Cream Cheese

Layers of espresso-soaked pound cake and cream cheese custard come together with chocolate. Tiramisù means "pick-me-up" in Italian-and this certainly does.

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 4 hr (includes chilling)

If you love cheesecake, try this classic French dessert.

This filling is definitely not peas and hard carrots and tough chunks of chicken. Instead, there are sun-dried tomatoes and shiitake mushrooms with flavorful pieces of thyme-seasoned chicken. And best of all, the individual pies can be assembled a day ahead, leaving only the baking to be done before sharing them with the family.

Liptauer gained its name from the provenance of the fresh sheep's milk cheese with which it was originally made, Lipto, Hungary. Our version of this seasoned spread is made with cream cheese.

Bake this at least one day ahead.

These cakes are actually better made ahead. They become richer and fudgier one to two days after baking.

Don't let the unappetizing-sounding name fool you: I'm talking about mold as in "shape" here. I'm from New Orleans, which means I grew up with a lot of socializing, most of it centered around food. There, both the front door and the refrigerator door are always open for friends or family who drop in. My mother always seems to have a steady stream of visitors, whether it's a neighbor who's stopped by for tea, one of her many siblings who happen by at dinnertime, or me with a whole troop of friends in for Mardi Gras or Jazz Fest. True New Orleanian that she is, she always has something good to eat. This seafood mold is a common dish at parties all around the city, and as improvisation is the hallmark of New Orleans cooking, each chef has her own version. I haven't gotten to the stage where I've made my own mark on this recipe yet, so I just copy Mom's. This mold needs to be made at least a few hours in advance in order to give it time to set, but it's a delicious centerpiece to any hors d'oeuvres table. You can serve it with crackers, with thinly sliced, toasted French bread, or with vegetables. Sometimes Mom even serves this in boiled-egg halves, as a New Orleans–style variation on deviled eggs. Be creative!

These pastries are best when freshly baked, so if you plan on giving them to someone who may not be able to serve them within a day or two, you should deliver them frozen, along with the baking instructions.

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

These cookies are a delicious variation on the traditional and are reminiscent of rugelach.

Can be made in 45 minutes or less.

Short of time? Then skip the broiling, and serve the crostini cold.

This dessert tastes indulgent, but it's made with nonfat cottage cheese, nonfat cream cheese and evaporated skim milk.

Cape Cod's cranberry bogs — which supply the crowning glory of countless holiday desserts — provided the inspiration for this festive and luscious cheesecake. Chocolate wafer cookies (used in the crust) are sometimes located in the ice cream section, displayed above the freezer case.