Salad

This slaw would pair nicely with grilled chicken breasts or roasted chicken.

The goat cheese must be coated and refrigerated at least one hour (and up to eight hours) before cooking.

"My husband and I celebrated my fiftieth birthday on the island of St. John, where we enjoyed many terrific meals," says Eileen Hruby of Tom's River, NJ. "One day, we had lunch at Pusser's Ltd. in Cruz Bay. The coleslaw they served was extraordinary: cool and hot at the same time. I have no idea how it was made." Serrano chilies give this dish a real kick; the lime juice makes it refreshing.

This salad, crunchy with red pepper and fennel, pairs well with the broiled trout or with grilled lamb or chicken.

Chinese egg noodles are at Asian markets and in the Asian foods section of the supermarket.

Take-out sushi is the ideal starter for this meal, and purchased sesame noodles sprinkled with chopped peanuts go perfectly with the main course. Serving mini-scoops of refreshing fruit sorbets — like lemon, peach and boysenberry — with fortune cookies would be a really cool finish.

If mini pita breads are unavailable in your area, split larger pita breads horizontally in half and cut out smaller pita rounds using a 3-inch-diameter biscuit cutter. You can streamline the process by preparing both the chicken salad and the toasted pita rounds one day in advance.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Seafood Salad with Collard Greens Slaw .

Feel free to create your own mesclun mix. We suggest baby red oakleaf, baby arugula, mâche, and bite-size pieces of Belgian endive, frisée, and radicchio.

Ginger and sesame lend an Asian accent.

If you can't find heirloom tomatoes near you, this salad would also be delicious with any ripe tomato from garden or market.

Nuts, lemon juice, and fresh herbs punch up this terrific side dish.

Serve with: Fresh sugar snap peas, grape tomato salad, and dinner rolls.

Paulette Sexton of Tustin, California, writes: "Although I've loved to cook since I was a kid, I didn't really hone my kitchen skills until my husband and I started entertaining frequently. When we were first married, we had dinner parties several times a week — it got to the point where people would call me around 4:30 in the afternoon and ask, 'What's for dinner?' We're still having people over and we're still informal, especially in the summer. Everyone sits around the large island in our kitchen, drinking wine and eating appetizers. Usually there's grilled chicken or fish or a simple main-course salad for dinner. It's our favorite menu."