Lemon

"One thing I cannot get out of my head" said Ben Moskovitz, owner of Star Bakery in Oak Park, Michigan. "Was the food better growing up in Czechoslovakia or were the people hungrier there? My mother made a honey cake for the holiday, and it was so delicious. Honey was too expensive for us, so my mother burned the sugar to make it brown. Here I use pure honey, but I still think my mother's cake was better and I know I am wrong. The taste of hers is still in my mouth." Mr. Moskovitz's European honey cake follows, with a few of my American additions. Other European Jewish bakers interviewed for this book also bake with white rye flour and cake flour when we would use all-purpose flour. I have included both choices.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Serve this lovely dish with Champagne.

The quinces in this stew are not combined with sugar and therefore will not change color. They require only 45 minutes of cooking time to become tender. This flavorful dish is even better when made a day ahead.

Gremolata is a parsley and lemon peel mixture commonly used in Italy with osso buco.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A mixture of cottage cheese, lowfat yogurt and lemon juice replaces the sour cream in the traditional version of this dish. Ground turkey makes an especially good choice for those watching their cholesterol intake.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

In this recipe, the oven does the frying, eliminating most of the fat, and all of the messy splatter of traditional pan-frying. This quick and easy supper will be a sure family favorite, especially if you serve it with steamed green beans, sliced tomatoes, and biscuits.

Roasted peppers, marinated olives and artichoke hearts make good antipasti. Afterward, sprinkle melon slices with chopped fresh mint, and pass amaretti cookies.

The cake has an appealing, somewhat coarse texture; drizzled with a honey-lemon syrup, the dessert is reminiscent of baklava. Both matzo meal and the more finely ground matzo cake meal are used here.

The popular North African chili paste known as harissa is featured in a braised-chicken dish from Laura Dewell, chef-owner of Pirosmani restaurant in Seattle.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.