Food Processor

Any nut can be substituted for the pine nuts. Toast them for fuller flavor.

This recipe is used to prepare Roasted Peppers Stuffed with Chick-Pea and Eggplant Purée and Mushrooms. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less, but requires additional unattended time.

This wintry soup can be enhanced with any sausage you like. We find it a great dish in which to use the lowfat turkey sausages now available. The blue cheese corn bread and a green salad make ideal accompaniments. Finish with ripe pears.

"On my last birthday, I enjoyed a special dinner at Brasserie Le Coze in Atlanta," says Diane Sullivan of Alpharetta, Georgia. "The entire meal was fabulous, but the white bean soup with truffle oil was absolutely divine." White truffle oil, should you happen to have a bottle of it, is a delicious "garnish" for this rich and hearty soup.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

For a savory and simple dinner, serve this trout with some roasted potatoes and a green salad tossed with pears and crumbled blue cheese.

Chef Lisa Ahier likes the flavor of Key limes or Mexican limes, which she can buy locally and year-round, for the marinade below. But even if you use regular lime juice, you'll love this chicken, which is as delicious at room temperature as it is hot. In fact, Gourmet's food editors couldn't get enough of it.

The small, sweet Meyer lemon, common in California backyards, has a thin, smooth skin and a juice interior and is particularly fragrant. These scones, which are lighter than most, will spread slightly during baking.

This sugar, used in the cookies and lime ice, is great to have on hand for sprinkling on cut fruit or to add a boost to iced tea. Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 45 min

An easy do-ahead appetizer.

"My husband and I ate dinner at the Dilworthtown Inn, a colonial-style restaurant in West Chester, Pennsylvania," writes Judy Kamp of Oxford, Pennsylvania. "I'd love to know how to make the creamy mushroom soup we both had to start the meal."

This recipe makes more dressing than you'll need. The remainder makes a great everyday dressing for any type of green salad, or a delicious dip for chicken wings or raw vegetables.

The nutty marzipan mixture is a delicious contrast to the sweet-tart plum filling.

"Every meal I've had at Addie's, a small place in nearby Rockville, has been great," says Alyssa Shooshan of Potomac, Maryland. "I especially like the lime cake; in fact, it's one of my favorite desserts. I do a lot of entertaining and would love to make the cake for a party."