Recipes

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Ross Sveback of Afton, Minn., created this cake, which he calls Shades of Love. Turning a simple layer cake into a showstopper is a natural outcome of his blog, "Elevating the Everyday" at www.RossSveback.com.

We subbed vanilla for cardamom. Prepare the night before, cover and refrigerator. Remove about an hour before serving.

Cook 1 cup orzo in a saucepan of salted boiling water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain well; return to saucepan.

Adapted from "Lidia's Italy in America," by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich (Alfred A. Knopf, $35). The original recipe calls for veal but also suggests less pricey turkey or chicken cutlets.

Some grocers and seafood markets sell frozen lobster meat. That's the easiest way to get it for this dish.

Attempting to make chocolate bonbons from scratch is enough to test anyone's love.

Recipe by Monica Mooney and Jasmine Williford.

Valentine's Day practically screams for a chocolate dessert.

This Valentine's Day cocktail sports a risqué name, is easy on the eyes and drinks like candy.

If you're looking for a romantic Valentine's Day gift that's truly from the heart, why not give the best gift of all – a mouthwatering, healthy meal you make yourself?

Grated radish salad

Roasted radishes

Radish risotto

Fermented radishes

Salmon with lentils and mustard-herb butter

Any chard is fine in this dish, but the colorful stems of ruby or rainbow chard look lovely against the deep green leaves.

Developed by Heather Teoh, a native of Singapore with the nonprofit California Food Literacy Center, this traditional new year's dish can be made primarily with locally grown produce.

Whole-wheat pearl couscous is a revelation: full- flavored, with a great texture, easy to cook. It also brings a terrific nuttiness to this side dish.

Chunks of creamy comice pear contrast nicely with the crunch of cashews and pomegranate seeds.

Dragon beans

Roasting enhances the earthy, sweet flavor of beets.

Just about any fruit can be added or substituted: banana, strawberries or peeled mandarin oranges, tangerines or navel oranges. Dairy milk can take the place of the almond milk. From cookbook author Elinor Klivans.

Sacramento bloody mary and other recipes in The Mailbox

A recipe from the "Forgotten Skills of Cooking," by Darina Allen. Allen writes that this sweet-sour relish will "keep for ages and is particularly good with cold meats, coarse country terrines or goat-cheese salads."

Blood oranges decorate the top of this gorgeous winter tart. The crust is an unfussy butter-cookie dough.

As a nation, in just one day we consume millions of pounds of potato chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, popcorn and nuts. And don't even get me started on the guacamole, chicken wings, baby back ribs, pizza, dips, chili and subs.

Whenever I think of Super Bowl Sunday, I think of chili and guacamole and chips. And Ro-Tel cheese dip. And Frito pie.

These are not your girlfriend's cupcakes. There is no frilly pastel frosting piped on top. They are not delicate. They are not pretty.

When it comes to making pulled chicken, it's hard to beat the two-ingredient simplicity of simmering chicken breasts in a bottle of barbecue sauce.

A stromboli is kind of a cross between a grinder and a calzone. Bread dough is rolled out, filled with sliced meats, cheeses and vegetables, then rolled up into a tube and baked.

Recipe from Wini Moranville's "The Bonne Femme Cookbook."

Recipe from "Eat Like a Man: The Only Cookbook a Man Will Ever Need."

This recipe from the Associated Press varies from traditional carbonara by not incorporating the egg into the cheese "sauce" with which the pasta is tossed. Instead, the egg is fried separately, then served over pasta that has been tossed with crisped pancetta.

Oyster mushrooms are particularly delicious and satisfying. They grow like clusters of thick, oyster-shaped leaves. Here they are paired with baby bok choy, which has a slightly bitter taste that works well with mushrooms, ginger and hoisin sauce.

It's winter. It's chilly. You want something hearty. But you're also trying to eat better and don't want to ruin your diet by diving into a cream-laden casserole.

This is based on a recipe from Judy Rodgers' "The Zuni Cafe Cookbook."

To make things easy, use the prepared pizza dough sold in many stores. If you make the dough yourself, use a 50-50 blend of white and whole-wheat flours in your favorite pizza dough recipe.

Here's a replication of "weenie royale," a popular dish at June's Cafe that has its roots in Japanese internment camps. Courtesy Angelo Chow and the Kitchen Sisters.

Two recipes featuring a casserole and salad dressing

June O'Sullivan of June's Cafe keeps her recipes closely guarded, but here's a tonkatsu recipe that's something like the staple of her diner. The "ton" means "pork" in Japanese, and the "katsu" refers to "cutlet." O'Sul- livan serves her tonkatsu over a bed of steamed rice and adds grilled onions for sweetness.

Recipe from Russ Parsons, Los Angeles Times food editor.

This recipe is from "The Sunset Cookbook." A mix of vivid chartreuse and bronze lettuces really sets off the fruits' colors.

The pears in this warm dessert should be Bartletts that have started to turn yellow and yield only slightly when pressed. At that stage, the pear slices will hold their shape.

A tasty (and gluten-free) cookie, adapted from "Martha Stewart's Cookies" (Clarkson Potter, $24.95, pages). Instead of piping dough into rings, it's easier to spoon it into 2-inch rounds (see photo, left) and bake as directed.

Does anyone have a recipe to make cookies out of a package of carrot cake mix?

If you serve the pesto with pasta, thin it with a bit of the starchy pasta cooking water. This helps stretch the pesto (while cutting fat and calories) and gives it more coating power.

Little Dom's Tuscan kale salad with grilled heirloom carrots