Almond

"While on vacation in central Utah, I stayed in Bicknell at a wonderful place called The Lodge at Red River Ranch," writes Nancy Schmauder of University Place, Washington. "The granola was a breakfast treat worth getting up for." This crunchy granola has a touch of sweetness from honey and brown sugar. It makes a great breakfast served with milk, or a good snack eaten plain. Note that it can be made up to two weeks ahead.

This recipe works well with other fresh fruits such as nectarines, plums, figs, and bananas.

An Armenian dish that's the perfect accompaniment to roast turkey, goose or ham. This version is dressed up for the holidays with golden saffron and studded with dried fruit and nuts.

A sophisticated, Spanish-style salad.

This traditional French dessert combines all the best qualities of custard, pudding, and cake.

Dark chocolate, light chocolate and coffee fillings alternate with nut meringue layers, and dark chocolate ganache covers the whole torte. This is an irresistible version of the traditional Parisian dessert.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Look for rice vinegar in the Asian foods section of the supermarket.

Summer's luscious cherries topped with oats, almonds, brown sugar and cinnamon.

At the inn, the cake is decorated with Frangelico-flavored whipped cream and garnished with chocolate-covered almonds. Begin preparing the dessert a day ahead.

We've added a topping of walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds to a southern favorite.

Golden Delicious apples, as well as other good baking varieties like Rome Beauty, are a natural choice here.

Mexican chocolate, usually found in tablet form, contains cinnamon, sugar, and ground almonds — as do these fudgy squares.

Indulge yourself even more by mixing some toasted coconut (the sweetened, shredded kind) and a dash of coconut extract into vanilla ice cream, and scooping it alongside.

This Majorcan specialty is usually topped with homemade almond ice cream or ice milk, but purchased almond ice cream can also be used.

(MEZZELUNE AI PIGNOLI) Cookies made with pine nuts can be found in bakeries all over Umbria, which probably isn't too surprising for a region filled with pine trees. These crescents have a wonderful chewy texture. The dough is very soft, so you will need to flour your fingers to shape it. But don't inadvertently use too much flour, or the cookies will be tough.