Simple to bake, these cookies provide the perfect opportunity to involve your children in the baking process and to make your kitchen the center of family fun. Use different kinds of jams to fill the indentations in the dough for both color and flavor variation.

An easy press-in crust holds a savory custard filling dotted with fresh asparagus and smoked salmon. Serve this with fresh fruit at brunch, or any other time with a green salad.

Mimosa is a classic French garnish of sieved hard-cooked eggs that is frequently used for asparagus and leeks. Tarragon, which has an affinity for both asparagus and eggs, enhances the sherry vinaigrette.

Strips of pork marinated in lime, chili and cumin and grilled are served with sliced mango, avocado, and savory sautéed peppers and onions along with warm tortillas to create a fajita fiesta.

Assemble this glorious show-stopper of a cake just two hours before serving, but the cake layers may be baked a day ahead; wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated. The cherries may also be prepared a day ahead, but the whipped cream should be made as the cake is assembled.

This luxurious marriage of lobster and cream—so-named because it is rich, expensive, and subtly perfumed with Irish whiskey—is traditionally served in lobster shells; but it also makes a quick and sumptuous sauce for pasta. When Maine lobster is not in the budget, substitute about 12 ounces of shelled langoustine or large shrimp.

Warning: this dish should be x-rated—or even illegal.

Plan on making the latkes as soon after you prepare the batter as possible—and no more than 30 minutes ahead of frying. Then, serve them practically right out of the pan—they’ll be at their very best!

“A pie without the cheese is like a kiss without the squeeze”—or so the saying goes in the Leatherstocking district of New York state. This region, named for deerskin pants worn by early settlers, was made famous by James Fennimore Cooper’s The Last of The Mohicans (which was one of his Leatherstocking Tales).