Sour Cream

This recipe originally accompanied Chocolate Layer Cake with Chocolate-Raspberry Frosting.

Carole Resnick of Cleveland, Ohio, writes: "I invented the following recipe for salmon mousse on dill pizzelle as an appetizer for a gathering. I hope that you enjoy it as much as my guests did."

Tina Thompson of Orlando, Florida, writes: "Food and nostalgia are closely related in my mind. When I miss my dad, I make an extra-buttery grilled-cheese sandwich just the way he would every Saturday for lunch. When I miss my college roommate Jenny, I splurge on a new ethnic food to remind me of adventures during our junior year abroad in London. Inspired by my great food experiences there, I attended a small cooking school stateside so that I could come up with some fantastic meals of my own."

Though cheese blintzes rate as an all-time favorite in my family, I don't always have the time to prepare them in the usual fashion. Therefore, I created the following casserole, which has a fantastic flavor very similar to blintzes (some say it's even better); yet it takes only a few minutes to prepare. In fact, I make it often throughout the year. It is quite different from the popular cheese blintz casseroles made with frozen commercial blintzes. For my version, a layer of cheese filling is baked between two light layers of a special blintz-type batter. The casserole is then cut into squares for serving, making it a perfect choice for a dairy buffet and great for Shavuot. Since the first edition of this book was published, this layered blintz casserole has proven to be one of its most popular recipes. The dish is served at the famous Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, New York, where it has become a favorite brunch offering under the name "Easy Cheese Blintz Puff." And the recipe has appeared in a number of books and magazines. Like some of the other "creative" recipes in this book, this one appears to be on its way to becoming a classic of "new" Jewish cooking. <a name="note"></a>Notes: The types of cheese in the filling were determined after much experimentation with various mixtures. It is the best combination to produce the desired results of separate layers. The top of this casserole is rather plain. If desired, it may be sprinkled lightly with cinnamon or cinnamon-sugar before the casserole is returned to the oven for the final baking.

White chocolate custard tops espresso custard in this luxurious make-ahead dessert. It's pretty garnished with fresh strawberries and coffee beans.

As Gourmet wrote in 1959: "Long ago...it did occur to some blithe spirit, a poet of the kitchen to be sure, that when these little veal rolls were arranged on a platter they looked like a flock of headless birds. And oiseaux sans têtes, or veal birds, they remain to this day in the cuisines of such diverse countries as Belgium, Italy, and France.

This moist bread is best fresh from the oven, but it can also be made ahead and reheated.

It's important to note that the pumpernickel used in this tart should be very dense. Although we prefer the light-brown Danish pumpernickel, the dark German-style variety works just as well. For the filling we've suggested lumpfish caviar, which is readily available in the States; in Sweden, the fish roe called lojrom would probably be used. It comes from bleak, an ocean fish from the Baltic Sea.

Arrange the candy cups in single layers in decorative boxes lined with tissue paper.

Chocolate cake, chocolate ganache, and chocolate mousse team up with fruit in this incredible dessert. Begin making the cake one day ahead. Enjoy the extra mousse later.

The classic Hungarian dish relies on sour cream both to thicken the sauce and to balance the heat of the paprika.

This herbed cheese dip has almost nothing else in it to mask the thyme flavor. Serve with crackers, lightly toasted pita bread, and raw vegetable sticks.

Begin making this ultra-creamy flan (think crème brûlée) one day before serving.

When using an outdoor grill, add a handful of fresh charcoal to the embers after serving the main course; when it's time to cook the nectarines, the fire should be at the right temperature. Remember to brush the grill clean before adding the fruit. Sour cream is a good substitute for the crème fraîche.

These crab cakes are flavored with the "holy trinity" of Cajun cooking: onion, green bell pepper, and celery. Serve them with a helping of coleslaw or a green salad.