Fish

These burgers are easier to handle if they are chilled for one hour before grilling. They would be great with rice salad and cucumber slices. Grilled pound cake topped with crushed sweetened strawberries and whipped cream makes a luscious finale.

Grilling the salmon with the skin on protects the delicate flesh.

The cheese-filled salmon rolls are sliced into rounds for a lovely presentation. They make an elegant appetizer and would be delicious served with Pinot Noir.

A handsomely arranged combination salad can be the solution for what to serve at an informal spur-of-the-moment meal. The trick is to toss all of the elements separately in vinaigrette, letting some marinate for 10 to 20 minutes if they need to take on flavor. Then when you arrange your work of art, each part of it is perfectly seasoned. Here is a hearty meatless combination.

We recommend using a sturdy food mill (available at cookware stores) to help produce a thick stew base from simmered vegetables and fish. Alternatively, you can use a large heavy-duty mesh sieve to strain the seafood broth. Then push through enough fish and vegetables to make 13 cups of stew base. Serve cioppino with sourdough toasts.

"My first real job was as a paralegal — but I hated it," writes Marcia Porch of Winter Park, Florida. "There were plenty of signs that my interests lay elsewhere; it just took me a while to recognize them. My co-workers caught on faster: They would tease me because there were always cookbooks on my desk. So I started moonlighting at a bakery on the weekends. Eventually this led to a culinary career that has included owning a catering business. These days, what I make at home has to have do-ahead steps and no complicated ingredients, and be healthful and simple to assemble. " Try this effortlessly elegant dish with steamed rice. Sesame oil can be found in the Asian foods section of most supermarkets.

Puttanesca sauce is normally cooked, but we developed a quick and easy version that doesn't require cooking.

Though the chips and purée can be served at room temperature, the caviar should be chilled, so assemble these hors d'oeuvres in batches as platters need replenishing.

This technique works best with a charcoal grill, but you can also use a gas grill as long as it has a built-in thermometer or a hole in the top for inserting the candy thermometer.

Serve this fragrant main dish with basmati rice pilaf and a salad of cucumber, yellow bell peppers, and red onion. Melon wedges sprinkled with light rum and garnished with mint make a refreshing finale.

Hot-smoked fully cooked salmon is flaky in texture and fragrant with alder smoke. This dish can be completely assembled and chilled one day before baking.

For this recipe, David Pasternack uses "unrefined" sea salt, which has no additives such as iodine or those that prevent caking, so these salts are often moist. He also told us we could coat the fish with an additive-free kosher salt. It worked nicely but required more egg whites (6 total).

All but the most experienced of crêpe chefs will admit that the first crêpe in a batch is often not of the best quality. The level of heat under the skillet needs to be fine-tuned as you go. With that in mind, our recipe makes enough batter for 2 crêpes, even though you'll only need 1 for this hors d'oeuvre. If the first crêpe comes out well, freeze the extra, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, to use another evening. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 1 hr

A star starter from Hubert Keller at Fleur de Lys in San Francisco. A good mold for the timbale is a six-ounce tomato-paste can that has the top and bottom removed.

Here's a good example of Thomas Keller's culinary magic: Simple flavors come together spectacularly in this special dish from The French Laundry in Napa Valley.

Serve with: Steamed new potatoes and mixed green salad with a citrus vinaigrette. Dessert: A lemon tart from the bakery.

Green chilies and cilantro add some zip to this main course.