Dried Fruit

In Austria this is called Krambambuli.

This dessert, long favored by the British at holiday time, originally contained minced meat along with the fruits and spices. This version, more suited to the nineties table, is meatless and brimming with apples, dried fruit and lots of spices.

Cranberries originally grew wild in Wisconsin; now they are the state's leading commercial fruit crop. They're also a must on the Thanksgiving table. In this take on a holiday staple, the mincemeat filling is packed with dried cranberries, which lend a tart balance to the sweetness of the raisins.

Be sure to order an uncut wheel of Brie ahead of time from a cheese shop or specialty foods store. The entire wheel is baked with a flavorful chutney; any leftover chutney is great with curries or roasts.

For a great one-dish meal, serve this rich stew over rice. If you want to make it even more authentic, use couscous, a small grain-shaped pasta that is often found in North African and Middle Eastern cooking. It's available at many supermarkets and specialty foods stores.

The secret to the light and flaky crust is cream cheese. For an extra-special presentation, cut out decorative shapes from the dough scraps, and arrange them on the pie after glazing it; brush cutouts with glaze and bake.

The hens should marinate at least 12 hours, so begin preparing a day before serving.

We used veal in the following recipe; however, turkey cutlets (slices of raw turkey breast) would also be delicious and have about half the fat grams. When the veal or turkey is pounded, the cutlets may tear. The holes can be sealed with wooden toothpicks, and as soon as the roulades are baked, the holes with close. We suggest cooking the potatoes before the roulades, as they require a higher oven temperature. If desired, the potatoes may then be warmed up in the oven as the roulades finish baking.

These cake-like treats are moist and spicy-and great with milk.

These muffins are at once light and chewy.

A touch of cardamom lends subtle spice to these innovative crescent-shaped rolls.

This cookie is popular in most of Eastern Europe. It features a tender pastry and, in this rendition, a delicious not-too-sweet cranberry and walnut filling. The cookies are formed by rolling up triangles of the pastry into small crescents.

A spice cake that's great with coffee.