5 Ingredients or Fewer

Serve these crisp roasted wedges (with their secret ingredient, a tiny bit of sugar) as a side to anything grilled or fried.

A far cry from the crisp-tender green beans of recent fashion, this is a classic example of the popular Ottoman-era dishes called zeytinagli, in which vegetables are cooked for a long time in olive oil, then served at room temperature so that the flavors are at their peak.

You may never go back to roast beef sandwiches after trying the bold flavor of steak with creamy, garlicky Boursin.

Tender, faintly bitter escarole gives a unique, delicious earthiness to this double-crust pizza, which stands apart from its traditional saucy brethren.

Palmer wanders out behind the Dry Creek Kitchen to pick the apples for this tart. He generally goes for a combination of Macouns, Pippins, and/or Gravensteins, but we used easy-to-find Golden Delicious and were very pleased with the results. Palmer likes to serve this French classic warm, with a scoop of chestnut ice cream and crisp strips of candied bacon alongside. The three elements make for a textural symphony, but this caramelized beauty is also fantastic paired with a humble scoop of store-bought vanilla — or even by itself.

Tumis Sayur There are, I think, few things more purely satisfying than quickly stir-fried Asian greens. Indonesian cooks agree: Meals in the country are unthinkable without greens on the table. They're so popular that market vendors often sell as many as 15 different kinds, from the tender mustard shoots known as sayur sawi, similar to bok choi, to bitter young papaya leaves (daun papaya), which are stir-fried along with their small white flowers. On our shores, young, tender Asian greens with slender stems — such as water spinach, bok choi, baby bok choi, choi sum, and baby kai lan — work best for stir-frying. Chinese and Southeast Asian markets will likely carry at least two of these varieties at any given time; farmers' markets will have them stocked in the summer months (and year-round in places with temperate climates such as Southern California and Florida). Always buy unblemished greens that have no signs of yellowing, and cook them as soon as possible — they don't store well.

This drink was featured as a Cocktail of the Month.

At Caffè Sicilia, this granita is served for breakfast along with a brioche and a shot of espresso—a wonderful way to start the day. Unlike most other granitas, it has an almost creamy texture. (The Caffè Sicilia almond paste, though pricey, is worth it: Incredibly moist and possessing a delicate floral quality, it tastes so pure that we actually eat it by the spoonful.)

Think beyond the salad bowl: Cooking escarole tempers its slight bitterness; pine nuts are a mellow complement.

For something refreshing after a rich meal, look no further than this classic combination of Campari and grapefruit.

Versatile store-bought polenta, turned cheesy with mascarpone and Parmigiano, is the simplest way we know to make cornmeal mush sexy.

Editor's note: This recipe is from Erika Lenkert's book, The Last-Minute Party Girl: Fashionable, Fearless, and Foolishly Simple Entertaining For Lenkert's tips on throwing a last-minute New Year's Eve party, click here. These fancy flavored nuts require almost no effort. Prepare 'em in advance, store 'em in a well-sealed container, and when the time is right, let your salads, desserts, and cheese plates go nuts with sugar or spice or both. To only "caramelize" the nuts, skip the cayenne and black pepper, which make them "spiced."

Editor's note: This recipe was created by Erika Lenkert, author of the book, The Last-Minute Party Girl: Fashionable, Fearless, and Foolishly Simple Entertaining. I adore this recipe because with it cooking truly can't get any simpler, its presentation is attractive, and since you use so little meat for each skewer you can afford to splurge on a great cut of meat — even for large crowds. Since you're using a great cut of beef, there's no need to embellish its flavor, though you're certainly welcome to use your favorite marinade. For added flair, buy decorative bamboo skewers — they're available on Amazon.com.