Starter

Here, something savory becomes addictively sweet and salty. The confectioners sugar helps brown the eggplant, and panko adds crunch.

Though many people see smoking as a process meant for professionals, or at least for doing outdoors, this procedure—done mostly in a wok—is simple and produces a mean smoked duck. Try thin slices over a salad, or make smoked-duck sandwiches for a picnic. When smoking, be sure to seal the foil tightly to keep the smoke from infusing more than just your duck.

Although this dish may sound unusual, it turns out that the sweetness of grapes and caramelized onions makes for a delicious alliance with aromatic rosemary and rich chicken livers.

Breaking down the season's freshest tomatoes and piling them on sourdough toast creates a simple and flavorful first course.

The Standard Hollywood, which serves celebrities such as Heather Graham and Megan Mullally, has a trendy diner feel, but you'll find more than the burger special on the menu. Executive chef David Linville offers international treats like this salad with protein-rich lean flank steak.

Chef Kerry Simon (celebrity fans at his showy Las Vegas restaurant, Simon Kitchen and Bar, include Kate Hudson and Lucy Liu) is bringing his simple, organic American cuisine closer to the stars with the planned opening of Simon LA at the Sofitel Hotel this month. This succulent salad provides vitamins, including A, C and folate, among others, plus some zinc from the hearts of palm and juicy ruby red grapefruit.

Editor's note: The recipe below is excerpted from Cal-a-Vie Living: Gourmet Spa Cuisine and is part of a healthy and delicious spa menu developed exclusively for Epicurious by Cal-a-Vie.

**Editor's note:**This recipe is reprinted from Rose Hammick's and Charlotte Packer's book Great Parties for Kids. For Hammick's and Packer's tips on throwing a kids' summer party, click here. Hummus and guacamole served with breadsticks and veggie sticks make great finger foods for toddlers. Older children love these too, but make sure you offer a selection of breadsticks, chips, and pita bread for those few kids who turn up their noses at the sight of raw vegetables, however sweet and juicy they are.

For variety, use both yellow and red watermelon in the salad.

For a richer version, add a little olive oil.

Serve this slightly sweet soup as a cooling first course or a light dessert.

Adding pepper to the honey makes this classic Mediterranean dish new.

Rich, creamy, suave flavor is the hallmark of this terrine. The shallots create their own sauce, so this is best served on a plate rather than on a slice of bread.

To begin, a little taste of the sea, easily prepared ahead of time. Beautiful, sophisticated, and delicious, mussels are perfect party appetizers. Each bite offers a complex layering of flavors, and the shells make lovely natural dishes.

Terrine de Campagne The straightforward character of this terrine reminds us of the words of Richard Olney, an influential American cookbook writer and editor who rusticated in the French countryside for almost 50 years. "A simple terrine," he wrote in his Simple French Food, "is never so good as when prepared in the easiest possible way, all of the ingredients of the composition mixed, pell-mell but intimately, together."