Leafy Greens

Skillet-toasted fresh breadcrumbs tossed with Parmesan cheese add crunch to this terrific side dish.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 15 min

Ribollita In leaner times, this hearty soup provided a delicious way for Tuscans to use their leftovers: Ribollita means "reboiled," and the soup was always eaten two days in a row. Plus, it was poured into the bowl over a slice of stale bread, which we recommend that you do, too. Begin making it two days ahead, and don't leave out the final drizzle of olive oil.

Called bianca, or "white," because they are sauceless, these crispy pizzas are the essence of clean flavor. The toppings are added after the crusts come out of the oven, melting the cheese slightly. This recipe makes two round pizzas or four rectangular ones.

Make the slaw and chill it up to two hours before serving. It is best cold.

At the restaurant, they use Champagne in the salad dressing. We've simplified it with white wine vinegar, but if you've got a bottle of the bubbly open, feel free to substitute.

"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." Pair this lovely side or first-course salad with the Blue Cheese Toasts. Add cooked, peeled shrimp for a lunch entrée.

Grilled Matambre Matambre (literally, "kill the hunger") is a classic South American meat dish. Every family has its own favorite combination of ingredients for the filling — some use vegetables, eggs, and nuts; others use ground pork, calves' brains, and spinach. We kept it simple and went with spinach and carrots. Traditionally, this dish is poached, but we decided to grill ours. After testing this recipe on both gas and charcoal grills, we found that we prefer the flavor that charcoal imparts to the dish. We used a 22 1/2-inch kettle grill, a large chimney starter, and a 10-pound bag of hardwood charcoal.* Active time: 2 1/2 hr Start to finish: 3 hr

Adding moisture and flavor without fat is achieved in the beet and Asian pear salad: Its oil-free dressing is made with mustard, lemon juice, and apple jelly (substituting apricot preserves for the jelly works well in other salads, especially those using bitter greens).

This recipe was created to accompany Cold Poached Chicken with Ginger Scallion Oil .

Have your butcher order the veal breast, then ask him to bone, butterfly, and pound it, forming a rectangle that has the dimensions described in the recipe.

Also good made with melon or oranges.