Starter

This salsa is delicious, easy, and versatile. I serve it with many grilled foods, including seafood, pork, and chicken. It's also excellent as a dip with tortilla chips. To preserve the salsa and prevent it from darkening, bury the avocado pits in it, cover tightly, and store in the refrigerator. It will keep for 3 to 4 days.

I fell for this soup on a trip to the Yucatan Peninsula, where it is a mainstay. It’s light and refreshing—a tasty first course that whets the appetite without ruining it for the main event. It’s a smart way to go if you’re serving heavier fare, such as Cheese Enchiladas with Chile Gravy (page 152) or Fiesta Chiles Rellenos (page 145) for a main course.

I know you might do a double take at the name of this recipe. But I assure you it is a simple, delightful rendition of spaghetti in quickly cooked tomato sauce. The unique touch comes from shreds of fresh apple, which lend the sauce a lovely aroma and flavor and feel good in the mouth. When I tasted this for the first time in the Val di Non of Trentino, I wondered, Why didn’t I think of this long ago? Spaghetti is my choice of pasta here, but linguine, ziti, or rigatoni would be just as good.

Fantastic in emergencies and reason enough to stock canned beans in your pantry. Serve as a dip for bread-sticks, pita or other bread, or raw vegetables.

This beautiful side dish looks complicated but is very easy to assemble. If you don't have time to make your own ricotta, buy high-quality fresh ricotta.

A staple of Puerto Rico, this fried plaintain mash can be served with a simple salad or rice and beans.

Bagna cauda is a warm, garlicky dip traditionally served with raw vegetables. It hails from northwestern Italy's Piedmont region. In this version, the sauce is served with cooked artichokes. And don’t be scared off by the three heads of garlic called for in this recipe. Simmering the garlic mellows its flavor significantly.

Any fat from the consommé can be used to make the matzo balls. If you need to purchase chicken fat, it's available in the freezer section of some supermarkets. Look for fresh lemongrass in supermarkets and Asian markets.

In this pretty soup, sweet fresh peas are enhanced with a bit of mint.

You'll get about five cups of preserves from this recipe. Try leftovers alongside soft cheeses or over vanilla ice cream. Fresh ricotta is available at some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores and Italian markets.

I love coming home with friends from a steamy day at the beach knowing that I've got a batch of cold tomato soup ready. I dish it up, swirl in a tablespoon of vibrant green arugula pesto, and pass it around. We sit on the porch and savor the flavor of sun-sweetened summer tomatoes enhanced with a touch of cream and a nip of vodka. The rest of dinner will come later, but for now, we're assuaging our hunger, chatting, laughing, and reliving the events of the day. This is a great make-ahead soup. In fact, it becomes more flavorful with age. Although I like it cold, it's equally good heated. If storm clouds gather and the temperature plunges, take the soup from refrigerator to stove, heat it up, and serve it in mugs.

A take on the Provençal tart known as pissaladiére, this galette can be served as an hors d'oeuvre or, with a salad, as a light lunch. It gets fullness of flavor from a tangle of sweet caramelized onions that tops a smear of tomato paste enlivened with garlic and anchovies (left over from Mediterranean Eggplant Relish). A flaky homemade pastry crust ups the richness even more.

Traditional pot stickers, complete with fresh dough and the requisite number of pleats, are best saved for a special occasion. This version, made with store–bought wonton wrappers, is easy enough for a weeknight meal. A flavorful filling of ground chicken and celery (left over from Sage Stuffing) is seasoned with sesame oil and soy sauce and enclosed within the simply folded wonton—no pleats involved. We do cook the pot stickers the conventional way, by first frying them and then steaming them until the water evaporates and the bottoms are crisp and golden. It is imperative to use dark chicken meat (from legs and thighs) because it doesn't dry out the way leaner white meat can.

Get the irresistible flavor of samosas without all the frying. Phyllo (left over from Roasted Winter Vegetable Baklava ) makes an ingenious wrapper for our take on the popular Indian snacks, although the filling of garam–masala–spiced potatoes and peas is quite traditional. They bake up light and crisp, ready for a dip in chutney or raita. Serve these samosas with a salad for a vegetarian main course, or make smaller ones as appetizers.

With the coconut milk left over from our Sweet–Potato Coconut Purée , try this very modern spin on steamed mussels. Fennel and tomatoes are common pairings with mussels, but garam masala is the wild card here, contributing an unexpected depth of curry flavor to the coconut–milk broth and tender mussels.

Crudités and dip are party staples. Choose whatever seasonal veggies you like, but mix up the colors. Some veggies, such as carrots and peppers, can be served raw, while others, like zucchini and asparagus, should be blanched but still have a slight crunch. There's nothing sexy about a limp piece of asparagus! And keep the vegetables separate—it makes it easier to refill the platters.

Soup is a great way to use up leftover greens, especially the leafy tops of beets or turnips, which too often get tossed in the compost pile. In this suave, satisfying soup, braising beet tops and collard greens (left over, respectively, from Smoked–Sable Tartare with Beets and Watercress and Wild–Mushroom Bundles ) with fennel and onion mellows the greens' hearty flavor and brings out a surprising smoothness (heightened by the cream stirred in at the end). Adding the spinach just before blending helps keep the color bright.

Half a can of chickpeas left over from the Moroccan–Style Lamb and Carrots gets new life in this raita flavored with toasted cumin and fresh mint. Serve this cool Indian condiment with naan or crisp flatbread; it also tastes great with grilled lamb or chicken.