Place apricots in large bowl. Combine 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water in
small saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Mix sugar
syrup into apricots. Cool completely.

Place 1 tablespoon water in small cup. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon unflavored
gelatin over. Let stand until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Set cup
in 1-inch-deep simmering water in medium saucepan; stir until gelatin
dissolves, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Using electric mixer, beat
whipping cream and powdered sugar in large bowl just until mixture
thickens. Gradually add warn gelatin mixture, beating until cream forms
medium-firm peaks. (Apricots and whipped cream can be prepared 8 hours
ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.)

Cut biscuits horizontally in half. Place 1 biscuit bottom in each of
shallow bowls. Spoon apricots with some syrup over bottoms. Top with
whipped cream, raspberries and biscuit tops. Drizzle remaining syrup
from apricots around shortcakes and serve.

Cinnamon Biscuits (makes extra biscuits):

Blend basic amount of sugar, flour, cake flour, baking powder, salt,
cinnamon and baking soda in large bowl. Add butter, rub in with
fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Beat eggs in medium
bowl. Transfer 1 tablespoon beaten eggs to small bowl; reserve for
glaze. Whisk yogurt into remaining eggs in medium bowl. Stir yogurt
mixture into dry ingredients. Gather dough into ball.

Gently knead dough on lightly floured surface until dough just holds
together, about 6 turns. Roll or pat dough into 1-inch-thick round.
Using 2 1/2- to 3-inch-diameter heart shaped cookie cutter, cut out
biscuits. Gather dough scraps, reroll to 1-inch thickness and cut out
additional biscuits. Place biscuits on ungreased baking sheet. (Can be
prepared 1 day ahead. Cover biscuits and reserved egg glaze separately
and refrigerate.)

Preheat oven to 400° F. Brush biscuits with reserved egg glaze. Sprinkle
with the additional sugar. Bake biscuits until puffed and light golden,
about 18 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add brown sugar; stir to blend. Add
vanilla, cardamom and nutmeg. Stir 1
minute. Add peaches; toss gently to coat. Cook until sugar mixture melts and peaches are
tender but do not fall apart, tossing
occasionally, about 5 minutes. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover; chill. Rewarm over low
heat before using.)

Place 2 scoops ice cream in each bowl. Spoon peach mixture over ice cream, dividing
equally. Garnish with pecans and whipped cream.

1.  Place corn with husks in cold water; soak 30 minutes.  Combine
chili powder, salt, cumin and butter in a small bowl. Pull husks
back; scrub silks from corn.

2.  Brush chili powder mixture over corn.  Wrap husks around corn.

3.  Prepare grill or broiler.

4.  Place corn on a grill rack or broiler pan; cook 20 minutes or
until corn is lightly browned, turning every 5 minutes.

Combine first 4 ingredients in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 5
minutes.  Combine melon and cumin in a large bowl; drizzle with the mint mixture.  Toss well to
combine.

Process all ingredients in a blender until smooth; pour into an 8-inch square pan.  Freeze 3 to 4 hours or until firm, stirring 2 to 3 times.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

In blender, purée tofu until smooth.

Add remaining ingredients and blend well. Mixture should be fairly smooth, with small bits of artichoke.

Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl; cover and marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes.

Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan; gradually stir in couscous.  Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes.  Fluff
with a fork; cool.  Add couscous and fresh basil to tomato mixture; toss gently.  Garnish with basil leaves, if desired .  Yield: 5
servings (serving size: 1 cup).

Spicy ColeslawWith Cumin-Lime Dressing

Cook carrots in medium saucepan of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain. Cool completely. Transfer
carrots to large bowl. Add cabbage; bell pepper, onion and cilantro.

Whisk lime juice, cumin, garlic and hot pepper sauce in medium bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Cabbage mixture and dressing can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover separately; chill. Rewhisk dressing before continuing.

Toss salad with enough dressing to coat. Season with salt and pepper; serve.

Cook beets in large pot of boiling water until very tender and knife pierces center easily, about 50 minutes. Drain beets; cool slightly. Peel and coarsely chop. Transfer beets to food processor. Add sour cream, 1/z cup orange juice, vinegar and honey and blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Pour into large bowl and whisk in buttermilk. Thin soup with more
orange juice, if desired.

Cover and refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.) Garnish soup with diced apple, if desired, and serve.

 Coffee And White Chocolate Ice Cream

Bring milk to simmer in medium saucepan. Add coffee beans; remove pan
from heat. Cover and let stand 2 hours.

Strain milk mixture through fine sieve into heavy large saucepan;
discard coffee beans. Rewarm milk until hot. Whisk egg yolks and sugar
in medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk hot milk into yolk mixture.
Return mixture to saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until custard
thickens and leaves path on back of spoon when

Remove from heat. Add white chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth.
Refrigerate custard until cold, about 2 hours. Process in ice cream
maker according to manufacturer's instructions. (Can be prepared up to 5
days ahead. Freeze in covered container.)

Cut pears in half lengthwise, and remove cores; place pears, cut side up, in 1 10 x 6 x 2-inch baking dish.  Combine honey, margarine, and mustard in a small bowl, stirring until smooth; brush over pears.  Pour water into dish.  Cover and bake to 250F for 40 minutes or until pears are tender.  Serve warm.

1.  Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl, and set
aside.  Combine the remaining ingredients, and drizzle over the fruit
mixture.  Toss gently to coat.  Yield 6 servings (serving size: 1 cup).

Combine all ingredients in container of an electric blender; top with cover, and process until frothy and thick.

Combine all ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake.  This can
also be mixed in a blender, although the color becomes creamier rather than
translucent. If preparing in a blender, mix  all ingredients except onion. Stir
in finely mixed onion by hand. Refrigerate.

Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl; toss. Combine
vinegar and next 5 ingredients in a jar. Cover; shake
vigorously. Pour over corn mixture; toss well. Yield: 3
servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Combine first 3 ingredients in container of an electric
blender (or use a hand blender). Process until basil is
finely chopped; pour mixture into a small bowl. Add salt
and pepper; stir well. Cover and chill.

Place potatoes in a large dutch oven. Cover with water,
and bring to a boil. Partially cover, reduce heat, and
simmer 25 minutes or until tender. Drain potatoes, and
let cool. Cut each potato in half crosswise; cut each
half in 4 wedges. Place potato wedges in a large bowl;
add basil mixture and green onions, tossing gently to
coat. Cover and chill.

In a large bowl, combine dressing, sugar, and poppy seeds; mix well.  Add spinach, mandarin oranges, and almonds.  Toss to combine
and serve.
TASTY TWIST:  Substitute the fruit!  Sliced strawberries or canned pineapple chunks are good bets.

1.  Combine 1 1/4 cups low-fat milk and peppercorns in a medium heavy saucepan; bring to a simmer.  Remove from heat. Let stand,
covered, for 10 minutes.  Strain milk through a cheesecloth-lined sieve into a bowl, discard solids.

2.  Place egg yolks in a bowl.  Gradually add the hot milk to egg yolks, stirring constantly with a whisk.  Remove milk mixture to
pan.  Add the granulated sugar; cook over medium heat until the milk mixture coats a metal spoon (about 3 minutes), stirring
constantly.  Combine 3/4 cup low-fat milk, vanilla, lime rind, lime juice, and condensed milk in a medium bowl.  Gradually add
custard, stirring with a whisk.  Cover and chill completely.

3.  Pour mixture into freezer can of an ice-cream freezer; freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Spoon ice cream into a
freezer-safe container; cover and freeze 1 hour or until firm.

4.  Combine brown sugar and rum in a microwave-safe bowl, microwave at HIGH 1 1/2 minutes or until sugar dissolves, stirring after
45 seconds.

5.  Prepare grill or broiler.

6.  Place pineapple on grill rack or broiler pan coated with cooking spray, and cook 2 minutes on each side or until lightly
browned, basting occasionallywith rum mixture.  Place 1 pineapple slice on each of 7 dessert plates; top each serving with 1/2 cup
of ice cream. Garnish with lime slices, if desired.

"Inspired by Caroline Bates's Chesapeake Bay article in the June 1998
Gourmet, I decided to spend a couple of days there with a friend from
Holland," says Susan Tingle Goldthwaite of Teaneck, New Jersey. "We
stayed at the Waterloo Country Inn and were pleasantly surprised to find
that the inn now has a restaurant, called David's at the Waterloo, open
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings. The strawberry napoleon was
unlike anything I have ever tasted. Wonderfully fresh strawberries were
swirled in the most luscious cream concoction and nestled between two
lacy almond cookies. My mouth starts watering just thinking of it again!
I'd love to have the recipe."

Editors' note: It turns out that chef David Wells and his wife, Lillian,
have since moved their restaurant to Salisbury, Maryland, which is about
10 miles from the Waterloo Country Inn. They still offer this delicious
dessert at their new place, David's (a bistro!).

Make sauce: Simmer strawberries in syrup with sugar, stirring, until
sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Cool to room temperature, then
purée in a blender.

Assemble napoleons: Trim and quarter enough strawberries to measure 3
cups. Beat cream in a chilled bowl until it just holds stiff peaks.

Put 1 cookie on a plate and spread 1/2 cup whipped cream over it. Top
with , cup quartered strawberries and drizzle about 3 tablespoons sauce
over them. Lean a second cookie at an angle over berries and lightly
dust with confectioners sugar. Make 5 more napoleons in same manner.

Scrape seeds from vanilla bean; place seeds and bean in a medium saucepan. Pour 2% low-fat milk into pan; cook over medium-low heat
to 180 degrees or until tiny bubbles form around edge of pan (do not boil). Remove from heat; discard vanilla bean. Pour
vanilla-milk mixture into a large bowl, and add sugar, stirring  until sugar dissolves. Stir in low-fat buttermilk and evaporated
milk; cover and chill. Pour mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer, and freeze according to manufacturer's
instructions. Spoon ice milk into a freezer-safe container; cover and freeze at least 1 hour. Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1/2cup).

Peel and section grapefruit and oranges over a bowl; squeeze membranes to extract juice. Set sections aside; reserve 1/4 cup juice.
Discard membranes.

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, and sauté 30 seconds. Stir in reserved juice, vinegar, honey, and salt.
Add fruit and spinach; cook 1 minute or until spinach begins to wilt, tossing gently.  Arrange spinach mixture on individual salad
plates; top with croutons.  Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1-1/2 cups salad and 1 tablespoon croutons).