Bon Appétit

This fragrant bread is great plain or toasted, and it makes a delicious accompaniment to any hearty soup.

Begin the meal with this crisp and colorful salad. Jicama, avocado and red onion take it beyond the ordinary.

This homey, comforting cereal is like warm granola, especially with the crunchy honey-toasted walnut topping.

An elegant but no-fuss soup.

Here is our adaptation of aigo bouido, the restorative Provençal garlic soup. Simmering the garlic tames its bite. A green salad and crusty bread round out the meal.

This easy—to—make soup is a terrific Saturday lunch, especially when accompanied by crusty bread, a salad and beer or apple cider. If you're serving people who don't like spicy foods, eliminate the cayenne pepper.

Buttery-tasting Yukon Gold potatoes can now be found in grocery stores and farmers' markets all across the country, but this recipe can certainly be made with russet potatoes instead.

Wonderful sugar cookies with the crunch of poppy seeds and a luscious lemon cream cheese filling. Assemble them shortly before serving to keep them crisp. If you like, you can always skip the filling and serve the cookies on their own.

Perfect for any holiday breakfast or brunch.

For a hearty meal, just add some garlic mashed potatoes to go with the chicken. The recipe doubles easily.

This cake is light and moist-perfect for dessert or an indulgent afternoon tea. For a pretty decoration, place stencil or doily on the cake and sift powdered sugar over. Even easier, just sift powdered sugar over the entire cake.

Crumbles are traditional family desserts that can be prepared with almost any fruit. This sophisticated rendition includes toasted almonds in the topping for extra crunch.

This main-course soup is ideal for winter evenings. It originated in Portugal's Ribatejo province, famed for its horses, bulls and bullfighters. The soup gets its name from the kidney beans, which are referred to as "stones" by the Portuguese.