Starter

This recipe calls for giant 4 1/2- to 5-ounce prawns, which can be ordered from some specialty fish markets. If unavailable, substitute 24 large prawns.

My mom ate a lot of things — frogs' legs, escargots, sweetbreads — that horrified me as a child, but I took to caviar right away. She didn't use the good stuff, but even made with supermarket roe, this dish makes an elegant impression. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 30 min (includes making pancakes)

Negimaki Many New Yorkers owe their first sushi experience to the boom in the city's Japanese population during the 1980s, which in turn led to a proliferation of Japanese restaurants. These beautiful rolls aren't raw—they're seared to create a flavorful brown crust and a medium-rare center.

Active time: 35 min Start to finish: 40 min

(OMELETTE AUX ASPERGES)

Koosa Claritas — pale green, slightly rounded zucchini — are traditionally used in this dish, but we find that yellow zucchini make for a more attractive presentation because they don't discolor when cooked in tomato sauce.

Preserved lemons, sold ready-made in Moroccan souks, are essential to that country's cuisine. The peel, pulp, and juice squeezed from the lemons can all be used. Sometimes, however, the juice and preserving brine, can be bitter; use fresh lemon juice in that case.

A dish created by Kevin Taylor, Chef of Café Iguana, in Denver, Colorado.

"I had a delightful dinner at Andiamo! Ristorante while on vacation in San Diego," writes Laverne Smith of Seattle, Washington. "Could you get their recipe for fettuccine carbonara? It was the best pasta I've ever had." Prepare the sauce while the pasta is cooking to ensure that the fettuccine will be hot when the sauce is finished; the heat of the pasta cooks the raw eggs that are tossed with it.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The empanadas can be put together ahead of time and popped into the oven to bake just before serving.

Pecan-studded rice pilaf and sautéed pattypan squash are great with the scallops, and lemon pound cake with sugared berries tops off the meal nicely.

Steamed cauliflower florets, broccoli florets and carrot slices are mixed with olives and tossed with a sun-dried tomato and oregano vinaigrette in this Italian-inspired starter "from the garden."

Pennsylvania is now a national center for cultivated exotic or "specialty" mushrooms like shiitake and crimini, but early colonists found plenty of familiar wild mushrooms growing free for the picking in the forests of their new world. The tradition finds expression in this mushroom-lover's dressing, which blends both wild and cultivated fungi for maximum flavor.

There will be enough of this delicious make-ahead soup for seconds or leftovers.

My father, who in his later years has become a superb cook, always longed to make at home the chicken wings he ordered in Asian restaurants. This is the recipe I developed to satisfy his cravings. Many Chinese restaurants deep-fry the wings, but the high-heat roasted method used here is far healthier and the taste is delicious.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.