Salmon

Herbs and a touch of maple syrup accent this colorful breakfast dish.

Red onion, capers and fresh dill make nice toppings. Serve the pizza with lemon wedges.

Because the heat on individual grills varies, cooking times will range from about 30 minutes to one hour. Be sure to regulate the barbecue so that the wood chips smoke and the briquettes burn but do not flame. When the salmon is ready, it will have a nice firm texture and a lovely sweet glaze. For drinks, offer coffee, orange juice and mimosas.

For a quick sauce to go with the fish, whisk together sour cream, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and chopped fresh dill.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Complete the entrée with a dilled cucumber salad, steamed squash and popovers (from a mix). End with purchased strawberry tarts.

Serve with: Mixed baby greens with shredded radishes in a citrus vinaigrette, and a sesame baguette.

This is terrific with sautéed green beans, a plate of sliced tomatoes topped with grated hard-boiled egg and olive oil vinaigrette, and a toasted sourdough baguette. Pound cake with strawberry sauce makes a nice dessert.

Some classic Scandinavian flavors show up in this simple-to-make, cross-cultural pizza, made even easier by the use of frozen bread dough.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Dried mixed salad herbs, found in the spice section of the supermarket, can substitute for herbes de Provence, the French seasoning.

Serve the salmon with steamed rice tossed with shelled edamame (fresh green soybeans). Market tip: Choose wild Alaskan salmon, which is abundant and well regulated. Farmed salmon is controversial; salmon farms pollute wild salmon habitats and spread disease to wild salmon stocks.

Union Square Cafe guests are constantly challenging us to serve salmon in new and different guises, and here's one of the most popular ones we've done to date. Salmon is rich and meaty enough to stand up to the assertive chili rub; the trick to this dish is to cook the salmon gently enough to prevent the spices from burning. At the restaurant, we use New Mexico chili powder, which we prize for its fruity, smoky aroma and mild heat level. Buy it if you see it.

South of Goa, the coastline of Karnataka state is scalloped with palm, mango, and jackfruit trees. This recipe comes from the city of Mangalore, where it is usually made with bangade, a small fish resembling smelt. We used salmon for this curry. And, when we can find them, we toss in about 10 fresh curry leaves along with the onion, garlic, and gingerroot.