Gourmet

This recipe is an accompaniment for Boca Negra Chocolate Chipotle Cakes .

In Thailand, mangoes often appear on the table for dessert — served both on their own and incorporated into a sweetened sticky rice. If you can't get your hands on really good mangoes, you'll find that canned mango purée delivers the best flavor for this ice cream. However, many canned brands taste like peaches, so we recommend Ratna brand, which uses Alphonso mangoes, an Indian cultivar renowned for its bright orange flesh and very intense flavor. Ka-Me brand is a runner-up — the recipe will work fine, but the color and flavor will not be as intense. Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 17 3/4 hr (includes chilling and freezing)

These rice-coated meatballs, commonly referred to as zhen zhu, meaning "pearls" in Chinese, are often prepared at home in New York City's Chinatown. Steaming them on lettuce leaves helps prevent them from sticking to the steamer rack. They are traditionally made with sticky rice (sometimes called sweet rice), but we've used long-grain rice, which is easier to find.

If you can't find one type of the greens for this recipe, you can either increase the other two kinds proportionally or substitute kale and/or chard.

Light, delicate, and crisp, rice-stick noodles come packaged in different sizes. However, 1 package, no matter how small, will be plenty for this recipe. If you'd like to make larger crisps for dramatic presentation, simply pull each noodle mound into a wider tangle, then fry crisps 1 at a time. This recipe is an accompaniment for pineapple ice cream. Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

It's important not to try to halve this recipe. When you need only a half recipe of dough, as for the pains au chocolat, use the rest of the dough for a batch of Parma braids or a princess ring. Or make a double recipe of those irresistible chocolate croissants and share them with friends. One batch of this dough is enough for 24 plain croissants, 32 chocolate croissants, 16 Parma braids, or 2 princess rings.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Try jazzing up the shortbread with chopped toasted nuts. We particularly like pecans, hazelnuts, and almonds. Use your favorite fine-quality butter for the best-tasting cookies.

Willinger uses a mechanical meat spit (called a girarrosto or spiedo) in her fireplace to make this dish. We found the meat just as delicious cooked in the oven.

"Many of my friends are chocolate lovers, and this recipe seems to do the trick every time," writes Ann Bolger of East Lansing, Michigan.

These plums nicely complement pork or lamb chops. You can slip off the skins before eating if you like.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Portobellos make this simple dish shine. It's from Alfred Portale's 12 Seasons Cookbook written with Andrew Friedman (Broadway Books). Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 45 min

The contrasting colors of these two beets are especially attractive in this dish but you may substitute any others.