Side

This apple's crisp flesh doesn't brown as quickly as other kinds, so it's ideal chopped in salads.

There are so many variations on mashed potatoes—but this combination of potatoes and basil is a marriage made in heaven. Creamy potatoes and the fresh peppery basil really complement each other, and the Parmesan doesn't hurt, either. Everyone asks for seconds!

The addition of 1/2 cup miniature marshmallows is popular with children.

"Au gratin" is a term that, in America, is usually associated with cheese. But the term may refer to any light but thorough topping of fine fresh or dry bread crumbs or even crushed cornflakes, cracker crumbs, or finely ground nuts on scalloped dishes or casseroles. These dishes, usually combinations of cooked shellfish, fish, meats, vegetables, or eggs, bound by a sauce and served in the dish in which they were cooked, are then browned in the oven or under the broiler to form a crisp golden crust. Set the casserole dish or baking dish on a piece of foil, shiny side down to deflect the heat, or just set it on a baking sheet.

This is a basic not-too-sweet dough that can be used for variously shaped dinner rolls.

Cotton Row is full of local flavor. The restaurant, which is located on the city's courthouse square, is housed in a three-story brick building dating back to 1821. And chef James Boyce's menu keeps the local flavor coming, with dishes like this risotto made with butter beans, a southern staple. Crispy fried okra makes a fitting (and tasty) garnish.

This vegetarian entrée would also be delicious served with lamb or shrimp.

Quick preserved lemon (it cooks for ten minutes) adds a fresh hit of flavor to this warm salad.

Preparing the pesto a day ahead makes this a quick supper.

Although herb salad mix tastes especially good here and makes for speedy assembly, feel free to use any type of flavorful salad mix you like.

Ponzu, a citrus-infused soy sauce, can be found in the Asian foods section of some supermarkets.

THIS SABBATH RICE DISH, typical of Provence, reveals the history both of pilau or pilaf, as it is called in French, and of Persian Jews who settled in the area near the Camargue, the rice-growing area of southwestern Provence located on the triangle of land between the two major tributaries of the Rhône River. Jews, first by barge and later by boat, used the river to bring goods here from the Mediterranean. The word and the dish pilau come from Persia, taking various forms as the dish traveled around the world. In India, it became pulao; in modern-day Iran, it is called polo; and in Provence, pelau or pilaf. Rice, and therefore pilaf, traveled with the Jews to Provence, where many Persian Jewish merchants and scholars settled and lived until the end of the fourteenth century or even later. These Jews, who traded rice, cooked it for the Sabbath with fragrant spices like nutmeg, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, and saffron. Some scholars believe that Jews brought saffron to Europe from Asia Minor for their Sabbath rice. The late Karen Hess, author of The Carolina Rice Kitchen, repeatedly told me that Jews first brought rice to the Camargue. In their Inventory of the Culinary Patrimony of France, Philip and Mary Hyman relate that emigrants from the Piedmont paid a dîme of rice to noblemen in the year 1497. And although pilau and riz au safran are no longer particularly Jewish dishes in Provence, they are clearly rooted in the Sabbath tradition. This simple recipe is typically eaten on Rosh Hashanah, alongside a symbolic whole roasted fish with a Sephardic sweet-and-sour greengage-plum sauce.

MOROCCAN COOKS USUALLY MAKE this tasty salad with Swiss chard, but I have seen it also with beet leaves. Eaten all year round, it is prepared by Moroccans on Rosh Hashanah for their Sephardic Seder, when they say a series of blessings over squash, leeks, dates, pomegranates, black-eyed peas, apples, the head of a fish or a lamb, and Swiss chard and beet greens.

Chef Max Mackissock of The Squeaky Bean in Denver takes a back-to-nature approach to ingredients: He uses produce straight from the garden at his restaurant or the farmers’ market the eatery hosts weekly. With veggies like that, who needs meat? This tasty vegan dish has plenty of protein, plus healthy carbs, thanks to whole-grain, fiber-rich farro.

Hari Pulapaka, chef and owner of Cress Restaurant in DeLand, Florida, scored a spot at a local community garden to sprout his organic produce for vitamin-packed salads like this one. The homemade dressing he created stays fresh in the fridge for a week.

Brussels sprouts aren't the first ingredient anybody thinks of when they think of Italian food, but this salad takes a basic equation from the Italian kitchen—fresh vegetables, olive oil, and a little bit of Italian cheese—and makes the sprouts work in the context of the cuisine. It's also a healthier, fresher salad for the winter months.

This no-cook salad is a refreshing (and lovely) way to use up lots of zucchini—and also impress your dinner guests. A vegetable peeler makes it easy to create the zucchini ribbons.

Perfect summer corn is, well, just about perfect. This recipe keeps it simple, highlighting the corn while adding the subtle flavors of cumin and a delicious mix of garden-fresh herbs.