Leafy Greens

If you can't find green garlic, just blanch a regular garlic clove in boiling water for two minutes to soften its bite.

Ask the butcher to butterfly the lamb.

Shrimp transforms a Middle Eastern salad into a light yet satisfying main course.

For a richer version, add a little olive oil.

In French, the term tartine can refer to a buttered slice of bread that's topped with a spread, or an open-faced sandwich, such as the one here. Piment d'Espelette, a dried red pepper from the French Basque region, can be found online at surfasonline.com. If you can't find fresh sardines, use trout or branzino fillets instead.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Stonewall Kitchen Favorites. To read more about the book, click here. When people travel to Maine they want to eat lobster, and this sandwich — created by chef Cheryl Lewis — has become the number-one-selling dish at the Stonewall Kitchen Café. You can prepare the basil aïoli, the lobster salad, and the bacon up to 8 hours ahead of time and assemble the sandwiches at the very last minute. On a hot summer day or night, this sandwich makes an elegant and easy main course, accompanied by tangy coleslaw or potato salad. The recipe can easily be doubled or tripled for a crowd. This recipe makes two very generous sandwiches; you will easily have enough for three to four more modest sandwiches.

Even pears that aren't quite ripe become extraordinarily delicious when roasted until sweet and caramelized. Here, they make the perfect counterpoint to a beautiful mix of bitter greens.

The addition of sour cream makes this creamed spinach extra-tangy and echoes the traditional sour cream served with classic potato pancakes.

Lightly blanched squid makes a simple and elegant salad with the tang of fish sauce and fresh lime juice.

Mild fillets get zing from a coating of wasabi mayonnaise.

Bresaola-a beef lover's prosciutto equivalent-gives this virtually no-cook dish a bright platform with deep flavor.

Traditionally made from cow's or goat's milk and wrapped in chestnut leaves, Banon cheese is named after the town in northern Provence from which it hails. When the leaves are green, the cheese is fresh, mild, and sweet; when the leaves are brown, it is ripe and soft. Either way, it's a great complement to classic mesclun greens. In the spirit of Provence, we encourage you to bypass the ready-made mesclun mix and create your own blend of peppery, sweet, and tender baby lettuces from the array that you can find at the farmers market.

Make these sandwiches when you don't want to turn on the stove.

For a more substantial meal, the salad can be served on pumpernickel bread or toasted French bread as an open-face sandwich and topped with slices of hard-boiled egg. Garnish with lemon wedges and dill sprigs.

He may be executive chef at London's luxe Conservatory at The Lanesborough, but Paul Gayler knows a thing or two about American cuisine, too. In The Gourmet Burger, he rethinks the barbecue classic using premium and international ingredients. Here, he adds mildly spicy North African flavors.