Nut

This is not a traditional chili and has no connection with any Mexican or Texas recipe. It was devised simply as an experiment and turned out to be delicious.

Blancmange is a jelled molded pudding (similar to a bavarian) that is made with almonds and milk and is served cold, often with a fruit sauce. Originally, the dessert was thickened with powdered almonds; today gelatin is used in their place. This dessert is said to hail from the Languedoc region of France.

Serve these as an appetizer with a salad of baby greens.

You can easily recreate this recipe with a wonderful free-range chicken. As for the candied chestnuts, I recommend using freshly cooked, shelled chestnuts which are still quite sweet!

Roasted baby potatoes and steamed asparagus with blue-cheese dressing make appealing sides. Layer sugared sliced strawberries and whipped cream in goblets for dessert.

These rich and chocolaty treats are great for holiday gift-giving—if you can bring yourself to part with them.

Marisol likes to serve the Candied Butternut Squash atop the couscous.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. "Goober"is a southern colloquialism for the peanut — and a great name for our ice cream sandwiches. Be sure to put these together before dinner so that they'll be frozen and ready to enjoy.

"Biscotti have become very popular recently, but my mother-in-law, Helen, has been baking them for years," says Janet Mercuri of North Royalton Ohio. "Now that I've started using her recipe, friends tell me that my biscotti taste just like their grandmothers' —and I'm not even Italian." These have a subtle anise flavor and would be nice with a caffè latte.

Lime curd and tart cranberries are balanced by a layer of sweet white chocolate cream. For best results, use imported white chocolate, such as Lindt or Perugina. Begin preparing the tart two days before you plan to serve it.