Orange

Caffelatte is what Italians of all ages have for breakfast at home. For small children it is a cupful of warm milk lightly stained with coffee, the ratio of coffee to milk increasing with one's years. It is often accompanied by some store-bought biscuits, but not in my assistant Nadia's family. She lives on her father's farm outside Venice with her husband and small boy, and for her son Tommaso she bakes wholesome cakes with fresh fruit. He has some with his caffeelatte and takes another piece to school to eat for merenda, recess. I was particularly taken with the cake Nadia makes when there is no more summer fruit on the farm. She uses pears and apples and always adds a banana she buys in town. The proportions of one fruit to another may vary, and indeed Nadia says they always do, but nothing much can go wrong or affect the cake's plainspoken, engagingly fresh taste.

(Cold Avocado Soup)

The delicate beet greens — which are an excellent source of potassium, folic acid, and magnesium — make this dish even more healthful.

Delicious over vanilla ice cream.

This version of the Greek and Turkish dessert features dates instead of nuts. Date palms flourish in the hot climate of the Middle East.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr (includes chilling) The electric blender (originally a bartender's tool for daiquiris) became a must-have home appliance in the 1950s. Cooks grew enamored of the blender's ability to create velvet-smooth soups — soups previously (and messily) forced through food mills and sieves.

For convenience, the lamb can be prepared one day ahead, then slowly rewarmed before you plan to serve it.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Makes use of the microwave oven.

Tamarind paste, from a pod with a sweet-tangy pulp, is common in Hawaiian cooking.

For more information about forming and frying these pastry spirals, see Our Big Fat Greek Pastries.

This fruity, not-too-sweet barbecue sauce is terrific on any type of grilled poultry, pork, or even salmon. For convenience, it can be made one day ahead.

Sprinkling this creamy custard with powdered sugar and then placing the dessert under the broiler gives it a delicate crust. Serve with crisp gingersnap cookies.

(Teules de Taronja) These crisp cookies are shaped like the terra-cotta roof tiles, teules (tejas in Castilian Spanish), that top village houses—old and new—throughout Spain. Almonds are a common ingredient in Catalan cookies, but we took another cue from the Moors and added candied orange.

Madeira is combined with Cointreau, honey and spices in a simple English-inspired hot drink for the holidays.