German

Schwarzwälder Torte Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 4 hr (includes cooling meringues)

This is one of the many types of apple cake popular throughout central Europe. I have seen apple cakes, a traditional Rosh Hashannah dessert, served on Sabbath and holiday tables from Israel to Australia.

These nut meringues are also called erstesternen ("first stars"), a reference to the heavenly signs indicating the end of a fast day. They are traditionally served by German Jews at the meal following Yom Kippur.

Baked in individual ring molds, these little desserts feature caramelized pears, streusel topping and sweetened cream.

(Southern German and Alsatian Italian Plum Torte) This torte is served traditionally at the high holidays in early fall, when small blue Italian plums are in season. In southern Germany and Alsace the pie was made from zwetsche, a local variety of these plums. My aunt Lisl always used to make a murbeteig crust (a short-crust butter cookie dought) for this tart, and sliced each Italian plum into four crescent shapes. She lined the tart with breadcrumbs and then apricot preserves, which protected the dough during baking, leading to a crispy crust. She went light on the cinnamon, a spice she felt was overused in this country. (I agree with her.) My aunt's results, simple to prepare, were simply delicious.

Buttered potatoes accompany this simple, sophisticated dish at Gugelhof restaurant.

This entrée is served with spaetzle at the Ox Yoke Inn, in Amana, Iowa. You will need to begin marinating the beef two days ahead.

Chef Ian Algerø‸en of Skadi restaurant serves this side dish with duck. It's also terrific with roast pork or Cornish game hens.

The German plum harvest is celebrated every year with a festival in Bühl in the southwestern part of the country. In this simple German dessert, cake batter is covered with wedges of fall plums; a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar bakes into a crunchy topping.

Bake some of these for the holidays, too.

This moist Christmas cake takes its cues from the flavors and spices found in the classic Lebkuchen cookie. It's brushed with an orange-scented honey syrup, frosted with a creamy white chocolate icing and then surrounded by sliced almonds.

Spice Cookies Rice paper is traditionally used in this recipe, but is not essential. You can bake these cookies on buttered baking sheets instead.

My grandmother Marie "Nanney" Spivey (I am her namesake) always doubles this family favorite and uses two pie shells. She says, "Everybody loves it. You can stir it up in five minutes."

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Mrs. Alvin Schreiner and her mother, Mrs. Lackner, were old-time German cooks. Everything they made was a work of art. This pea soup recipe came from them and is one of our favorites. Do not omit the bacon fat; it is the secret ingredient.

Choucroute — the pickled cabbage that is a cornerstone of Alsatian cuisine — is similar to sauerkraut. One key difference is that choucroute is always cooked in wine. Here, sauerkraut is combined with smoked ham hocks, sausages and potatoes.

Transforming cabbage into sauerkraut was one way the Germans preserved summer's crop for the hard winter ahead. A combination of rinsing the kraut of its salty brine and baking it with dried fruit mellows its bite. Smoked pork chops can be substituted; just omit the browning step. Offer some dark and light German beers to drink.

These crunchy cookies are a new version of classic Mandelbrot, which means almond bread in German. Here, recipe tester Selma Brown Morrow uses hazelnuts instead of the usual almonds. To add an elegant look, she dips the cookies into melted chocolate and seals them in holiday bags.