Bon Appétit

Use the ripest purple-fleshed plums available to intensify the flavor of this pretty summertime treat.

The peppery flavor of arugula is nice with the slightly bitter endive and sweet orange.

This quick-to-make Sicilian side dish can accompany chicken, fish or meats.

The parts of Corsica that are not cultivated or forested are covered with a thick underbrush called the Maquis. It consists of diverse aromatic herbs that make the hillsides white with little flowers in the spring and inspire one of the island's nicknames, "the Scented Isle." A blend of these herbs, called herbes de maquis, is a flavoring for many seafood specialties, including this rich pasta and lobster dish. Many say that the most flavorful lobsters in the Mediterranean come from the waters off Corsica. For reasons of food safety, it is essential to make the sauce and finish cooking the lobster immediately after the lobster has been boiled.

Known as salade méchouia, this is the most popular salad in Tunisia. Although it is lovely as a first course, it also makes a good light lunch. Serve it with bread.

These first-course soufflés are just right for entertaining because most of the preparation is done ahead.

Fruit — such as kiwi, orange, pineapple and berries — is a nice garnish for this cake. If you like, puree some of the berries with sugar to make a colorful sauce.

The layered salad was popular in the Midwest throughout the seventies. We've updated it for today's speedy lifestyles and lightened-up diets. Round out the meal with a basket of corn bread, and mugs of tomato soup. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

An adaptation of a recipe from Nashville's Zola restaurant. Chef-owner Debra Paquette and pastry chef Renée Kasman created this sophisticated dessert.

Wonton wrappers are used for these samosas instead of traditional pastry dough. Betelnut Pejiu Wu in San Francisco serves them with a tropical chutney.

Variations of this salad are often served on Christmas Eve in both old and New Mexico.

Here's a light, fresh-tasting soup-stew from Hotel Château Erenstein in Kerkrade, the Netherlands.

This classic topping is famous for being rich like its namesake. But here only the flavor is extravagant, not the calories.