British

There are innumerable recipes for this favorite English breakfast dish. Some call for Béchamel sauce, some for cheese. This version is easy.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Try jazzing up the shortbread with chopped toasted nuts. We particularly like pecans, hazelnuts, and almonds. Use your favorite fine-quality butter for the best-tasting cookies.

When you're cooking with veggies, don't overlook dessert! This cake has great texture, thanks to both pureed and grated carrots. It's delicious with or without frosting and great for parties.

This is a lovely, low-fat version of a classic English fruit dessert.

"The recipes here reflect my British roots, but not necessarily my family traditions," writes Mairi Morrison of London, England. "Although my mother is from Scotland and my father is from Northern Ireland, I grew up in Los Angeles, where our weeknight meals were typically American: spaghetti, tacos, and burgers. It wasn't until I moved to Europe that I became really interested in food. Here in London my social life is centered around the table. I really like this dish because it is typically British, and perfect for a rainy winter evening in London." A nice side with lamb, chicken or fish dishes.

This recipe requires a little advance planning — the yogurt will need to drain for at least 8 hours.

Brandysnaps are popular in Scotland, and lemon curd is a British fixture. Here is a double treat of lemon curd: Some goes into the ice cream; the rest is offered as a sauce.

You might wonder why we freeze the chocolate filling for these charlottes before baking them. The coldness prevents the chocolate from overcooking in the oven.

English Christmas "pudding" is really a dense, moist spiced cake. This gingerbread version is flavored with orange marmalade and topped with a traditional hard sauce — butter and sugar mixed with brandy.

"I tried a fabulous fig and fennel bread at Clarke's restaurant while I was in London," writes Nancy Shrier of Rydal, Pennsylvania. "I'd love to have the recipe." Do as the restaurant does and serve this slightly sweet bread with unsalted butter or with a variety of cheeses.

I hadn't expected to find an entry on meat loaf in Alan Davidson's magisterial Oxford Companion to Food (1999). Indeed, I only looked it up there so I could say that meat loaf was a great and ubiquitous dish that everyone snubbed. Meat loaf, I intended to say, is a kind of joke.... Alan Davidson let me down. He had plenty to say about meat loaf..."a dish whose visibility is considerably higher in real life, especially in N. America and Britain, than in cookery books."

At Inverlochy Castle, this dish is served with spinach and sautéed mushrooms, and tender asparagus tips are scattered over the fillets as a final garnish.

Sarabeth Levine makes her scones at Sarabeth's in New York, with only one tablespoon of sugar, so they aren't oversweet. The dough is very sticky, but resist the temptation to knead in more flour — the stickiness means the scones will be tender. Partner them with jam or whipped cream for a real treat.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

From the Inn at Perry Cabin—St. Michaels, Maryland. At the inn, this classic English dessert comes with clotted cream. A blend of whipped cream and sour cream is a nice substitute.

A purchased cake mix (spiked with Marsala for added zip) makes this elegant dessert a snap to prepare. For extra ease, you can assemble it the day before serving.