Food Processor

Use this recipe to prepare Brandied Date and Walnut Pie, Pineapple, Apricot and Cranberry Lattice-Crust Pie, Spiced Pear and Raisin Pie, Toasted Almond Cream Pie with Boysenberry Topping, Apple and Tart Cherry Pie and Honey-Pecan Pumkin Pie.

(Sicilian "Pizza" with Onions and Anchovies) Sfinciune derives its name from a word in local dialect meaning soft, light, or tender, a reference to its rich, airy crust. This version of sfinciune has a bread-crumb topping, which gives it a pleasant crunch.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A filling of bittersweet chocolate truffles is the surprise in this elegant dessert from Michele Dennis at Zefiro.

We've substituted the florets of regular broccoli for broccoli rabe, since they are more readily available. Use rabe if you can find it at your market; it will lend a stronger, more authentic flavor to the dish.

The filling is wonderfully creamy, like ice cream, but is made without using an ice cream machine. Be sure to have plenty of extra fruit to go along with the torte.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

GELATO DI MELONE

Crusts made of ground biscotti and almonds accent this do-ahead dessert.

Dorothy Williams of Vancouver, British Columbia, writes: "To celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, my husband and I spent a week in Victoria, British Columbia. We particularly enjoyed Abigail's Hotel, where we had some delicious carrot-coconut cupcakes." For a lovely breakfast muffin, omit the cream cheese frosting.

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 4 hr (includes chilling)

"At the restaurant Mimosa, the food, service, and ambiance transform a night in Los Angeles into an evening in Paris," says Michele Winkler of Sherman Oaks, California. "There, we had a delectable roast pork that was succulent on the inside, with a marvelous crust. We would love to prepare it at home." You can order the inexpensive "Boston" roast called for in this recipe from your butcher. In late-18th-century New England, some pork cuts were packed into casks or barrels, known as "butts," for storage and shipment. The way the pork shoulder was cut in the Boston area became known in some regions as "Boston butt," a moniker still used today almost everywhere in the United States, except Boston.

Quick, upscale and delicious. Leftover garbanzo bean spread makes a great dip for carrot and celery sticks.

Roast some cherry tomatoes and eggplant cubes alongside the lamb, and perk up instant couscous with fresh herbs for an easy addition. To complete the dinner, top poached or canned apricot halves with vanilla yogurt and chopped pistachios.

Can be prepared in 45 minues or less.

The 1990s opened with American cooks finding their way back to some of the foods and flavors of our country's beginning, then modifying them with new knowledge gained over time. Cheesecakes have been around for centuries, but they've never been more popular in the United States than they are right now. Pumpkin, too, is a New World food for which tradition reserves an honored place at any Thanksgiving table. We've teamed up these old favorites with luscious caramel in a creamy dessert that's right in step with the times.