Ginger

There's an extra hit of flavor from crystallized ginger in this scrumptious layer cake.

Look for rice vinegar in the Asian foods section of your market.

Orange roughy or red snapper would also be delicious in this recipe.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The roulade is particularly stunning when accompanied by a glistening array of the Glacéed Fruits .

Serve the curry with steamed white rice and Indian beer, and make a stop at an Indian restaurant to get some samosas — savory filled pastries — to pass as appetizers, and the flatbread called naan to sop up the curry sauce. For dessert, how about assorted teas and a carrot cake?

Nixon's re-establishment of relations with China led Americans to discover, among other things, that there was more to Chinese cooking than the Cantonese dishes we had all grown up with.

Miso soup — a fermented-soybean broth — is not difficult to make at home. Freeze the ginger and thaw it before squeezing; that way, extracting the juice will be easy. Chilled sake goes well with the meal.

The name Indian pudding comes from the addition of cornmeal here — early colonists called most everything made with corn "Indian." Originally the pudding was cooked in a pot over the open hearth and was very dense. This is a lighter version baked in a modern oven, but we kept the traditional step of pouring milk or cream over the top of the pudding before cooking it.

This Martini from Red Light is blended with ice, which makes it similar in texture to a daiquiri. The bartender garnishes it with skewered berries for a nice touch.

This is a big-deal dish. But the numerous steps, all easy, transform the duck into a wonder of subtle spiciness. We had this dish in Xi'an, where five-spice powder in the rub and the dipping salt were lovely touches.