Brunch

Purchase a roasted turkey leg or whole chicken at your market. This is also a great use for leftover turkey.

Dorothy Williams of Vancouver, British Columbia, writes: "To celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, my husband and I spent a week in Victoria, British Columbia. We particularly enjoyed Abigail's Hotel, where we had some delicious carrot-coconut cupcakes." For a lovely breakfast muffin, omit the cream cheese frosting.

(Batido) This milk shake is a Puerto Rican and Cuban favorite; Palacio de Los Jugos on Flagler Street in Miami specializes in jugos and makes great tropical-fruit batidos. The fruit combinations are endless — try a mixture of strawberry and kiwi or guava and pineapple — and you can even use coconut milk instead of whole and spike with a shot of rum.

Here's a sophisticated but easy desert.

A great brunch treat.

This satisfying, old-fashioned cake has a delicious ripple of brown sugar and walnuts running through it.

Crunchy peanuts team up with peanut butter and caramel in this decadent candy bar-like sweet.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Subscribing to the theory that epicurean cooking should, ideally, be easy and inexpensive, I submit this recipe, which I obtained during the summer I taught school on Guam. It's for a dressing of mine that is excellent on fruit salads and even makes an outstanding dressing for coleslaw as part of a summer picnic. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Carrot cakes have been a part of American baking for years, and they remain a favorite dessert in the heartland. This version has a hint of orange from the juice and peel and lots of the rich cream cheese frosting that everyone expects (and loves). Thin orange peel strips make a pretty garnish.