filling that offers a terrific balance of the exotic and the traditional. It's good with vanilla ice cream.

Setting the skillet that contains the caramel onto a larger skillet of ice cubes is a clever way to prevent the caramel from burning.