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A perfect balance of flavors and textures, this salad is sure to become a favorite first course to enjoy while supper cooks. Replace the pecans with Sweet Spiced Nuts (page 261) for a special touch.

Sour citrus and spicy peppercorns are perfect foils for salty feta. (See photo)

Warm and aromatic—like bouillabaisse without all the fuss. Mussels are best eaten right away, so call everyone to the table when you put the mussels into the pot.

These egg rolls made with filo dough bake in the oven, so there’s no deep-frying. Crisp and delicious, they are a fine supper. They can be assembled a day ahead, wrapped in plastic, and refrigerated until they go into the oven.

Crostini are toasted or grilled slices of bread with tasty toppings, often served as an appetizer. For a relaxed supper, put a plate of toasted baguette slices and bowls of various toppings on the table (however many you like or have time to make) and have a make-your-own crostini simple supper night. The Bread: Many bakeries can thinly slice a baguette for you in their slicing machine. You usually get about 25 slices per average baguette. Each of the toppings recipes makes enough topping for 15 to 20 baguette-sized crostini, although the number depends on how high you pile the toppings. Of course, you can make crostini with the larger Italian or French loaves, also. The slices should be 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick. Toast the baguette slices. There is a difference of opinion on how toasty they should be: Some people like them just lightly toasted, while others like them very dry and crisp, almost like croutons. The bread can be toasted a couple of hours or even days ahead of time. When the slices are cool, store them in a well-sealed container or plastic bag until you’re ready to assemble the crostini.

Many of us think to eat creamed pearl onions only once or twice a year at holiday feasts. We thought it would be fun to turn the traditional side dish into a soup for any day of the week.

Mildly spicy, really homey, and satisfying. We’d like to acknowledge our friend Anne Kenney for the idea for this recipe.

Try this variation of the familiar Greek egg-lemon soup in the springtime when the first tender shoots of asparagus hit the markets.

Broccoli and mushrooms make this miso soup a little bit unusual and a meal in itself. (See photo)

This thick, flavorful Southwestern soup comes together easily using pantry items.

This creamy vegan soup is spicy and a little sweet.

The warmth of this salad brings out the best flavors of the ingredients: mellow lentils, sharp escarole, aromatic fennel, and rich, crunchy walnuts. (See photo)

For a richer dressing, add half a cup of coconut milk and a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter to the dressing.

In this delicious omelet, we borrowed the taste of garlic, caraway, and coriander from harissa, the classic Tunisian seasoning. The omelet can also be cut into wedges and served as an appetizer or as part of a tapas or antipasto platter.

Beans and mushrooms are a great combo and quintessentially Italian. Experiment with different varieties and colors of beans.

This sauté makes an attractive and satisfying supper; chilled, it makes a delicious side dish or salad. (See photo)

Whole wheat and spelt pastas have a pleasant, nutty flavor that stands up to the flavors in this sauce, but any kind of pasta is fine for this recipe.

We came up with this as a canapé for a party and had a hit on our hands; it’s utterly simple and elegant. Boucheron combines the tartness, chalkiness, creaminess, and pungency that are the hallmarks of different goat cheeses for a beautiful balance of flavor and texture. Served open-faced on delicate bread as a finger sandwich or a canapé, this is dainty and easy to eat, but it can also be grilled as a sandwich if you want something hot and just a little bit oozy.

A cheese-and-fruit Danish, the Austro-Hungarian apricot dumpling called Marillenknödel, a Turkish dessert of poached dried apricots with sweet-tangy cream and pistachios . . . some flavor combinations just work well, across cultures and continents. This especially pretty open-faced sandwich is great for breakfast, brunch, a light lunch, an afternoon snack, even a dessert; it’s sweet but not too sweet. The colors, tastes, and textures of puffy white ricotta, velvety golden apricots, silky syrupy ribbons of fennel, crunchy toasted green pistachios, and a grinding or two of black pepper on top create a surprise for the palate and a feast for the eye. We both love putting a big platter of these sandwiches in the middle of the table and watching them disappear. Use slightly under ripe apricots; you can stew them longer than riper fruit and so they will absorb more of the flavors of the spices. Other stone fruits such as plums work well, too. The stewed fruit can be prepared in advance and kept refrigerated in its own syrup for several days.