European

Salt and caramel are longstanding companions, but many chefs are playing with the balance to heighten intensity. Begin making these treats one day ahead to allow time for chilling.

Each filling makes enough for one batch of cookies. Whichever filling you choose, be sure to prepare it a day ahead.

Round out this meatless — but hearty — main course with a big spoonful of deli pasta salad on a bed of arugula, and end with purchased tiramisù topped with berries.

This salad was inspired by a couple of dishes our food editors encountered at restaurants in Rome.

You can buy jars of tapenade at some specialty markets, but Jody Adams prefers the taste of homemade.

Serve with: Tomato salad and crusty semolina bread. Dessert: Amaretti cookies.

Minestra You just know the Soprano family is eating the kind of Italian food that's getting harder and harder to find in our increasingly upscale Italian restaurants. This dish has that real-thing feeling; surely this is someone's grandmother's famous soup recipe. The soup is delicate but filling at the same time, with its pasta and baby meatballs. Unless you have Soprano-size appetites, this is a main-dish soup. We've cut the recipe in half so it will fit in your soup pot.

Long ago on our honeymoon, we stayed at the Connaught Hotel in London, a bastion of comfortable English tradition. They served what I considered then, and still do, the finest of fruit crumbles. It was served very hot and had a thick golden crumb topping that was baked on top of perfectly cooked and sweetened fruit. Although the crumb topping was crisp on top, it remained pleasantly soft in the middle.

Tortilla à la Basquaise au Thon et à la Tapenade Use a deep 12-inch-diameter nonstick skillet to make this Spanish-style frittata.

This is a wonderful way to experience onions and it is reminiscent of the Alsatian specialty, flammekeuche. Combined with the cream, the onions (Rose de Roscoff, if you can find them) create a sweet, succulent foil for the bacon and the pizza dough. I like to serve this as a first course, with a lovely Gewurtztraminer.

A 1980 charter signed by 11 restaurants (7 in Marseille) dictates what kinds of fish form the basis of an authentic local bouillabaisse. These are generally unavailable here, so we suggest using the freshest nonoily fish you can get, preferably three to five different kinds. As long as we were taking liberties, we also added lobster and used fennel fronds in place of pastis. And though the broth and croutons are usually served separately from the fish itself in Marseille, we enjoyed everything together. Active time: 1 1/4 hr Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

(Amanida amb Epàrrec i Pernil) A Catalan composed salad, or amanida, may be made of almost anything, though ham, sausage, or anchovies are often included. Traditionally, the ingredients are added to the final presentation individually rather than mixed together. Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 15 min

"Being a vegetarian, I was delighted to find a hearty meatless main dish at the Stamford Plaza hotel in Auckland, New Zealand," writes Barbara Abbott of Santa Rosa, California. "The mushroom risotto was outstanding; I'd be pleased if you could get the recipe."