Mint

This recipe was created to accompany Crudités and Grilled Sausages with Sweet and Hot Chutneys.

Raita is a fresh yogurt sauce that typically accompanies curries and other Indian dishes. This raita also acts as a marinade.

Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 30 min

Cabbage, cucumbers, carrots, and lots of fresh mint accent the salad. Offer chilled beer or a fruity white wine alongside.

I devised this dish for a benefit party to aid my husband's chamber music group, Clarion Concerts. It was the middle of August, in the heart of the corn season. Keeping up the tradition of Indian migrants the world over, I find myself adapting Indian spices and techniques to the best of American ingredients.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. If fingerling potatoes are not available, small red potatoes, halved, may be substituted.

This refreshing dessert comes from Lincoln Carson, pastry chef at the Highlands Inn in Carmel Highlands, California. It has a lovely rich texture, even though it has no eggs.

Not only is the yogurt marinade an excellent tenderizer, but it imparts a nice, mild tang as well. Begin marinating the chicken one day in advance.

The "tart shells" are crisp meringues; they're filled with a soft, mint-infused lemon cream. The meringue shells can be baked one day before serving the dessert.

This fresh chutney is an excellent condiment for beef, chicken, and fish.

Market Tip: Avoid packaged ground lamb, which can be extremely fatty. Instead, buy shoulder meat or lamb stew meat, which has some fat, and ask the butcher to grind it.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr (includes chilling) The electric blender (originally a bartender's tool for daiquiris) became a must-have home appliance in the 1950s. Cooks grew enamored of the blender's ability to create velvet-smooth soups — soups previously (and messily) forced through food mills and sieves.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.