American

"My wife loves spinach salad, so one night I developed this recipe just for her," writes Jeff Edmunds of Yankton, South Dakota. "The crunchy apple slices and creamy avocado lend terrific texture and flavor." Add grilled chicken to this salad to make a main course.

Also great topped with butter and jam.

A low-fat alternative to beef, ground buffalo is becoming increasingly available.

Savor raw oysters served with three spicy, slightly sweet, and fiery salsas.

You can select any type of bottle you like for this citrus-scented spirit, but choosing a wide-neck one makes it a snap to place the citrus peel into the vodka. For easy gift wrapping, tie ribbons around the neck to match the colors of the peels. Tell the recipient to use the vodka in orange juice or lemonade, or shaken or stirred in a Martini, or to serve it ice-cold and straight up.

Use store-bought puff pastry and raspberry jam for this speedy version of the classic French jalousie tart.

"I've been telling everyone about the absolutely incredible birthday meal I had at Park Avenue Café here in New York City," writes Sherri Steinfeld Maxman of New York City. "The knee-weakening menu included Burke's famous "pastrami" salmon; a morel flan served with eggshells nestled in eggcups; basil-rubbed rack of lamb with oven-dried tomato ravioli; Camembert fondue with truffle essence; and a dazzling array of desserts." Executive chef David Burke uses the term fondue freely, in this case applying it to a truffle-flavored cream sauce served with a slice of Camembert. He likes to use Hudson Valley Camembert, a blend of sheep's and cow's milk. It is available by mail order from the cheesemaker, Old Chatham Sheepherding Company in Old Chatham, New York , tel. (888)743-3760.

An early version of this recipe appeared in Fannie Farmer's 1896 Boston Cooking-School Cook Book. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

I use Nabisco Famous Wafers in this recipe. If you don't use all of the ground wafers (you will probably have a bit left over), save them for sprinkling or layering in other ice cream desserts. You might add instant espresso powder to the crumbs, or some chopped toasted nuts, candies, or other cookies. Try pistachio-white chocolate ice cream rolled in ground chocolate wafers and finely chopped pistachios. Or use chocolate, coffee, cherry, raspberry, or hazelnut ice cream instead of the vanilla.

During World War II, chocolate was too valuable to be used for baking. As a result, brownies, which had been a favorite since around the turn of the century, were made less often. With the return to prosperity in the 1950s, this much-loved dessert came back into vogue--and became more popular than ever. Our rich and dense brownies are studded with peanuts and chocolate chips, and are partnered with a rich milk chocolate and peanut butter sauce. They're terrific served with vanilla ice cream, peanut butter-vanilla swirl or peanut butter ice cream. Serve the brownies slightly warm or at room temperature.

The following dish was a popular choice for bridge luncheons in the 1960s.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.