Dairy

Thinly sliced beets (not beef) lay the foundation for this vibrant rendition of the Italian appetizer. Use any assortment of small beets — red, golden, purple, or candy-striped. A local farmers' market will have the best selection. The beets can be roasted and peeled one day before serving.

Marshmallows need not apply: This gratin gets a savory Parmesan cheese topping.

This recipe is easily doubled if you'd like to make more.

Drizzling sweet pickle juice over the warm potatoes is the secret to this delicious salad.

For this easy appetizer, you'll remove the top rind of the wheel of Brie, then top with a juicy mix of raspberry preserves, raspberries, and fresh rosemary. Wrapping and baking in store-bought puff pastry makes the combination elegant, gooey, and crisp. If you're looking for more Brie cheese inspiration, check out our gallery of Brie recipes.

Judith W. Harris of San Mateo, California, writes: "I recently made these chocolate almond bars for a tea. They were all consumed with requests for more." Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 2 hr

A lovely start to this spring supper would be mugs of green pea soup sprinkled with chives. Accompany the pizza with an arugula, radicchio and endive salad dressed with balsamic vinaigrette. Offer gelato for dessert.

Check the supermarket produce section for fresh peeled and sliced mangoes. You'll need about four cups of diced mangoes.

Alexis Walker of Corvallis, Oregon, writes: "After many attempts to get a reservation, we finally succeeded in dining at Genoa restaurant in Portland. It was definitely worth the wait. The fried mozzarella was a revelation. Would you ask the chef for the recipe?"

Elisa Mazzaferro-Rosenberg of Fort Collins, Colorado, writes: "I love to entertain, but between coming home late — I just completed my Ph.D. in small animal clinical sciences — and feeding my husband, Adam, I haven't had the time to have friends over much. I do manage to cook for holidays, though, and one of my favorite things is ricotta pie. This version, from my grandma Elsie, is a traditional Easter sweet on both sides of my Italian family."

Slightly sweet, fresh ricotta, which can be found in many Italian markets, makes this starter especially delicious. Regular ricotta also works well.

For those who prefer macaroni and cheese with a greater ratio of crunchy topping to creamy center, we suggest dividing the macaroni and cheese between two 3-quart shallow baking dishes and doubling the topping recipe, dividing it between the baking dishes.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 45 min

Inspired by the classic Sicilian winter salad of blood oranges and fennel.

Although fresh dark sweet cherries are available in June, we believe they're best eaten out of hand. This cobbler makes great use of frozen cherries. Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr