30 Minutes or Less

The chicken sausages are a terrific time-saving ingredient: They're already cooked and full of flavor.

Purchased tapenade gives rich, briny flavor to the fish and the couscous.

Later in the summer, you can use eggplant in place of the portobellos.

Zabaglione is a light, foamy custard. In this elegant dessert, the warm Grand Marnier-spiked custard is spooned over fresh strawberries just before serving.

Pucker up with this refreshing sweet-sour spin on the classic gimlet. Ruby Red grapefruit vodka from Napa Valley stands in for gin, and fresh lime juice adds just the right amount of tartness.

Why get takeout when you can make orange chicken so quickly at home?

This ultra-simple recipe relies on fresh, good-quality wild salmon. If you like, sprinkle the fish with some chopped fresh herbs or a little freshly grated lemon peel before roasting.

A sprinkling of pepitas (pumpkin seeds) adds color and crunch to this delicious side dish.

Serve with warm tortillas. 1 pound fresh crabmeat, picked over, patted dry

Don't be tempted to buy precrumbled goat cheese, despite the time savings—it won't melt as well.

Although this is a chilled beverage, it is traditionally enjoyed in the winter. The "fire" of the cinnamon and ginger is supposed to warm you up, while the coolness of the beverage balances the heat. Not being much of a traditionalist, I like to make it during the summer and keep pitchers of it available as an alternative to iced tea.

A meal this romantic calls for a sparkling cocktail. This pretty and delicious drink is a new take on the classic Kir Royale, a mixture of Champagne and black-currant liqueur. Here, Prosecco (the Italian bubbly) stands in for the Champagne, and peach nectar and liqueur are used instead of crème de cassis.

This recipe calls for aged Sherry (instead of vinegar), which gives the dressing an added kick.

There's no oil in this easy main course and, if you'd like to make it even healthier, low-fat or nonfat yogurt can be used instead of the whole-milk variety. Round out the meal with dal (Indian-style lentils) or some sautéed spinach. The yogurt marinade is also great for chicken.

The dip gets better the longer it sits, so make it a day ahead.

This recipe makes enough salad for a picnic in the park, or to pack in your lunch all week.

If you can’t find haricots verts, look for slender green beans.

This shows how well green beans play with other vegetables.