Georgeanne Brennan Susan Herrman Loomis

This recipe can be multiplied indefinitely.

(CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH NUTS AND RAISINS)

Here is a chocolate cake that will delight your palate. Use the best bittersweet chocolate you can find!

(POTAGE AU POTIRON)

The cod here is basically pan-roasted. If you want to increase the recipe, simply roast two one-pound pieces. To serve, cut the cod in half with a very sharp knife that will go through the bacon and the cod. Serve this with a lovely, buttery Chardonnay.

You can use small manila clams or cherrystones if you can't get cockles. You can also use mussels, but the cooking time will be slightly shorter.

Croûte Forestière

This is based on a croûte forestière I tasted at the Bois Gourmand restaurant outside Champagnole, in the heart of the mountainous Jura region in France. The restaurant is known in the area for its regional specialties, and this was an intriguing interpretation of the typical croûte forestière which is made entirely with morels.

You can easily recreate this recipe with a wonderful free-range chicken. As for the candied chestnuts, I recommend using freshly cooked, shelled chestnuts which are still quite sweet!

I do not think that pêches de vigne, French red-fleshed peaches, are available in the United States so, for this recipe, use the most ripe, fragrant peaches you can, and go easy on the orange flower water. Slice, drizzle and serve the peaches immediately, so they are still lightly chilled!

This is the soup everyone enjoyed in Louviers for Carnaval. Quick to make, deliciously satisfying and alluring, you will find it hits the spot on a cool late winter to spring evening.

(LES SCOURTINS AUX OLIVES DE NYONS)

Jean-Pierre Autrand of Les Vieux Moulins in Nyons, Provence, shared the family recipe for these crisp, salty-sweet cookies.

As with all jams and jellies, make a small batch as indicated here, so that it cooks well and thoroughly for the short time indicated, preserving the pure flavor of the berries.

Regardless of the salt you use here, whether it be kosher, rock or sea salt, it will rarely be put to better use than encasing an entire fish while it bakes. The fish emerges succulent, with every ounce of flavor and texture intact, and the salt breaks away leaving just the perfect hint of saltiness.

(Gâteau de Semoule d’Isabelle)

A favorite on the Dugord farm in Normandy, this cake (which is really more of a pudding) wins with everyone. According to Isabelle Dugord, who convinced her grandmother to share the recipe, her family ate this all the time when she was growing up, and it's still her preferred sweet. Isabelle works part-time at a day-care center and always has the children make this at least once while they’re with her. "It's easy to make, healthy, and they all, down to the last child, just love it," she said.

It can be served hot, lukewarm, or chilled, and is best the day it is made.

Raisins are traditional, though dates or figs are luscious, too.

This recipe originally accompanied Madame Quiche's Quiche Au Fromage .

This pastry is short, buttery, and wonderfully easy to put together. I make it in the food processor, for the less it is touched by warm hands, the shorter and flakier it will be. Be sure to let the pastry rest at least one hour at room temperature, so it is easy to roll out, then chill it before baking.

(Cake aux Olives)

This version of cake originated in Provence, where olives, basil, and garlic create a harmonious triumvirate. Here they combine with roasted red bell peppers and Parmesan cheese to create a bread that is gutsy, aromatic, and lovely to look at. Serve this as an appetizer, in tandem with fresh goat’s- or cow’s- milk cheese, or even lightly toasted with a poached egg on top.

(Purée de Pommes de Terre, de Topinambours, et de Céleri-rave)

At the market in Le Neubourg, not far from where I live in Normandy, each Wednesday farmers bring out their produce in a panoply that directly mirrors the seasons. This dish, which I make with vegetables from that market, is a celebration of fall. Farmers in Le Neubourg are really mostly market gardeners or truck farmers, or maraîchers. They and others like them are the backbone of the French agricultural system, providing from their small plots the best and the freshest produce in the country. Because they are small and sell direct, they can grow a wide variety of vegetables, which is why I can find Jerusalem artichokes alongside potatoes and celery root, dandelion greens, and wild mushrooms gathered in the surrounding woods.

Though the vegetables in this dish are unglamorous, the balance here is luscious, rich, and satisfying.

(Salade Verte à la Vinaigrette)

This is a basic recipe, one that should be part of every culinary repertoire. On the farm it is an everyday salad that changes according to the season, depending on what greens are fresh in the garden.

In winter I am a slave to escarole, which I occasionally combine with Belgian endive. In spring and summer I mix greens, using green or red oak-leaf, mesclun (a fragrant mix of young greens), arugula, and fresh herbs.