Alcohol

Definitely not Ye Olde English Classic, but very delicious and very contemporary. Using store-bought sponge cake (ask for it at your supermarket bakery) or pound cakes simplifies assembly.

Watch how to prepare and carve your bird with our streaming video demonstration.

This quick dessert is like a crustless apple tart. It's a terrific way to use the fruit of the season and a perfect finish for the pork chops

With the galette, offer radicchio tossed with black olives, toasted walnuts and a Sherry vinaigrette. Spoon some stewed rhubarb over vanilla ice cream to top off the meal.

Poussin à la Confiture d'Oignons Cornish game hens are a delicious and more readily available substitute for the guinea hens that the chef at Restaurant Hiély-Lucullus uses to prepare this. (Have the butcher quarter the hens and remove their backbones.) When in season, peaches are caramelized and served with this dish at the restaurant.

A real winner: Delicate "purses" of phyllo pastry hold a banana and hazelnut filling. They're served with white chocolate sauce and a crunchy hazelnut crumble.

"When I lived in South Africa, rum and raisin chocolate bars were a special treat," says Beth Peterson of Phoenix, Arizona. "I created this brownie recipe based on that combination of flavors, and perfected it with the help of friends and colleagues who sampled the brownies at each stage of development. These have a grown-up taste with the right balance of sweetness and rum." Try these warm with vanilla ice cream.

In this delicious dish from Asterix & Obelix, the orzo is toasted before it's cooked, giving the pasta a nice nutty flavor.

"I had lunch at a historic spot in Berryville, Virginia, called the Battletown Inn," says Judy Owens of Round Hill Virginia. "For dessert, I ordered bourbon walnut pie. If chef Robin Smith would share her recipe, I know that baking the pie during the holidays would become a family tradition." The sweetness of the filling is offset nicely by the bourbon. Serve the dessert with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

At Valentino, pastry chef Michelle Robie cuts the cake into individual heart shapes and sometimes serves them with a blood orange sauce.

Aromatic spice and herb blends can quickly turn an ordinary soup recipe into something extraordinary. Here they transform a basic carrot soup into a special concoction you'll crave again and again. So start utilizing the "cook once, eat twice" theory; just freeze half of the recipe or make a double batch whenever possible.