Easy

Jam making doesn’t always have to be a big production. I sometimes make small amounts and keep it in the refrigerator instead of canning it for unrefrigerated storage. Apricot jam is especially versatile as a glaze for an apple tart or almond cake, or as the base for a soufflé.

This is a basic frosting good for cupcakes and decorated cookies. This makes enough frosting for one 9-inch cake or 24 cupcakes.

Serve warm caramel sauce with ice cream or stir it (at room temperature) into just-made ice cream before putting it in the freezer to firm up. It is lovely drizzled over poached pears.

Try this syrup mixed with sparkling water to make fruit sodas, or add to lemonade with a sprig of mint to make pink raspberry lemonade. For an aperitif, pour a little into a glass and add white wine, Champagne, or spirits.

This is one of the most delicious tarts there is. The apples caramelize on the bottom of the pan, the pastry bakes crisp and brown on top of the fruit, and the whole tart is flipped upside down, revealing the dark caramel-drenched apples.

This is an utterly simple dessert that is a refreshing finish to any meal. Be sure to use bright red ripe berries.

This is only one example of the many summer fruit compotes that turn combinations of fruit into delectable desserts. All the fruits of summer—plums, peaches, apricots, nectarines, cherries, figs—can be cut up and soaked together in their own juices with a little sugar and lemon juice. Summer fruit compotes are delicious by themselves; on pancakes or waffles; with almond cake or angel food cake or a plate of cookies; or with ice cream, whipped cream, or sherbet.

Almost any combination of dried fruits can be refreshed this way and turned into a dessert to be served alongside a slice of cake, or with a little crème fraîche. Fresh winter citrus fruits also make beautiful winter compotes when soaked in syrup flavored with their zest.

A court bouillon is a quickly made aromatic vegetable broth for poaching fish. (In French, bouillon means “broth,” and court means “short.”)

Fish stock is a delicate broth, cooked briefly and gently for best flavor. Bones and heads are used for flavor and body. They should be washed and cleaned of gills and organs to make a clear, clean-tasting stock. White-fleshed fish are best; salmon, mackerel, or other oily fish have too strong a flavor. If not buying whole fish, ask your fishmonger for clean heads and bones for making stock.

If beautifully fresh sardines are not available, substitute mackerel, fresh anchovies, or thinly sliced tuna.