Sour Cream

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 45 min

This sophisticated appetizer from Aqua in San Francisco is nice for a special occasion.

Dollops of cinnamon-flavored sour cream top this luscious soup.

In this luscious soup, the restaurant uses a squash that is relatively new to the American market: the kabocha, a beautiful jade-green winter squash with deep orange flesh. Chipotle chilies canned in a spicy tomato sauce, sometimes called adobo, are available at Latin American markets, specialty foods stores, and some supermarkets.

Be sure to make this dessert at least one day ahead to allow the flavors to blend.

A classic combination of tender shortcrust pastry and soft, candy-like caramel filling.

Start preparing this two days before you plan to serve it. Toast the coconut in a 350°F oven until light golden in spots, stirring frequently, about ten minutes.

ALSACE Serve with a green salad for a lovely lunch or light supper. What to drink: Gewürztraminer or a dry Alsatian Riesling.

Active time: 15 minutes Start to finish: 1 1/4 hour

Many Mexican desserts are topped with cajeta, a thick caramel sauce. Two caramel elements make this cake especially delicious: a syrup that's drizzled over each layer and caramelized sugar stars on top. Use a variety of star-shaped cookie cutters to make the stars.

These can be made one day ahead, then drizzled with the vinaigrette just before serving.

"I spend as much time as I can cooking," writes Brigette Lyons of Allendale, New Jersey, "and I'm equally comfortable feeding two or two hundred. I thoroughly enjoy giving sit-down meals, including an annual Christmas luncheon I do for about twenty guests. I just like to cook, period. Cooking for two hundred may be different from making weeknight dinners for myself and my husband, John, but organization is the key to both. I try to keep things on hand that are simple and easy to prepare." These rich and creamy mashed potatoes (thanks to sour cream and cream cheese) can be prepared ahead of time.

A wonderfully homey cake that's equally good with afternoon tea, after a meal, or for breakfast with a cup of Italian roast coffee. Maple sugar is available at some supermarkets and at many natural foods stores.

You've never seen these on the menu at your local fast-food Mexican restaurant, and you probably never will. One of the joys of cooking is that leftovers can be used to create better meals than most people get when they eat out. These tacos are remarkably simple to make. Just put the various ingredients in their own serving containers on the table and let everyone serve themselves.

Tartines de Caviar à la Crème Aigre Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 25 min

For a Fourth of July theme, top these bluish purple potatoes with salmon or red lumpfish roe. Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 35 min

This cake has a crunchy pecan-brown sugar topping and a layer of pears in the middle.

Antoinette Muto of Los Angeles, California, writes: "My business partner and I own a company that makes costumes for the film industry. When we are involved in a huge project — as we were with Minority Report and X2 — we work very long days, and sometimes even on weekends. So I don't have much time to cook or even to go out for lunch or dinner. That's when my no-fiddling cooking style comes in handy. I cut corners when I can — without sacrificing flavor. I prepare all-vegetarian meals, using the freshest ingredients from the farmers' market, and I really get a kick out of seeing people come over to my house and not miss the meat one bit."