Susan Herrmann Loomis

Bone-in pork loin roast is a sleeper hit for holiday celebrations.

You may add 1/4 cup of lemon juice to this jam, right at the end, to give it a tart edge that sets off the flavor of the strawberries.

I often make a thick crème anglaise to serve with this compote, though it is delightful all on its own.

I made these cookies for my son's class at school as part of France's annual week of taste, or semaine du gout. The idea was to show how sweet and salty flavors complement each other.

Jean-Yves Jaulin's Mojhettes au Jambon

This pie is best made with freshly cooked kuri squash purée.

With apologies to mom, I've adapted this recipe just slightly.

This vinaigrette is delicious as is, though it can serve as a base as well. Add minced shallot or garlic, minced fresh herbs, lemon zest and juice, cracked black pepper. Use it with grated carrots or beets, fresh tomatoes, or any other vegetable mixture.

I like to make this intensely flavored sugar and use it in all my baking. The flavor of vanilla always improves a cake, cookies or a tart, and can even add an alluring flavor to bread. This sugar is also delicious stirred into plain yogurt, sprinkled atop buttered toast and for dipping strawberries.

(Cake aux Olives) This version of cake originated in Provence, where olives, basil, and garlic create a harmonious triumvirate. Here they combine with roasted red bell peppers and Parmesan cheese to create a bread that is gutsy, aromatic, and lovely to look at. Serve this as an appetizer, in tandem with fresh goat’s- or cow’s- milk cheese, or even lightly toasted with a poached egg on top.

(Purée de Pommes de Terre, de Topinambours, et de Céleri-rave) At the market in Le Neubourg, not far from where I live in Normandy, each Wednesday farmers bring out their produce in a panoply that directly mirrors the seasons. This dish, which I make with vegetables from that market, is a celebration of fall. Farmers in Le Neubourg are really mostly market gardeners or truck farmers, or maraîchers. They and others like them are the backbone of the French agricultural system, providing from their small plots the best and the freshest produce in the country. Because they are small and sell direct, they can grow a wide variety of vegetables, which is why I can find Jerusalem artichokes alongside potatoes and celery root, dandelion greens, and wild mushrooms gathered in the surrounding woods. Though the vegetables in this dish are unglamorous, the balance here is luscious, rich, and satisfying.