Orange

"Recently, I had dinner at the super-romantic Shadowbrook Restaurant in nearby Capitola," writes Holly M. Sharps of Menlo Park, California. "To get to Shadowbrook, you have to take a cable car down a hill. The restaurant is on several levels and has spectacular views of the ocean — not to mention great food. The salmon was absolutely delicious." The sake- and soy-based ponzu sauce is traditionally a Japanese dipping sauce. Here, it’s used to baste the fish as it cooks.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Refreshing and absolutely delicious. Mix up this treat in the morning, and it will be frozen in time to help beat the heat by the early afternoon.

There will be plenty of leftover biscotti for afternoon coffee breaks.

The asparagus and orange segments are arranged in a sunburst pattern on a large platter, with baby greens and sliced red onion in the center.

Serve this dish with steamed white rice to catch all the juices.

Using orange juice instead of water in the crust enhances the fruit flavors in the filling. To prevent the dough from sticking, lightly flour the work surface and the dough, sprinkling with more flour as needed; also, roll just to the edges of the dough, not over them, rotating the dough often.

The bûche de Noël, or Christmas log, was created in the late nineteenth century by Parisian pastry chefs, who were inspired by the real logs that burned on hearths throughout the night on Christmas Eve. Our version can be decorated with Candied Cranberries or fresh currants.

This tart will satisfy any chocolate lover. To make the chocolate curls, briefly microwave a 12-ounce block of bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened) until it's just slightly softened. Pull the blade of a heavy large knife across the surface to form curls.

Raisin-studded egg bread is nice for variety in this recipe. Soaking the bread in the batter a day ahead makes it even easier.

These scones are terrific with butter and honey or marmalade.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.