Susan Herrmann Loomis

(Gâteau de Semoule d’Isabelle) A favorite on the Dugord farm in Normandy, this cake (which is really more of a pudding) wins with everyone. According to Isabelle Dugord, who convinced her grandmother to share the recipe, her family ate this all the time when she was growing up, and it's still her preferred sweet. Isabelle works part-time at a day-care center and always has the children make this at least once while they’re with her. "It's easy to make, healthy, and they all, down to the last child, just love it," she said. It can be served hot, lukewarm, or chilled, and is best the day it is made. Raisins are traditional, though dates or figs are luscious, too.

Croûte Forestière This is based on a croûte forestière I tasted at the Bois Gourmand restaurant outside Champagnole, in the heart of the mountainous Jura region in France. The restaurant is known in the area for its regional specialties, and this was an intriguing interpretation of the typical croûte forestière which is made entirely with morels.

This is a wonderful way to experience onions and it is reminiscent of the Alsatian specialty, flammekeuche. Combined with the cream, the onions (Rose de Roscoff, if you can find them) create a sweet, succulent foil for the bacon and the pizza dough. I like to serve this as a first course, with a lovely Gewurtztraminer.

This recipe is inspired by our trip to London aboard the Eurostar. The light, delicate sauce, which I make with fresh goat cheese from the market in Louviers, is perfect with freshly steamed asparagus (preferably white, though it is wonderful with green as well). If you can't find fresh goat cheese you may make this with fresh cow's cheese — the flavor will be different but as delectable.

You can use small manila clams or cherrystones if you can't get cockles. You can also use mussels, but the cooking time will be slightly shorter.

This sorbet has summer in every bite. Be sure to use very ripe apricots, and don't neglect the lemon juice. The sorbet is best eaten right after it is made.

A true coq au vin is made with the master of the farmyard, a rooster. If you can't find such a beast, use a good-size roasting chicken, and reduce the cooking time (cook it for about one hour, or until the meat is tender and cooked but not falling from the bone).

Grated black radish salad is exquisite too. Try it with the most common black radish in the U.S. (Raphanus sativus), which is round and has a similar flavor and texture to Raphanus sativus niger.

This is a typical Norman recipe, a way to use up the little bits of cheese that somehow manage to end up on a cheese platter. It is delicious.

(POTAGE AU POTIRON)

This is the best clafouti I have ever tasted, for it is short on flour, long on custard, and the butter gives it an added depth of flavor. Remove the pits if you like. If you leave the pits in the cherries, be sure to warn your guests so they don't crack their teeth!

As with all jams and jellies, make a small batch as indicated here, so that it cooks well and thoroughly for the short time indicated, preserving the pure flavor of the berries.

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!

This is the soup everyone enjoyed in Louviers for Carnaval. Quick to make, deliciously satisfying and alluring, you will find it hits the spot on a cool late winter to spring evening.

This recipe can be made vegetarian by substituting either soy sauce or Bragg Liquid Aminos for the Nuoc Nam, a Vietnamese fish sauce made from anchovies which is used as a salty seasoning. The flavor will not be quite the same, but it will be equally satisfying.