These days it happens more often than not: you find yourself hosting a dinner party where at least one guest has a dietary restriction. I've gotten used to this. I once fed a group of ten actors for a week: one vegan, two vegetarians, one allergic to nuts, one lactose intolerant and one with a wheat allergy, so I know I can usually roll with pretty much any cooking challenge.

But sometimes I goof, and when the goof is simply forgetting about an allergy and realizing I can make up something else on the spot, I get excited. This is how unexpected ideas come to be and how some of my best recipes are born.

Recently, I found myself tending a table for four, including a newly gluten-free friend. At the end of the meal, I set out four perfect little lemony desserts containing flour. Oops. More

I've never made tapioca pudding before and always loved it as a kid. When I set my sights on making a rich, glorious version with coconut milk as a base instead of milk and egg, I didn't realize I'd have a runaway hit in my household. But that's exactly what happened. More

Q: I'm hosting an birthday office event next Monday for a group of 60 to 70 people. The plan is to buy boxed coffee from a chain store but I also want to buy 3 or 4 Torani flavored syrups. I went to their website and I'm totally overwhelmed by the choices.

What are good flavors to buy for a large group (we already have hazel cream at work)? Also, any other recommendations for using the syrup other than mixing it with the coffee?

Sent by Giam More

When Emma posted her family's amazing peppermint cookie recipe last week, she lamented that it's getting difficult to find soft peppermint sticks these days. As a fan of this delicious holiday sweet, I felt her pain.

That is, until I wandered in the internets and discovered that an old favorite, King Leo Soft Peppermint Stick Candy, can still be found. Oh, joy! More

Q: Any idea where to buy reasonable priced baking decorations online? (Jimmies, sprinkles, confetti).

I'm making a cupcake/cookie decorating kit for my sister-in-law for the holidays and I'm having trouble finding them online for a decent price that's not sold in tiny quantities. I was planning on buying cute spice jars to fill with various decorations, along with a mini cupcake pan, a cookie scoop and fun liners.

Sent by Jen More

Got a fall birthday or party coming up? Skip fancy cake decoration and let someone else make your cake seasonally gorgeous. Here are 10 edible cake decorations plucked from the pages of Etsy, created by people way more talented in sugarcraft than I am. They range from the gorgeous (hand-painted fall leaves — so beautiful!) to cute (pop-eyed turkeys and grinning pumpkins). More

When Megan wrote about stabilizing whipped cream with crème fraîche, many readers commented with their own tricks for making whipped cream that lasts using additions like melted butter or marshmallows. Curious, I decided to put a handful of these methods to the test, whipping up batches using the recommended additions and seeing how well they held up in the refrigerator over the course of an afternoon.

A couple hours and several pints of heavy cream later, I have great news: it turns out the most effective way to make long-lasting whipped cream is also the easiest. More

There are certain realities we all must face. Things like the inevitability of the Christmas shopping season or the fact that a bakery-hopping trip to Paris may not be in the budget this year. Thankfully, there's now a way to feel as though you're in Paris -- all with the simple touch of a few buttons on your iphone. More

31% Cacao White Chocolate Wafers from Guittard

• $12
• Guittard Chocolate Company

Good white chocolate can be hard to find, and inexpensive, low-quality white chocolate often tastes grainy and is harder to melt than white chocolate with a high ratio of cacao butter. These wafers from Guittard are my current favorite for baking and for desserts; they melt well, and their taste and texture is lush and rich.

1 pound box of flat, thin couverture wafers. Also available at Williams-Sonoma. More

Kids shouldn't get all the treats this Halloween. Whether you have your own children or not, there are plenty of grown-up treats just beckoning on the big, spooky night. More