Oven Bake

"Dinner at the Montauk Seafood Grill was an ideal way to cap off a day of skiing in Vail," Julie Harris of Redwood City, California. "The salmon covered with an unusual breadcrumb coating is something I would like to make for a dinner party."

Mashed potatoes and Green Beans with Warm Bacon Dressing (see recipe) are great side dishes. Follow with apple pie à la mode.

Do-ahead tips make this rendition of the Spanish classic perfect for entertaining.

This recipe is from Ellyn Goodrich, one of the 5,000 Jews who live in Alaska (the "Chosen Frozen," as they call themselves). The fish is baked in a bundt pan and unmolded, for a festive look.

Artichokes, an Old World food, came to America with Italian immigrants and found a happy home in the near-Mediterranean climate of California. As "ethnic" fare, artichokes took their time catching on outside the Golden State. They finally did in the thirties and became something of a fad. Artichokes were not limited to the vegetable course, either. Sometimes the center "choke" was scooped out and the hollow filled with a stuffing for a fashionable light lunch entrée.

If you choose to omit the sweetbreads, simply begin the recipe by sautéing the pancetta. (In that case, you may also want to purchase a larger veal or pork loin — going up to a 5-pound veal loin or a 6-pound pork loin.)

Fennel seeds add a flavorful new twist to this vegetarian main course.

Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr

One of the most memorable meals of my vacation in Provence was at the one-star Auberge la Fenière," says Jacqueline Ross of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. "Set in the Lubron hills outside the town of Lourmarin, it's a remarkable place owned by one of France's celebrated female chefs, Reine Sammut. I'd love to re-create my first course there, a chilled tomato puree with roasted eggplant."

This is a very near replica of the small cheese quiches Madame Fromage sells each Saturday at the Louviers market.

Though cheese blintzes rate as an all-time favorite in my family, I don't always have the time to prepare them in the usual fashion. Therefore, I created the following casserole, which has a fantastic flavor very similar to blintzes (some say it's even better); yet it takes only a few minutes to prepare. In fact, I make it often throughout the year. It is quite different from the popular cheese blintz casseroles made with frozen commercial blintzes. For my version, a layer of cheese filling is baked between two light layers of a special blintz-type batter. The casserole is then cut into squares for serving, making it a perfect choice for a dairy buffet and great for Shavuot. Since the first edition of this book was published, this layered blintz casserole has proven to be one of its most popular recipes. The dish is served at the famous Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, New York, where it has become a favorite brunch offering under the name "Easy Cheese Blintz Puff." And the recipe has appeared in a number of books and magazines. Like some of the other "creative" recipes in this book, this one appears to be on its way to becoming a classic of "new" Jewish cooking. <a name="note"></a>Notes: The types of cheese in the filling were determined after much experimentation with various mixtures. It is the best combination to produce the desired results of separate layers. The top of this casserole is rather plain. If desired, it may be sprinkled lightly with cinnamon or cinnamon-sugar before the casserole is returned to the oven for the final baking.