Walnut

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

A sophisticated and easy-to-make salad.

These dense, moist treat are irresistible. Wrapped in a pretty box, they make a great gift, too.

In this easy starter, a mix of tangy blue cheese, chopped toasted walnuts and peppery arugula makes a delicious topping for baguette toasts.

If you can't find haricots verts--thin French string beans--buy the slenderest green beans you can find. Pack the prepared potatoes and beans separately, then arrange them on a platter when you reach your destination.

This nucato is related to the delicious nougat noir ("black nougat") still made in the southern French town of Sisteron. But here, there is an additional pleasant surprise when you taste it: the perfumed bite of spices. This is a perfect treat for Christmastime.

"I had lunch at a historic spot in Berryville, Virginia, called the Battletown Inn," says Judy Owens of Round Hill Virginia. "For dessert, I ordered bourbon walnut pie. If chef Robin Smith would share her recipe, I know that baking the pie during the holidays would become a family tradition." The sweetness of the filling is offset nicely by the bourbon. Serve the dessert with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Versatile breads that are good served with cheese, spread with butter and jam at teatime, or paired with a main-course salad.

Among the pear varieties, we prefer the silky, juicy flesh and slightly winy flavor of Comice pears for eating, and they are exceptionally good in this crisp. (For poaching and in tarts, good Bosc pears have the right texture and body.)

Walnut Soup (Hup Tul Woo) is a favorite snack soup, often eaten in place of dessert. The Chinese believe that walnuts resemble the shape of the brain and, thus, are good for nourishing the brain. Any foods that resemble the shape of a body organ are said to be god for that organ. Walnuts are also associated with longevity, since walnut trees live for hundreds of years. Regardless, this is a delicious soup. The oven-roasting brings out the fragrance of the walnuts, and it is rich and creamy despite the fact that there is no dairy added. I think Walnut Soup is a wonder because it tastes so good while also being good for you. Be sure to use rice flour and not glutinous rice flour.

Tart cranberries provide delicious contrast to the rich nut filling.

Here's a nice salad for fall and winter; mustard and orange give the great-tasting dressing plenty of zip.

Offer these with cocktails before dinner, or sprinkle them over holiday salads.