Sour Cream

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

My mom used to make this recipe for class bake sales when I was in elementary school, and it was always a huge hit with the other kids (and teachers). She uses mini-muffin tins for petite, cute, and delicious little cheesecakes.

To make these tarts two 13 1/2 x 4 x 1-inch tart pans with removable rims are ideal; however, you could also use one 11 x 1-inch round tart pan with a removable rim.

Leaping off the backs of onion-soup-mix boxes and showing up at cocktail parties everywhere, Lipton’s sour cream-and-onion dip took the country by storm. Convenient and quick, the dip also tasted great on potato chips, without which, in the fifties anyway, it wasn’t a party. These days it isn’t a party without little toasts topped by something Mediterranean-hence this zesty update.

This recipe originally accompanied Tex-Mex Turkey Meat Loaf and Chipotle Mashed Potatoes .

This works equally well with raw vegetables or chips — or as a sauce for cold poached salmon or shrimp.

For a more colorful presentation of this down-home dip, we reserved some bacon, bell pepper, scallions, and basil for garnish. Can be prepared in 45 minutes 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.

The following is a moist and chocolaty cake suitable for many occasions. Use it to form the base for Tepee Birthday Cakes .

This satisfying, old-fashioned cake has a delicious ripple of brown sugar and walnuts running through it.

This tart is a snap to put together, thanks to purchased puff pastry. The square shape is something different for the summer table.

This is a sophisticated first course. The soup is also nice without the lobster. Uncork a Chardonnay or a French Sancerre.