Leafy Greens

A little blanching and sautéing is all it takes to tenderize the collard greens for this easy Moroccan-inspired dish.

Extremely subtle and very delicate, this special dish, called Buddha's Delight because it's completely vegetarian, is all about texture. The biggest challenge in making it is finding the right ingredients, but the reward is worth the effort. Prepared with fresh vegetables, this recipe is sublime. If you can't find them fresh, don't be tempted to use canned (frozen bamboo shoots and ginkgo nuts are acceptable, however). Traditional Buddha's Delight doesn't call for garlic, but we find it makes all the difference. The recipe also serves 4 as a fabulous vegetarian main course.

A mix of pleasantly bitter and crisp-tender vegetables perfectly complements the Duck with Walnut Sherry Vinaigrette . Some of the nutty, sweet vinaigrette will inevitably end up on the vegetables, enhancing their flavor.

Barbara Edwards, the reader who sent us this recipe, wrote that every time she served this salad, the men in the group would "lick the platter clean." We found the women in our test kitchens were crunching on it as happily as the men. The creaminess and tang of cottage cheese and mayonnaise offset the edge of onion and the crispness of cabbage.

With their light, tangy sesame dressing, these delicious little spinach cakes needn't only accompany a Japanese meal. They also make a delightful prelude to a hearty entrée like steak or chops.

The stacking and Asian fusion of this dish is very 1990s. But don't worry about its trendiness: Heady wallops of curry and ginger make this beautiful preparation timeless.

We've run recipes for this classic salad in various incarnations every few years as far back as the 1940s — with and without raw egg, with and without anchovies, changing up the cheese and even mixing in pasta or shellfish. This version is simply the best.

Why a trio of cheeses? Fontina for its melting quality and nutty flavor, Gorgonzola for its biting blue punch, and Parmigiano-Reggiano for its uncanny ability to amplify other cheeses.

This recipe brought to you by Bertolli.

Leftover ham in the fridge or sweet potatoes in the pantry? This clever brunch dish is the way to go.

If your Thanksgiving dinner is a formal affair, serve the crostini on small plates with the frisée salad. If your guests like to hang out in the kitchen until dinner is served, offer the crostini as passed hors d'oeuvres topped with a sprig of dressed frisée.