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"On a visit to Miami Beach, a friend suggested we try the Gaucho Room at Loews Miami Beach Hotel," writes Anthony M. Stephens of Concord, California. "I have had many versions of Caesar salad, but none compare to the one I ate there; the house-made herbed croutons and dressing were so fresh. Would chef Frank Randazzo share his recipe?"

"Our family vacations in Albany, New York, wouldn’t be the same without one dinner at Nicole’s Italia in nearby Guilderland," says Stephanie Clauson, Wayne, New Jersey. "I’d love to get the recipe for the spinach salad.'

The onions can be made 3 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

This is my son, Dante's, favorite summer dish at Craft, and it's not hard to figure out why; the white corn, already sweet to begin with, is served in a "cream" derived naturally from puréed corn, further intensifying the corn flavor. Unlike corn on the cob, which is best eaten straight from the field, corn that is a day or two old may work even better here, since some of the natural sugars will have converted to starch, allowing for a thicker cream.

Lemon and thyme give these potatoes color and zip. Make the flavored butter ahead of time to save a step on the big day.

An inspired mix of ingredients in a savory sweet potato dish. This can be prepared four hours ahead and rewarmed in the oven 10 minutes before serving.

Here's something good for vegetarians, too. Just use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth and bake in a dish.

There are generally two kinds of wheat berries available at natural foods stores and Middle Eastern markets: hard (high-protein) and soft (low-protein). Though either will work fine, we prefer the chewiness of the hard variety for this particular recipe. If you can find only soft wheat berries, subtract 10 minutes from the cooking time.

I discovered Pot Stickers at about the same time I was introduced to Scallion Cakes. Pan-fried on only one side, the dough for these dumplings is at once crisp and chewy. When I was about eleven years old, I could sometimes devour a dozen of these fried dumplings at one sitting. It was such a sweet pleasure to eat as much as you wanted and still be a skinny child. Filled with pork, cabbage, and a rich broth, every bite was heavenly. The secret of these pot stickers is to reduce the Homemade Chicken Broth until it is concentrated enough to jell when refrigerated. The broth should then be roughly chopped and stirred into the filling mixture right before the dumplings are formed. The Pot Stickers are pan-fried only on one side a few minutes until golden. A little water is added, the lid is placed on the pan, and then, as the dumplings steam-cook, the broth melts. To eat, place a pot sticker in a deep spoon (traditionally, a Chinese porcelain spoon) and sprinkle with a few ginger shreds and a little red rice vinegar. Gently bite into the dumpling and the delicious broth that has now melded with the flavors of the pork filling will burst forth.

When draining the artichokes, turn them upside down to allow more water to escape from the leaves. What to drink: A crisp, dry Sauvignon Blanc is a good choice with this starter and the rest of the menu.

Two new ingredients bring smoky flavor and bright crunch to the traditional leek and vinaigrette combo in this elegant composed salad.

Hearty breakfast fare from Rick & Ann's in Berkeley, California.

Marshmallows need not apply: This gratin gets a savory Parmesan cheese topping.

One way to cut down on holiday oven gridlock is to choose a side dish that can be made on top of the stove, like this one.

While at The Boathouse restaurant in Sydney, we sampled a dish of baby bok choy so good that it led us to create our own version. It would be delicious with pan-seared shellfish and Asian eggplant.