Sour Cream

This recipe uses a combination of direct and indirect heat, which can be accomplished using a charcoal or gas grill. If you have a gas grill, you can easily use it to roast the peppers.

This herbed cheese dip has almost nothing else in it to mask the thyme flavor. Serve with crackers, lightly toasted pita bread, and raw vegetable sticks.

Frozen desserts seem especially festive — and no less refreshing — in the cooler months.

Though cheese blintzes rate as an all-time favorite in my family, I don't always have the time to prepare them in the usual fashion. Therefore, I created the following casserole, which has a fantastic flavor very similar to blintzes (some say it's even better); yet it takes only a few minutes to prepare. In fact, I make it often throughout the year. It is quite different from the popular cheese blintz casseroles made with frozen commercial blintzes. For my version, a layer of cheese filling is baked between two light layers of a special blintz-type batter. The casserole is then cut into squares for serving, making it a perfect choice for a dairy buffet and great for Shavuot. Since the first edition of this book was published, this layered blintz casserole has proven to be one of its most popular recipes. The dish is served at the famous Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, New York, where it has become a favorite brunch offering under the name "Easy Cheese Blintz Puff." And the recipe has appeared in a number of books and magazines. Like some of the other "creative" recipes in this book, this one appears to be on its way to becoming a classic of "new" Jewish cooking. <a name="note"></a>Notes: The types of cheese in the filling were determined after much experimentation with various mixtures. It is the best combination to produce the desired results of separate layers. The top of this casserole is rather plain. If desired, it may be sprinkled lightly with cinnamon or cinnamon-sugar before the casserole is returned to the oven for the final baking.

A lovely do-ahead pasta salad for spring.

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.

This recipe was created to accompany Honeydew in Cardamom Lime Syrup with Vanilla Cream.

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

Leeks and sour cream combine here in a terrific take on mashed potatoes.

In Sweden various combinations of matjes herring — a type of herring cured in a spiced sweet-and-sour brine — are eaten with the first tender white potatoes of the season. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

White chocolate custard tops espresso custard in this luxurious make-ahead dessert. It's pretty garnished with fresh strawberries and coffee beans.

This recipe was created to accompany Cold Avocado Soup with Chili Coriander Cream. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.