Salad

This would be nice with warm tortillas.

Offer pita bread alongside.

If you don't want to cook a live lobster for this recipe, buy 2/3 pound cooked lobster meat from your seafood shop. Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 2 3/4 hr (includes chilling)

When Caesar Cardini first served his famous salad in the early 1920s, he used just the hearts of the romaine lettuce, the tender short leaves in the center, and he presented them whole. The salad was tossed and dressed, then arranged on each plate so that you could pick up a leaf by its short end and chew it down bit by bit, then pick up another. However, many customers didn't like to get their fingers covered with egg-and-cheese-and-garlic dressing, and he changed to the conventional torn leaf. Too bad, since the salad lost much of its individuality and drama. You can certainly serve it the original way at home — just provide your guests with plenty of big paper napkins. And plan to be extravagant.

Caesar Cardini, the Tijuana restaurateur who originally served his namesake salad sans utensils, obviously knew what generations of romantics have always known — food eaten by hand is sexy. Start things off with the best caviar you can find. What to drink: A brut, or dry, Champagne or sparkling wine (the 1995 Domaine Carneros Le Rêve Blanc de Blancs is an excellent choice if you want to splurge).

This salad has changed the minds of many who previously found beets overpowering. The Sherry vinegar provides a nice accent, though balsamic vinegar also will work. The walnuts may be replaced with pine nuts, pecans, or slivered almonds.

One of the most-requested items on the lunch menu at the Chicago Chop House. The restaurant adds roasted red-skinned potatoes and sautéed mushrooms, too.

The homey and hearty dishes of Louis Szathmáry—a splendidly mustached man who was the chef-owner of Chicago's well-known Hungarian restaurant The Bakery—are the inspiration for this dinner. Of course, chef Louis cooked using lots of butter and cream, but with just a touch of fat we've retained many of the same earthy flavors that he loved. Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 1‚ hr

Salpicón de Res Not truly a salad but a dish of seasoned cold shredded meat, a salpicón is usually eaten folded into hot tortillas or piled onto crispy tostadas. It is a refreshing party dish ideal for a summer buffet.

The salad components can be made a day ahead and assembled just before serving.

In this dish from La Belle Vie in Stillwater, Minnesota, the asparagus could be broiled if that's more convenient.

"Five years ago, I threw my first dinner party," writes Kristin McGill of Chicago, Illinois. "It was a memorable night with good friends, great food and lots of wine. That night, cooking became my passion. And despite all of the effort, I still love to throw parties. My husband, Henry, and I host get-togethers once or twice a month. I do most of the preparation — admittedly that's because I enjoy cooking so much that I prefer to have the kitchen to myself. But I have to confess that since I started sharing the counter space, I've discovered we make a great team." For an elegant luncheon or dinner-party presentation, spoon each serving of this main-course salad into individual bowl-size radicchio leaves.