Nut

Rounding this main course into supper for company is easy. Get store-bought hummus and pita chips for everyone to nibble on while you're at the grill, and serve the skewers with rice or couscous on the side and a bottle of rosé. Have a guest bring ice cream, sorbet, or cookies for dessert.

Keep in mind that these waffles will cook a little bit faster than a flour waffle because of the honey in the batter. If you don't have a waffle iron, try using the batter for pancakes.

The addition of goat cheese, apricots, and pesto lends a Mediterranean flavor to chicken. The pesto is made with fresh mint and almonds, rather than the usual basil and pine nuts.

For a few years now I've been a judge at the Whirlpool Accubake Unique Cake Contest, which is similar to the Pillsbury Bake-Off. A chocolate cake with a pecan and butterscotch toffee topping called Chocolate Coffee Toffee Cake by Elizabeth Kirsch from Pennsylvania won first place in 2002 and the $10,000 prize, which she donated to Heifer International. Elizabeth told me she made her cakes in glass canning jars and would tuck one into her husband's business trip luggage so he wouldn't miss his favorite cake while he was out of town. This simplified version of her cake would be perfect to take to a picnic or even a backyard barbecue

This elegant, light salad is ideal to serve as a first course. Pink grapefruit and peppery watercress cut the richness of avocado, and a scattering of toasted hazelnuts and hazelnut oil in the dressing suggest a flavor of early fall. Prosciutto is a graceful inclusion, but you can leave it out for a lighter vegetarian salad if you like.

Picada hails from Spain, or more specifically, from Catalonia. Flavored with nuts, bread crumbs, and herbs, it is a punchy, vibrant paste—often used as a sauce to enliven dishes, and to thicken stews. Here it partners full-flavored skirt steak and elegant escarole lettuce, which is just wilted to serve as a vegetable. Like romesco, there are plenty of other uses for picada, if you have any leftover.

A spiedo is a kitchen spit over an open fire that is most often used for cooking whole animals, particularly chicken. Spiedino—;literally "little spit"—refers to food cooked on skewers, which is how we like to prepare pork loin. Grilled briefly over a smoky fire, the meat takes on an addictive char that counterbalances the sweet, mellow soffritto of pine nuts, garlic, and currants.

This salty-sweet granola makes a great snack and is good with yogurt. Skip the salt if you're serving it with milk.

This aphrodisiac-laden mocktail comes from NYC's Museum of Sex and is a perfect way to set the mood on Valentine's Day. The recipe makes enough almond and jasmine elixirs for eight drinks; if you're making only two, refrigerate both elixirs and they will last up to two weeks. If you can't find granulated honey, substitute raw cane sugar. To make the Night Flower alcoholic, add two ounces of St. Germain (elderflower liqueur) or vodka to each drink.

Omnivores can sprinkle the risotto with shaved Parmesan cheese and crispy pancetta for a salty, crunchy, meaty finish.

These are some of the best brownies we've ever had—fudgy in the middle and chewy on the outside with a shiny, crackly top. The browned butter adds a rich, nutty flavor.

Crispy, oversize cookies with a hint of butterscotch flavor.

"Finish with gremolata and boiled peanuts." How often have you heard that phrase? Or, for that matter, the words "boiled-peanut beurre blanc"? Such is the beauty of melding Southern and French techniques. And who better to teach us a thing or two about fresh takes on Southern food than a Canadian, happily assimilated in Georgia? Hugh Acheson says that any medium-bodied fish will work with the sauce. We believe it to be delicious with flounder.

Salads need not focus on the lettuce. Here the greens take a back seat to vibrant golden beets. The salty, creamy blue cheese and the crunchy walnuts complement the sweet beets. Roasting the beets in water prevents them from drying out.