Leafy Greens

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The greens for the following salad may be washed and spun dry a day in advance and kept wrapped in paper towels in a plastic bag and chilled. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Whole-wheat spaghetti can replace the soba noodles used here.

Pour a chilled dry Gewürztraminer to accompany the salad and offer crusty bread throughout dinner.

Clearly this is an Italian soup. Biete is Swiss chard, usually green, although I have a fondness for the drama and beefy taste of the red-stemmed kind.

These sandwiches can be wrapped in foil for easy transport. Bring along some olives for nibbling and bottles of mineral water or a thermos of iced tea for drinking.

Phyllo-wrapped goat cheese gives this salad served at Un Grand Café in Chicago, Illinois, an elegant touch.

Vinegar and mustard give the dressing in this salad an assertive flavor that contrasts nicely with the sweetness of the beets.

(Bacon and Root Vegetable Stew)

The traditional apple, walnut and chopped celery salad is updated with a yogurt and low-fat mayonnaise citrus dressing, pine nuts and Cajun seasoning.

An elegant and simple main course.

Active time: 1 3/4 hr Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr

"Years ago, I was working on a client at my hair salon when we realized that our conversations always led to food," writes Sandy Ercolano of Ridgewood, New Jersey. "She happened to be taking classes at a local cooking school and suggested that I come along. After one class, I was hooked. Now, in addition to running the salon, I’m an instructor at that same school." In this recipe the steak is broiled, but you can also grill it on your barbecue (over a medium-hot fire).

An easy and innovative first-course salad.

This midsummer fare is adapted from a dish I enjoyed at 192, our favorite wine-bar-restaurant in London's Kensington: its inspiration is, I am sure, from Spain. You can buy a whole chunk of chorizo sausage — or a string of smaller ones — to slice yourself. Most good gourmet stores stock chorizo (mild or spicy), and many supermarkets do, too.

A delicious side dish from Clyde Cooper’s Barbecue in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The aged goat cheese called for in this recipe is firmer than fresh and has a dry rind. Two kinds work best in this dish, Bucheron and Pouligny-St.-Pierre, both of which have just the right amount of tang — but ask at the cheese counter for comparable substitutes if you have trouble finding them. Cafe Pasqual's, in Santa Fe, serves its version of this dish — "pigs 'n' figs" — with blue cheese. Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 45 min