Gruyère

Turnips stand in for the usual potatoes, giving this gratin a rich, hearty taste.

Quiche made its way from France to our shores in the sixties, but it was in the seventies that its popularity soared.

This can be completely assembled up to eight hours ahead, and then it requires only a short time in the oven.

Although they no longer remember who gave it to them, my parents received a fondue pot for their wedding. I have distinct memories from childhood of standing on my tiptoes, peering over the stove top and begging my mother for another chance to whisk the bubbling cheese mixture. As the cheese became thicker and thicker, we all took turns stirring. Since preparation for dinner was a family affair, fondue was a meal reserved for special occasions.

Juana Vázquez-Gómez of Redondo Beach, California, writes: "Growing up in Cuernavaca, just outside Mexico City, I remember my grandmother cooking elaborate Mexican meals every day. My mother continued that tradition, but not in such an all-consuming manner. For her it was a great joy to plan a menu and then invite people to help with the preparation. "The women in my life taught me the beauty of a good meal. I still use many of their recipes today, but unlike my grandmother I don't spend an entire day in the kitchen. Fortunately, my husband and kids like to cook, so I've found a balance between my grandmother's time-intensive recipes and my mother's practicality. "

Serve these with a couple of tall, cold beers.

Beet salad is delicious alongside. Rewarm leftovers for lunch the next day.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Serve as an entrée with salad and wine, or as a side dish with steak, ham or roast beef.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

(Gruyère Cheese Puffs)

If you wanted to entertain in the '60s, a fondue pot was de rigueur, presenting a casual alternative to the formal dinners of earlier eras. Some of us still have the dregs of that original bottle of kirsch in the back of the liquor cabinet. This is fortunate because, with the current and unprecedented cheese renaissance in this country, it's time to unearth that old fondue pot and light up the Sterno.

Easy sides would be a salad of mixed lettuces with balsamic vinaigrette, a whole wheat baguette and roasted baby potatoes. Finish with apple tarts.