Brandy

Since moving to Stockholm to join my Swedish husband, I'm learning to base my cooking on ingredients that are plentiful here. It seems that pork is more popular--and more readily available--than chicken (my usual standby) so I developed:

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Honey, brandy and spices enhance purchased marmalade for an easy-to-make gift.

A rich entrée that's even more satisfying served over noodles.

This cake, also called fraisier (French for "strawberry plant"), is usually made with almonds, but pistachios are used in this rendition. The delicate cake is layered with fresh strawberries and a mousselike white chocolate buttercream and then topped with marzipan.

The roulade is particularly stunning when accompanied by a glistening array of the Glacéed Fruits .

Brown sugar, almonds and oats combine for a crunchy topping in this lovely dessert. A touch of kirsch, a clear cherry brandy, enhances the fruit.

Only 1/3 cup of flour is used in this recipe, so the cake has a deliciously dense texture.

Chocolate and cherry — the flavors of Germany's famous Black Forest torte — combine in this moist, fudgy cake. Baked in a metal bowl and covered with whipped cream, it resembles a snowball (boule-de-neige). Begin making this at least one day ahead.

We've combined two holiday heavy hitters — chestnut stuffing and sausage stuffing — into one delicious dish. We call for bacon in addition to fresh pork to bring in a bit of smokiness.

Pork, always a favorite in the Midwest and the South, gained popularity early in the century. Immigrants from pork-loving countries such as Germany and Poland were crowding the cities and finding that fresh pork, a luxury back home, was abundant and affordable. Recipes of the time called for pan-frying chops, covering them with apples and baking them for an hour or so. But that would leave today’s pork, which is less fatty, very dry. Here, brining is the trick for making pork chops flavorful and juicy.

This recipe originally accompanied Prune Kumquat Sticky Pudding with Amagnac Toffee Sauce .

Perfect for the Fourth of July. If you like, garnish the sundaes with maraschino cherries, small American flags and edible sugar stars.

This ice cream is served with a hazelnut torte at Die Quadriga in the Hotel Brandenburger Hof.