5 Ingredients or Fewer

These crackers are wonderful with figs and a big hunk of Stilton

I use Nabisco Famous Wafers in this recipe. If you don't use all of the ground wafers (you will probably have a bit left over), save them for sprinkling or layering in other ice cream desserts. You might add instant espresso powder to the crumbs, or some chopped toasted nuts, candies, or other cookies. Try pistachio-white chocolate ice cream rolled in ground chocolate wafers and finely chopped pistachios. Or use chocolate, coffee, cherry, raspberry, or hazelnut ice cream instead of the vanilla.

These are great served warm for breakfast or even cold with cheese.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional sitting time.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

You get a quick sauce when you let compound butter melt on a hot steak.

Fried artichokes are usually served whole in Rome as a primo piatto, but we found that cutting them into wedges before frying made them a finger-friendly and addictive hors d'oeuvre. Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 1 hr

These easy-to-make treats are delicious on their own or with fresh fruit. Keep them in mind for a hostess gift.

This sauce evokes Provence at its productive best, in summer, when farms and family gardens are at their peak production, yielding vegetables with an incomparable depth of flavor. Note: be sure all of your ingredients, and the bowl or mortar you are working with, are at room temperature. Differing temperatures can cause the aïoli to separate. When making aïoli - or any mayonnaise-like sauce - think slow, slow, slow. There is a simple remedy for separated aïoli. Put an egg yolk in another bowl, and slowly whisk the separated aïoli into it.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Baked yams and steamed spinach make colorful accompaniments. Ice cream alongside hot apple turnovers tops off the meal.

Small fish, such as a small trout, can be grilled whole without splitting. A larger, thick fish should be split.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Fontina cheese and caponata (a chunky Sicilian eggplant relish available in cans or jars at most supermarkets) make a substantial sandwich. Have pasta salad as well; grapes and assorted bakery cookies complete the dinner. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

That renewal of my acquaintance with marrow led to the invention of a canapé or sandwich filling that I believe to be without a peer as an accompaniment for cocktails. In the beginning I produced small batches, but they vanished with such unbelievable rapidity that I was forced to make them larger and larger. I pass on the recipe willingly, for the good of the human race, which has too long suffered from canapés that either adhere distressingly to the roof of the mouth or result in unsightly toothpicks scattered on the floor.

Inspired by the flavor-packed ginger scallion oil served with slices of chicken and duck at New York Noodle Town in Manhattan, we devised the following recipe.