Bon Appétit

This streamlined dish gets its appeal from a great flavor combination and a rustic coarse texture. It's nice with roasted pork tenderloin or lean leg of lamb.

Al Forno restaurant put Providence on the culinary map, and grilled pizza-invented there by chef George Germon had a lot to do with it. Here's one to make at home.

Only half of the praline is used in the dessert; the rest will make a nice topping for ice cream, frozen yogurt or stewed fruit.

Celebrate with a bottle of Champagne.

A light-textured baked apricot meringue.

These dessert packages are fun to make and a clever way to serve strudel. Try either tart dried cherries or the sweeter dried Bing - both available at specialty foods stores and most supermarkets.

Start with a radicchio and watercress salad tossed with Sherry vinaigrette, and pass crisp semolina rolls with the pasta. Wrap up the meal with chocolate-covered biscotti, assorted grapes, and some good brandy.

This recipe gives everyone a mini cobbler.

María A. Alvarado-Gómez of Erie, Pennsylvania, writes: "I came to the United States as an exchange student, after spending the first 18 years of my life in Mérida, Yucatán. On school vacations I would go home and cook with my mother and sisters so that I wouldn't lose my touch. My mother was a skilled cook, and I was lucky to have learned at her side. Her food was so popular in our neighborhood that she sold portions of our daily meals to other families. With nine well-fed kids, she said we were her best advertisement. "I still take great pride in the food of my homeland. Yucatecan cuisine is known for its Mayan influence, and the essential ingredients we use — limes, spices, avocados, tomatoes, peppers — make for wonderful flavors. Now that ground spices are readily available and vegetables can be quickly chopped in a food processor, preparing traditional Mexican dishes is easier than ever." Fresh and lively, like a cooked ceviche.

A celebration of midwestern cherries.

Cream cheese enhances the texture of the custard in this tart. To create the pretty wave pattern, use an icing comb, available in cookware stores. Begin making the dessert a day ahead.

Michael McLaughlin, cookbook author, says, "Not all Thanksgiving traditions originated decades ago. This recent addition to my holiday menu lineup was inspired by my move to Santa Fe. With locally grown green chilies readily available and pine nuts growing on piñon trees right outside my back door, a southwestern-style stuffing incorporating both ingredients seemed a natural. The tequila-soaked raisins are a sweet surprise." Make the corn bread a day ahead.

This classic chocolate cake gets its unlikely moniker from its color--the same as the deep, rich soil that lines Old Man River. It's usually made in a single-layer rectangular baking pan, but we dressed ours up and fashioned it into a layer cake.