Molasses

A colorful dish that has great texture and deep, rich flavors.

American spice: Powdered-sugar icing decorates these crisp gingerbread-like treats.

If you are making the creamed grilled corn and are using a charcoal grill, grill the corn first, then add more briquettes to keep the fire hot while you finish up the corn dish on the stove. Then keep the corn warm, covered, over low heat while grilling the grilled scallions with lemon and pork.

Instead of serving coffee, alter the usual dessert routine by offering a glass of Cognac or dry Sherry with these apples.

Ann Colton of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, writes: "Just as T. S. Eliot's J. Alfred Prufrock measured out his life with coffee spoons, I like to measure out my days with interesting meals. Since I started teaching English literature to junior-high students about a year ago, I've had less time to cook because of all the papers I have to grade. I'm still a firm believer, though, that food makes life more fabulous, and I get such pleasure from tasting and experimenting. Sometimes I'll honor requests from my students and whip up new treats for them. My baked goods, like these scones, are the most popular." These oversize wedge-shaped scones have a light muffin-like texture.

Nan Buchanan, Kemah, Tex.
"This cookie is versatile, so I adapt the shapes and decorations to the season — jack-o'-lanterns at Halloween and eggs at Easter."

Working on this book has taken us new places, and also back to explore taste memories from the past and from travel. Sometimes we've stumbled on childhood tastes, and sometimes we've gone looking for them. This dark gingerbread is from scribbled notes I found in an old cookbook of my mother's. I don't know where she got the recipe, but I do know that she made it regularly, especially in winter, when its rich, warm scent would draw us into the kitchen at dinnertime. Serve it as a snack or for dessert.

These Christmas cookies are topped with white icing and silver dragées for added elegance. Look for the dragées in the cake decorating section of your supermarket.

Here we take two of the best treats from days gone by and combine them in one dessert. The cookies are also superb on their own.

A tangy sauce for grilled chicken or spare-ribs. Build up a shiny glaze by brushing the sauce often over the meat, beginning about 15 minutes from the end of cooking time.

For ease of transportation, the cupcakes and icing may be brought on board in separate containers.

The butter for the yams gets a lift from the peel of oranges, plus chili powder and cayenne pepper. Making the topping ahead saves time on the big day.

Stout, in the sharper-flavored ale family of brews popular in Great Britain, gains its dark color from the roasted malt used in its brewing. The rich, malty flavor melds well with the molasses and aromatics in this moist cake, which is brightened with a lemon glaze.

This batter is particularly well suited to the blender. Avoid overmixing, and you'll have a lovely soft cake. Please note when buying molasses that blackstrap has a much stronger taste than the regular kind.