When you think of Hanukkah nosh, you think latkes: delicious fried potato pancakes with dollops of apple sauce or sour cream. But did you know that jelly doughnuts, known as sufganiyot, are a traditional Hanukkah treat in Israel? Follow the recipe below from Judy Bart Kancigor’s Cooking Jewish to make about 3 ½ dozen of these popular pastries:

Pnina Shichor’s Sufganiyot

(jelly doughnuts)

½ cup plus scant 1 cup warm water

(105 to 110 degrees F)

3 packages active dry yeast

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs, beaten

5 to 6 cups all-purpose flour

Canola or corn oil, for frying

Jam (any flavor)

Confectioner’s sugar

1. Preheat the oven on the lowest setting for 15 minutes, and turn it off.
2. Pour the ½ cup warm water into a very large (at least 6-quart) bowl. Add the yeast and stir to dissolve it. Then add 1 teaspoon of the sugar, stir, and set the mixture aside until bubble, 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Stir the scant 1 cup water, salt, oil, remaining sugar, and eggs into the yeast mixture. Add 3 cups of the flour, and mix. Gradually knead in the remaining flour until the dough is spongy and elastic but still feels slightly tacky. Remove the dough and oil the bowl (no need to wash it). Turn the dough in the bowl to coat it all over with oil, and loosely cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
4. Let the dough rise in the turned-off oven until it nearly reaches the top of the bowl, about 2 hours.
5. Punch down the dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface until it is ¼-inch thick. Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter or glass, cut out the rounds of dough. Place the rounds on a baking sheet and set them aside to rise, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
6. Pour oil to a depth of 1 inch into an electric frying pan (preferred), deep fryer, or large, heavy skillet and heat it to 365 degrees F.
7. Dip your fingers in flour, and lift up a round of dough. Move it back and forth between your two middle fingers to stretch the center of the round quite thin without tearing it. This will be the depression for the jam.
8. Quickly drop rounds in the hot oil, depression side down—a few at a time, without crowding. Cover the pan and fry until the doughnuts are golden brown but not dark, about 30 seconds. Quickly turn them, cover the pan, and fry until the other side is golden brown, 30 seconds more. Drain the doughnuts on both sides on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining rounds of dough.
9. Fill the depressions with jam, and dust the doughnuts with confectioners’ sugar. These are best when eaten warm. They don’t keep well, but no matter. You won’t have any leftovers.

Ah, Boston, that perfectly preserved Colonial town, located not far from Plymouth, where the pilgrims first docked. So it’s only fitting that this recipe for that most quintessential of Thanksgiving desserts comes from Boston, MA’s most renowned baker, Judy Rosenberg. The owner of the beloved series of Rosie’s Bakery shops, and author of the new Rosie’s Bakery All-Butter, Cream-Filled, Sugar-Packed Baking Book, Judy knows a thing or two about overcoming holiday pie anxiety. And you can turn out a worry-free, pumpkin-perfect pie by following her simple steps below.

Deep-Dish Pumpkin Pie

Makes 10 to 12 servings

Single-crust Basic Pie Crust 1 (recipe follows)
1 can (15 ounces) unsweetened pumpkin puree
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons (lightly packed) dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons molasses
1 1/4 cups evaporated milk
3 large eggs, at room temperature

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and a baking sheet on the bottom rack, and preheat to 375°.

2. Roll out the crust. Fit it into a deep-dish pie pan and lightly prebake (see Note below). Let cool before filling. Leave the oven on.

3. Whisk the pumpkin, brown sugar, spices, and salt together in a large bowl. Whisk the molasses, milk, and eggs, whisking vigorously until smooth.

4. Pour the filling into the pie shell. Cover the edge of the crust with aluminum foil. Bake the pie until the top is shiny and set and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour.

5. Carefully remove the foil. Let the pie cool on a rack. Serve the pie warm, cold, or at room temperature.

Basic Pie Crust 1

Makes one 9-inch, standard or deep dish crust

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 9 pieces
3 tablespoons ice water

1. Place the flour and salt in a food processor and process to blend for 20 seconds. (Or whisk them together by hand in a large mixing bowl.)

2. Distribute the butter evenly over the flour and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 15 to 20 seconds. (Or rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips or cut it in with a pastry blender.)

3. With the food processor running, pour the ice water in a steady stream through the feed tube and process just until the dough comes together. (Or sprinkle the water over the mixture while tossing with a fork.)

4. Knead the dough for several turns on a lightly floured surface to bring it together.

5. Shape the dough into a thick disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

6. Roll the chilled dough for the bottom crust out to a circle 2 inches bigger than the size of the pie pan.

7. Fit the rolled dough into a 9-inch pie pan and trim the edges. Keep the crust in the refrigerator until ready to fill. If prebaking the crust (see Note below), refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes before baking.

Note: Lightly prebaking the crust: If you’re going to fill this crust and bake it again, cut the step 3 baking time in the Pumpkin Pie recipe to 12 minutes. In step 4, stop when the crust is very lightly golden, after about 3 minutes.

__________________________________________________

Find 248 more mouthwatering recipes for the holidays and beyond in Judy’s luscious new book, The Rosie’s Bakery All-Butter, Cream-Filled, Sugar-Packed Baking Book!

What’s a Rosh Hashanah dinner without brisket? (What’s any dinner without brisket?, you may ask. To which I reply, “A mediocre one.”) Herewith, a recipe for brisket that’s, well, killer. And you know that’s the truth, because it comes straight from Judy Bart Kancigor’s mom via Judy’s scrumptious cookbook Cooking Jewish.

My Mom’s Killer Brisket
with tsimmes*

serves 8 to 10

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 to 5 pounds first-cut beef brisket
2 large onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup sweet red wine or water
1 cup pineapple or orange juice
1 package dehydrated onion soup mix
2 to 3 teaspoons kosher (coarse) salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (packed) light brown sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Ground nutmeg to taste
3 cups (1 1/2 pounds) pitted prunes, dried apricots, or a combination
1/2 cup raisins
3 pounds sweet potatoes, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
1 1/2 pounds carrots, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
Paprika, for sprinkling

1. The day before serving, heat the oil in a Dutch oven or other large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the meat (fat side down first), and brown it well on all sides, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the meat to a plate.

2. Add the onions to the pot and cook, stirring often, until they are soft and brown, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Then stir in 3 cups water and the wine, juice, onion soup mix, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, return the meat to the pot, cover, and simmer until a fork can pierce the meat but it is not quite done, 1 3/4 to 2  1/4 hours, depending on the thickness of the meat.

3. Remove the pot from the heat and allow it to cool somewhat. Then remove the meat and slice off all visible fat. Transfer the meat, with the gravy, to a large bowl or container and refrigerate it, covered, overnight.

4. The next day, preheat the oven to 350°F.

5. Remove the bowl from the refrigerator and skim off the congealed fat. Remove the meat and cut it into 1/4- to 3/8-inch-thick slices. Set it aside.

6. Transfer the gravy to a Dutch oven or other large, heavy, ovenproof pot and bring it to a boil. Turn off the heat and stir in the honey, brown sugar, lemon juice, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon of the salt, or more to taste, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Return the sliced meat to the pot. Add the prunes and raisins. Arrange the sweet potatoes and carrots on top. Baste the meat and vegetables with the sauce and bring back to a boil.

7. Transfer the pot to the oven and bake, covered, for 30 minutes, basting after 15 minutes.

8. Sprinkle the potatoes and carrots lightly with paprika, and continue baking, uncovered this time, basting every 15 minutes, until the carrots and potatoes are very tender, about 30 minutes. If you like (and if your oven has a broiling mode), turn the oven setting to broil, place the pot on the lowest rack, and broil the potatoes and carrots briefly until crisp.

9. Serve hot.

*For all you Gentiles out there, tsimmes is “a traditional stew for Passover, made from a combination of sweet potatoes and dried fruit.”

My roommate and I moved into our new apartment in late March, but we didn’t throw a housewarming party until last week. Why? First of all, we were disorganized busy. But more importantly, everyone knows that summer is a much better time to throw a party! Back when we schlepped all of our belongings across the city, it was cold and rainy and our cute party dresses were still in storage. Now that it’s July—well sure, it’s scorching hot, but all the more reason to pour a cool summer cocktail and head to the roof. So that’s exactly what we did.

The event was a pot luck, and, being kind of a dud in the kitchen (or at least more of one than my roommate, who is a certified whiz), I decided that my best bet was to take care of drinks. But I didn’t want to just put out a tub of beer and a bottle of Coke and call it a day. Oh no. If I was going to be the bartender, I was going to do it right. So I flipped open my copy of the gorgeous Artisan book Raising the Bar (seriously, have you seen the cover?) and found the perfect punch for the night: a beautiful golden champagne sangria. It didn’t take long to assemble, and the results looked spectacular and tasted even better: sweet and fruity, and very refreshing on a hot July night in New York.

So follow the recipe below and treat yourself to a cool drink. Go on, it’s hot; you deserve it.

Champagne Sangria (page 171 in Raising the Bar by Nick Mautone)
Makes fifteen 8-ounce servings

Yum! Plums!

• 4 plums, pitted and cut in thick wedges
• 1/2 cup superfine or confectioners’ sugar
• 32 ounces apricot nectar or peach, pear, or other nectar, chilled
• 16 ounces plum wine, chilled
• 8 ounces brandy, chilled
• two 750-milliliter bottles sparkling wine (champagne), chilled
• mint leaves for garnish

Plan ahead: Chill all ingredients for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Place the plums and sugar in a punch bowl and stir well to extract juice.

Stirring the sugar and plums to release the fruit's juice.

Add the nectar, plum wine, and brandy. Stir well and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Pear nectar works just as well as apricot nectar.

To serve, remove the mixture from the refrigerator. Add the sparkling wine and stir briefly to combine.

Pop the cork!

Float mint leaves on top and serve immediately. And enjoy!

Everyone knows that New York is an international city. So it follows that—outside of Paris—it’s the next-best town in which to celebrate Bastille Day, France’s national holiday. Today, among the many opportunities for reveling, Francophiles can get their fix at the Cercle Rouge street fair in TriBeCa. The street outside Cercle Rouge restaurant will host bands, magic shows and face painting for kids, and a pétanque tournament (a game similar to bocce, the objective of which is to throw hollow metal balls so they land as close as possible to a small wooden ball called a cochonnet).

“Quel dommage!” (“What a pity!”) you may sigh. “I reside far from New York. What can I do to maximize my enjoyment of this holiday?”

Well, we have an easy answer: Throw your hat in the ring for a chance to win a Cuisinart Elite Collection Food Processor! All you have to do is cook up one dish from the following menu from Richard Grausman’s French Classics Made Easy. Then blog about it and send us a link to your blog. Even better: The first 100 bloggers to post about their experience will receive a free copy of this exciting new cookbook that teaches home cooks how to master traditional French fare with maximum flavor and minimal fuss. (We’ve already heard from the bloggers at www.BethFishReads.com, www.bookingmama.net, www.davidschiller.com, www.kitchensimplicity.com, and www.thecolorsofindiancooking.com!)

Winning your own copy is as easy as un, deux, trois: Cook up at least one of the recipes from the book (below), write about the experience on your blog, and email LauraF@workman.com with the link to your piece (either on a blog or on Facebook) and your mailing address and phone number. Plus, let us know if you’ll be taking us up on the challenge in our comments section! The deadline for submissions is July 31, 2011.

Richard Grausman himself will judge the posts based on clarity, writing style, and fun had—the livelier, the better! On August 15, we’ll announce the Blue Ribbon winner of the Cuisinart Elite Collection Food Processor on our blog and post links to all the blogs who participated. The first 100 bloggers to send in their post will receive a copy of French Classics Made Easy!

Le menu de French Classics Made Easy:

• Watercress Soup
• Basque-Style Sauteed Chicken Breasts (Vegetarian option: Ratatouille Omelet)
• Lime Mousse

Marie Antoinette once famously said, “Let them eat cake.” We at Workman say, “Let them eat Lime Mousse…and Boeuf Bourguignon…and Quiche Lorraine…and Chocolate-Almond Macaroons…” And all the other sublime delights found in French Classics Made Easy!

In Paris on July 14, 1789, the rebels and upstarts of the Third Estate stormed the medieval fortress/prison called the Bastille, giving a form to their discontent and sparking the French Revolution. That date is a national holiday in France. You’ll find the apotheosis of Bastille Day celebrations in Paris, where the revelry includes a sumptuous parade down the Champs-Élysées and fireworks over the Eiffel Tower.

Que c’est belle!

The upside of all this (aside from the introduction of a French Republic and the birth of the modern era) is that we’re giving up to 100 bloggers a chance to win a copy of Richard Grausman’s magnifique cookbook French Classics Made Easy—and one Blue Ribbon winner will get a Cuisinart Elite Collection Food Processor!

French Classics Made Easy is the New York Times-lauded cookbook that removes the intimidation factor from traditional French dishes like boeuf bourguignon (beef burgundy) and cassoulet. (Said the Times: “For those interested in, if slightly intimidated by, the intricacies of French cuisine, this book will be a balm.”) The pared-down recipes provide simple methods without compromising presentation or that timeless taste. Author Richard Grausman, one of the nation’s premier cooking teachers, conveys recipes with ease, clarity, and an understanding of how home chefs can—and should—cook classic French food.

Winning a copy for your own kitchen is much easier than overthrowing a centuries-old monarchy. Simply cook up at least one of the following recipes from the book (below), write about the experience on your blog, and email LauraF@workman.com with the link to your piece (either on a blog or on Facebook) and your mailing address and phone number. Plus, let us know if you’ll be taking us up on the challenge in our comments section! The deadline for submissions is July 31, 2011.

Richard Grausman himself will judge the posts based on clarity, writing style, and fun had—the livelier, the better! On August 15, we’ll announce the Blue Ribbon winner on our blog  and post links to all the blogs who participated.  Additionally, the first 100 bloggers to send in their post will receive a copy of the book!

The (mouthwatering) Bastille Day menu:

• Watercress Soup (“Ooooh!”)
• Basque-Style Sauteed Chicken Breasts (Vegetarian option: Omelet with Ratatouille) (“Aaaahhh!”)
• Lime Mousse (“……” [faints from sheer pleasure])

This Bastille Day, don’t let the French have all the fun! Get cooking (and blogging)—and remember, there’s a Cuisinart Elite Collection Food Processor in it for the winner. Vive la France!

Having let any plans for the 4^th of July fall by the wayside, my friends and I will likely be heading out to a restaurant this Monday night. But don’t you worry, we’ll still be getting in a good American-sized dose of barbecue. Much to the amusement of my fellow editorial assistants, I will be chowing down at Blue Smoke, my favorite (although considerably out of my budget) barbecue joint here in New York City.

While the menu at Blue Smoke is to die for (insert slaughter house joke here), the salt & pepper beef ribs are by far the most mouth watering item on the menu. For those lucky enough to have a grill themselves, check out the recipe below. It’s just one of the 425 recipes available in Steven Raichlen’s BBQ USA.

Salt & Pepper Beef Ribs

It takes a master to dare to put a dish of such startling simplicity on a menu. Or several masters in this case: Manhattan restaurateurs Danny Meyer, Michael Romano, and David Swinghamer, who redefined barbecue for New Yorkers with their much talked about barbecue emporium, Blue Smoke. Pork ribs are the house specialty, crusty, smoky baby backs cooked in the style of Danny Meyer’s native St. Louis. But Blue Smoke also serves beef ribs, and if you’ve never had these dark, meaty, Brobdingnagian bones, you’re about to have a life-changing experience. The boys keep the seasonings simple, just coarse salt and cracked black peppercorns. That way you get to appreciate the beef in all its smoky glory.

Method:

Indirect grilling

Ingredients:

1 rack of beef ribs

(2 ½ to 3 ½ pounds)

Coarse salt (kosher or sea)

Cracked or coarsely ground black pepper

Your choice of barbecue sauce, for serving

You’ll also need:

3 cups wood chips or chunks

(preferably apple or hickory), soaked for 1 hour in water to cover, then drain

1. Very generously season the beef ribs on both sides with salt and pepper.
2. Set up the grill for indirect grilling and preheat to medium low. If using a gas grill, place all of he wood chips or chunks in the smoker box or a smoker pouch and run the grill on high until you see smoke, then reduce the heat to medium-low. If using a charcoal grill, place a large drip pan in the center, preheat the grill to medium-low, then toss 1 ½ cups of wood chips or chunks on the coals.
3. When ready to grill, place the seasoned ribs in the center of the hot grate, meat side up, over the drip pan and away from the heat. Cover the grill and cook the ribs until dark brown (almost black), very crisp on the outside, and tender enough to pull apart with your fingers, 2 to 2 ½ hours. If using a charcoal grill, every hour you’ll need to add 12 fresh coals and ¾ cup of wood chips or chunks to each side.
4. Transfer the grilled ribs to a cutting board and cut the rack into individual ribs. Serve with your favorite barbecue sauce on the side.

Yield:

Serves 2 or 3

With the long 4^th of July weekend quickly approaching it’s time to plan our holiday barbeques and picnics! After my fiasco of an Independence Day barbeque last year, where everyone showed up with a bag of chips and my grill lost a leg, I admit to dreading this year’s July 4th. Last year I winged it. This year, I had planned on staying in and sulking (just a little) until I recently discovered a foolproof (or me-proof) answer to last year’s holiday disaster: Celebrate! by Sheila Lukins.

With knockout recipes in line with Lukins’ Silver Palate Cookbook, Celebrate! offers 46 menus for entertaining on special occasions, be it a Kentucky Derby-inspired buffet or a Labor Day picnic. As an added bonus, Lukins suggests extra touches to make an event even more special, including music selections, wine recommendations, and decoration tips.

This year, I’m ready to conquer this holiday armed with Lukins’ “Bang-Up Fourth of July” menu, which includes recipes for Glorious Gazpacho, Dazzling Grilled Veal Chops, Outrageous Lobster Salad Rolls, A Decorative Cucumber Salad, Garden Squash Salad, Fresh Peach Cobbler, and Buttermilk Ice Cream.

I’m especially excited about the Garden Squash Salad below, since there is an amazing farmer’s market close to my apartment!

Garden Squash Salad

Summer squash, both zucchini and yellow, are crisp and delicious when served raw and very thinly sliced in a salad. Dressed with plenty of lemon juice and Parmesan cheese (look for the finest Parmigiano-Reggiano), it matches up well with peppery arugula and some fine ripe tomatoes.

4 small zucchini, ends trimmed

4 small yellow squash, ends trimmed

½ cup fresh lemon juice

¼ cup extra-virgin live oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

8 ounces Parmesan cheese, shaved or cut into thin slivers

2 large bunches arugula (12 ounces total), stems trimmed, leaves washed and patted dry

2 large ripe tomatoes, cored

¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Cut the zucchini and squash into very thin slices on the diagonal and place them in a bowl.
2. Whisk the lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper together in a small and toss with the squash. Let the squash rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Then add the cheese.
3. Place the arugula in a salad bowl. Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise, and then into very thin wedges, and scatter them over the greens.
4. Just before serving, spoon the squash and dressing over the arugula and tomatoes. Sprinkle with parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, tossing the salad at the table.

For the full menu, including this Garden Squash Salad from Sheila Lukins’ “Bang-Up Fourth of July” menu, see the excerpt below, via Scribd:

Celebrate Pp132 137

When plans to escape the city fell through on a sunny Saturday, my friends and I did what any backyard-deficient New Yorker would do and headed to Central Park. Packed in our bags were the essential staples of a summer afternoon—a frisbee; a baseball and gloves; salads of the egg, fruit, and potato variety—and the bible of the season, Suzanne Brown’s Summer: A User’s Guide, a book packed with tips for making the most of a warm afternoon.

Like Ms. Brown, I am madly in love with summer—the smell of Coppertone is enough to get my heart racing—so in honor of the first day of the season, I bring you one of her tips for living life to the fullest in the upcoming months:

How to Play Beach Volleyball

Scout out a quiet place away from the water and sunbathers, then draw lines in the sand that measure approximately 30 feet wide by 60 feet long.

The serving player must hit the ball over the net and inside the court lines within three attempts. If the server fails to successfully place the ball within three serves, the opposing team gains control.

Players rotate positions clockwise whenever their team gains control of the ball (Thus, each team has a new server at that time.)

Once the ball is hit over the net to the opposing team, a player cannot contact the   ball twice in a row unless the first touch is off a block at the net. A player cannot grab the ball, allow it to come to rest in his hand, or touch the net. If he does so, he forfeits the ball to the opposing team.

A point is earned when the serving team wins a rally, or an ace is served.

The first team to reach 15 points wins. A match is played in sets of three or five games.

* * *

This summer (which officially starts TODAY!), before you head off to your beach bungalow, pack a picnic for the park, or spend a day in the shade, pick up Summer: A User’s Guide and make the best of this short and sweet season.

When I was a stressed-out, overworked high school student, my dad would regularly drag me out of bed at 5:30 a.m. so that I could finish my homework. I would sit on the couch as he cooked, rubbing my eyes, waking up to the smell of breakfast tacos and coffee. Even now, when I make any kind of eggs, I think of my dad, who taught me how to make them. So what better way to repay him this Father’s Day than to return the breakfast favor?

Here’s a short breakfast-in-bed menu from Bob Sloan’s Dad’s Own Cookbook, so you can surprise him with your gratitude in breakfast form. (If your dad is like mine, though, you may be rising very early on Father’s Day!) Though this cookbook is made for dads, it’s filled with delicious, but simple, recipes. Let the tasty items below inspire you (or use the book as a prop on your breakfast-in-bed tray, hint hint), and serve them alongside some buttery croissants or biscuits.

Slow Scrambled Eggs with Smoked Salmon, Sour Cream & Caviar

With its elegant presentation and delectable flavors, this breakfast begs for champagne.

Ingredients (serves two)

4 slices homestyle white bread
4 eggs
1/4 pound smoked salmon, finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sour cream, at room temperature
2 ounces black caviar
Fresh fruit slices or whole berries

Equipment

Double boiler
Medium bowl
4-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter (optional)
Whisk

1. With a cookie cutter or a paring knife, cut and remove a heart shape from the center of each slice of bread. Discard the hearts or reserve for another purpose. Place the remaining bread in the center of two plates.

2. Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl. Stir in the smoked salmon.

3. Put 2 inches of water in the bottom of a double boiler. Put the butter in the top and set the double boiler on medium heat. When the butter is melted, swirl it around to coat the pan, then add the eggs. Stir continuously with the whisk until the eggs are just about congealed, about 2 1/2 minutes.

4. Remove the eggs from the heat and stir in the sour cream. Spoon a quarter of the eggs into each of the hearts. Top with the caviar and garnish the edge of the plates with alternating slices of fresh fruit or whole berries. Serve immediately.

Note: Fresh black caviar, such as osetra or sevruga, is usually available at specialty food shops. If you can’t find fresh caviar, you may substitute the pasteurized or pressed caviar that is sold in supermarkets, although it is not comparable in taste. Beware that the distinctive fishy taste of caviar is not to everyone’s liking. If desired, substitute a pinch of chopped fresh chives or parsley.

Café au Lait

With this special breakfast, serve a cup of café au lait. Brew the coffee as usual, only slightly stronger, and add a pinch of cinnamon to the grounds. At the same time, warm some milk in a small saucepan. Pour equal amounts of coffee and milk into each cup just before serving.