Candy Thermometer

Melissa Harden of Omaha, Nebraska, writes: "To celebrate our recent engagement, my fiancé and I spent a long weekend at the Mondrian in Los Angeles. Our stay was perfect, as was dinner at the hotel's Asia de Cuba restaurant, where I couldn't get enough of the rich Cuban Opera cake." A traditional Opera cake is made from very thin layers of cake, coffee buttercream, and coffee mousse — all covered with chocolate glaze. This version, which is perfect for a special occasion, is taller than your average Opera cake, owing to its thicker layers.

When making candy it's important to have all your equipment meticulously clean, because even the slightest trace of oil can adversely affect texture. Watch carefully for visual cues to doneness, using our cooking times merely as guidelines. And it is essential to do the soft-ball test (see below), as well as taking the temperature of the syrup, since some thermometers can actually be off by a few degrees.

If you make these as a side dish for the southern fried catfish, you can fry them in the same oil, but cook the hush puppies first because the fish will flavor the oil.

(Three Generations of Squash) Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 2 1/4 hr

White chocolate plus dark chocolate equals the ultimate combination. Here's a dessert sandwich of white and dark chocolate hearts filled with luscious chocolate mousse. Keep the hearts cold as you work with them (and until serving) to prevent breakage.

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 2 hr

Vanilla ice cream surrounds a soft lemon-cream and raspberry-sorbet center.

For more information about making petits fours, see <epi:recipelink id="">Perfect Petits Fours</epi:recipelink>.

Perfect for an elegant dinner party, this sophisticated dessert is a snap to make.

Nougat is an egg white, honey and nut confection traditional in the city of Montélimar, in the Rhône Valley. It is one of the 13 sweets offered to churchgoers on Christmas Eve. Start making this impressive dessert at least one day before you plan to serve it, although it can be prepared up to one week ahead.

Bill Borger created this rich dessert and its decadent sauce.

This recipe makes more ice cream than you'll need to fill the cones (see Coconut Tuile Cones with Passion-Fruit Ice Cream recipe), but it's so delicious you'll have no trouble getting rid of the leftovers. Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 3 1/4 hr