Leafy Greens

A spicy arugula and tomato salad accompaniment makes this a perfect light summer entrée that could easily serve as a one-dish meal, or a piatto unico as they are known in Italy. The trick is to cook the chops slowly over even, meduim heat, so that they cook through without burning the bread-crumb crust.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Complete the entrée with a dilled cucumber salad, steamed squash and popovers (from a mix). End with purchased strawberry tarts.

This soup is from Russia and Poland.

The walnut oil adds a distinctive flavor here. You can substitute olive oil and just sprinkle toasted walnuts over each serving.

"Blue Moon in Dayton serves a fabulous goat cheese salad with a raspberry-poppy seed dressing," writes Susan M. Berry of Dayton, Ohio. "Would they share the recipe?"

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

Cold cooked rice (made at least 1 day ahead) is the secret to delicious fried rice, so don't cook a fresh pot for this recipe.

For an especially elegant presentation, this salad can be arranged on individual plates instead of one large platter. When trimming the base of the romaine hearts, be sure to leave a small part of each base attached to hold the leaves together.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 20 min

We found that using finely stone-ground cornmeal yielded a denser, slightly heavier fritter than regular stone-ground cornmeal. Though both tasted the same, we preferred the texture of the fritter made with regular cornmeal.

"Although I’ve been a subscriber for almost ten years, this is the first time I’ve written to request a recipe," writes Danette Laver of Ambler, Pennsylvania. "The honey-garlic dressing on the salad I had at Fork in Philadelphia was so good that I used a chunk of bread to soak up every last drop."

Jamie Oliver calls this "another great pan-baked recipe that is perfect for coping with lots of people without a huge deal of effort." Oliver uses plaice, a popular flatfish in England favored over flounder, but lemon sole is a good substitute. Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 1 hr

Tradition dictates that these Florentine-style steaks be cooked over a grate in a fireplace, but this recipe translates very well to an American-style outdoor grill. Use a vegetable peeler to cut thin strips from a wedge of Parmesan to make the cheese shavings. What to drink: Chianti Classico.

You can make the soufflés 4 hours ahead (keep at room temperature). Put in a 375°F oven for 8 minutes to reheat. Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 1 hr

A few years ago, when I was in southeastern Turkey working on my book Mediterranean Grains and Greens, I noticed that the women didn't soak their bulgur in water for some summer preparations. When I asked a Turkish friend about this, she let out a laugh. "In Turkey, no man would marry a woman who just used water! For cold bulgur dishes we always soak in tomato juice, onion juice, or fresh pressed and strained sour grape juice to flavor the bulgur first."