Nut

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Arlene sometimes uses sliced apricots, peaches or whole strawberries instead of plums for an equally delicious topping.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

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.

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.

This recipe gives everyone a mini cobbler.

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.

Samali: One of the great sweets of Thessaloniki, made in pastry shops, at home, and hawked from small carts on the streets all around the Kapani market.

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.

Marge Dawson of Ivoryton, Connecticut, writes: "My daughter and I went to Thali, an Indian restaurant in New Canaan, Connecticut, and had a superb meal. I have never been a fan of rice pudding, but their version was out of this world. Is there any chance you could get the recipe?"

Kevin Prothal of Albany, New York, writes: "While we in upstate New York don't usually get a lot of press about our restaurants, we are still very well fed. I think the best place for any meal is McCarthy's Restaurant in Canton. The service is friendly, and the chocolate chip pie is, by itself, worth a trip up from New York City." This dessert is amazingly easy to prepare.

Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 2 hr

Spicy Szechuan dishes were quite the thing in the seventies; around that time, pasta was also coming into its own. This recipe features ingredients that are widely available in the Asian foods section of most markets. If you like, add snow peas and sliced red bell pepper for some crunch.

(GLACES AUX TROIS PARFUMS) These lavender, honey-saffron and nougat ice creams show off true Provençal flavors.