Fruit

Golden Delicious apples, which aren't too sweet and hold their shape when cooked, are a great choice for this pie.

Save some of the brine that the olives are packed in—adding a dash or two at the end of cooking is a quick and easy way to bump up flavor.

Fresh figs should look plump and unbruised; ripe ones will give when pressed gently. Loosely covered and stored in a single layer, they'll keep for a few days in the fridge.

My friend Marie-Hélène Brunet-Lhoste is a woman who knows her way around food. She's a top editor of the Louis Vuitton City Guides (and one of the restaurant critics for the Paris edition), so she eats at scores of restaurants every year, and she's a terrific hostess, so she cooks at home often and with great generosity. There's no question that she's a great home cook, but for me, she's the most frustrating kind of cook: she never follows a recipe (in fact, I don't think there's a cookbook to be found on her packed bookshelves), never takes a note about what she does, and while she's always happy to share her cooking tips, she can never give you a real recipe—she just doesn't know it. I've watched her in her kitchen, in the hopes of nabbing a recipe by observation, but it's impossible. Like so many really good cooks, Marie-Hélène starts off with a set of ingredients that could be annotated and recipe-ized, but, once she starts mixing, stirring, boiling, baking, or sautéing, she makes so many mid-cooking adjustments that you just have to throw up your hands and content yourself with being the lucky recipient. And so it was with this apple cake, which is more apple than cake, rather plain but very appealing in its simplicity (the chunks of apple make a bumpy, golden top) and so satisfying that we all went back for seconds. Despite knowing that it was futile, I asked for the recipe, and, of course, Marie-Hélène didn't really know. "It's got two eggs, sugar, flour, and melted butter—oh, and rum," she said. "I mix the eggs and sugar together and then I add some flour, some butter, some flour, and some butter." When I asked how much flour and butter, I got a genuinely apologetic shrug, and when I asked what kind of apples she used, the answer was, divers, or different kinds. Since there were only a few major ingredients, I thought I could figure out the recipe—and I did! (Although not on the first—or second—shot.) I've added baking powder to the mix (and I have a feeling Marie-Hélène might have too) and a drizzle of vanilla, which you can skip if you want. What you don't want to skip is the pleasure of having diverse apples. It's really nice to mix up the fruit, so that you have some apples that are crisp, some soft, some sweet, and some tart.

This apple's crisp flesh doesn't brown as quickly as other kinds, so it's ideal chopped in salads.

The juicy Honeycrisp apple is the sweetest of the bunch. Combine it (instead of berries) with tart, creamy Greek yogurt for a seasonal, satisfying breakfast.

The signature puckery snap of Granny Smiths goes well with candy like accompaniments such as caramel and chocolate.

Slices of Braeburn apples hold their shape well when baked until crunchy—perfect for a batch of munchable homemade chips.

Mcintoshes soften quickly when cooked. You'll love their slight sweetness with the savory melted cheese and turkey in this dish.

This recipe is inspired by a cranberry pie from Sarah Chase's book Cold Weather Cooking. My friend Barbara Liberman calls it "easy cake"—I call it delicious. When cranberries are in season, serve it with vanilla ice cream and your friends will love you.

"My fiancé and I just love the coconut cake at the Shubox Cafe in nearby Cedar Grove," Tammy L. Drukker of North Caldwell, New Jersey. "The cake is tender and moist, and the cream cheese frosting is tangy and rich. I have yet to find a comparable recipe, so I hope the restaurant will share theirs." At Shubox Cafe, this dessert is known as Awesome Coconut Cake, aptly named by one of the cafe's best customers. To make this recipe, you'll need to buy one 15-ounce can of sweetened cream of coconut. Some of it is used in the cake; be sure to save the rest for the Cream Cheese Frosting.

Every Passover, my maternal grandfather, Irving, made beet horseradish from scratch. He was a gardener with a true green thumb when it came to tomatoes, but I can't remember if he grew his own horseradish. What I do remember is how teary-eyed everyone got when he served my grandmother's homemade gefilte fish with his beet horseradish on the side. Through the sniffles, we all expressed delight and assured him that this batch was the hottest and best yet. Horseradish is one of those flavors I have always loved. For all you other horseradish lovers out there, here's a fabulous dip. Use extra-hot prepared horseradish to guarantee those sniffles and teary eyes.

The addition of 1/2 cup miniature marshmallows is popular with children.

Many a copy of JOY has been sold on the strength of this recipe. One fan says her family is sure these are the cakes St. Peter gives little children at the Gates of Heaven, to get them over the first pangs of homesickness. The lemon glaze should be spread on warm cakes or Christmas cookies. It has a fine consistency for embedding decorative nuts and fruits.

Cheese balls were all the rage in the 1970s, an easy, tasty, fab party food for any occasion. What's old is now retro-chic—this lightened-up cheese ball seduces with the sweetness of dates, the savory bite of blue cheese, a hint of shallot, and a teasing whiff of lemon zest.

The "cream" flavor in this blueberry-muffin-inspired cookie comes from one of Tosi's favorite inventions—Milk Crumbs (a streusel made from dry milk powder). The key to the soft center and crunchy edges? Scooping the dough onto the baking sheets and letting the cookies rest in the fridge overnight. Timing note: You'll need to make the Milk Crumbs before you start preparing the cookie dough.

This iconic regional dish incorporates soy sauce, evidence of the strong influence of the Japanese and Chinese communities in Peru. The intensely flavored marinade, bright with lime juice and zesty with garlic, deeply seasons the meat, and the grill gives it a beautiful sear. We've provided a range for the portion size, because while some home cooks may be content with a quarter chicken per person, many Peruvian restaurants and takeout places serve each customer a half chicken (even here in the States, where chickens tend to be on the large side).

Specialty foods stores, Trader Joe's, and some supermarkets carry dried blueberries.

Quick preserved lemon (it cooks for ten minutes) adds a fresh hit of flavor to this warm salad.