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Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are reprinted from Andreas Viestad's book Kitchen of Light: New Scandinavian Cooking._Viestad also shared some helpful tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. There are different, equally authentic ways of making this soup. The big schism is between those who like to thicken the soup with a combination of flour and cream, so it becomes like a chowder, and those who prefer it thin. I think it is easier to appreciate the unique sweet-and-sour freshness of the soup when it is made with only the minimum of thickener.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are reprinted from Andreas Viestad's book Kitchen of Light: New Scandinavian Cooking. Homemade fish dumplings are an important part of Bergen Fish Soup. The goal is to make them as light as possible. The dumplings can also be served on their own, or with a dill-flavored béchamel sauce.

This is a rich, filling way of serving mussels. Make sure to have a lot of good bread to sop up all the juices.

Have we found Tex-Mex heaven? This very easy vegetarian meal satisfies with the heft of beans and melted mixed cheese.

(Spinaci con Pinoli e Passerine) Spinach with pine nuts and raisins is a classic Sephardic dish that appears on tables in Greece, Spain, Turkey, and Italy, where it is a staple on Venetian and Genoese menus. It is a perfect accompaniment to delicate fish or poultry dishes and is often served at room temperature.

When I first heard about Ari Weinzweig's delicatessen in Ann Arbor, Michigan, I couldn't believe it. A deli in the home of my alma mater. It's not really a deli but more of an international food emporium like New York's Zabar's with a definite Jewish touch. Mr. Weinzweig, a drop-out Ph.D. candidate, has taken an academic and appetizing interest in updating Jewish recipes like mushroom and barley soup, going back in history to the nineteenth-century Eastern European version similar to that served at New York's Second Avenue Deli.

"No one wants to eat this kind of food in a restaurant," Franco Ricatti, owner of the Ristorante Bacco in Barletta, Puglia, told me, "but we make it all the time at home." As he described the following, one-pot preparation of pasta boiled with diced zucchini and potatoes, dressed with olive oil and grated Parmesan, I begged him to make it for me. Franco breaks the spaghetti into 2-inch pieces, but I don't bother. And he doesn't use any herbs — unusual behavior in Italy — but I like to add a little basil or parsley. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

(Grain and Tomato Salad) One summer my husband, Massimo, and I vacationed with our son, Max, near Lucca, about an hour from Florence. There we discovered a local specialty, farro, an ancient grain (emmer, often called spelt, in English) similar to barley, traditionally used in bean soup there. We bought lots of it, and Massimo then made a salad based on panzanella but substituting the boiled farro, for soaked and squeezed bread — a terrific idea that has become a warm-weather favorite.

The technique for cooking vegetables in water, oil, and vinegar is called à la Grecque, or Greek style. Fennel, celery, pearl onions, and feta cheese round out the salad. Serve a full-boded Chardonnay with it

A why-didn't-I-think-of-that technique takes this classic from great to greater.

A make-ahead pantry salad that's friendly on the wallet too.

An oven-baked take on the Atlanta classic.

Crispy. Golden. Fluffy. Bubbe would approve.

This garlicky shrimp scampi version of a classic bisque embraces the technique of blending seafood shells for a luxuriously silky and creamy end result.

This Brie galette is party food at its finest—and easiest! A 5-ingredient sweet-salty appetizer that takes just five minutes to prep.

Subtly sweet and extra crunchy Asian pears star in this bright salad you’ll want alongside every rich and meaty dish you’re serving this holiday season.

Seasoned with Old Bay and loaded with crunchy celery and red onion, this easy recipe for creamy shrimp salad is ideal heaped on slices of olive oil toast.