Make Ahead

This mildly spiked dessert is so easy to put together, it will quickly become one of your summer-entertaining standbys.

The beauty of this recipe is that each type of vegetable is cooked on its own skewer for even grilling. The tangy vinaigrette brings out the natural sweetness in the fresh summer vegetables.

Duqqa is a spice mixture that is sprinkled on bread and eaten with boiled eggs or soft cheese for breakfast, snacks, and appetizers. There are two types of duqqa: the regular variety, a mixture of salt, cumin, and sesame seeds, and a version with thyme, called zaatar. For both, the proportions of ingredients can vary depending on the cook's preference. Here is my version of zaatar.

Minestra di farro
Puréed-bean soups can sometimes be monotonous, but here farro's seductively chewy texture is anything but boring. This recipe has the comforting appeal of pasta e fagioli. Farro is available from Far Away Foods (farawayfoods.com).

For easy serving, ladle the soup into pretty bowls, and set them on the buffet table.

As culinary director for Balducci's, Katy Sparks brought take-out food to a whole new level. Instead of the typical fried chicken and heavy potato salad, the market offers horseradish-crusted salmon and grilled fingerling potatoes with lemon. In this recipe she's taken the often-bland turkey burger to a higher plane, with the addition of tamarind.

Bourbon adds oaky sweetness to the honey-hoisin-chili glaze.

Don't be surprised if you're asked for this recipe again and again — these shrimp are an absolute knockout. The bright acidity of the marinade and the crispness of fennel, celery, and onion are a delicious counterpoint to the sweetness of the shrimp.

Pickled red onions — a staple at meals throughoutu the Yucatÿn peninsula — are one of our all-time favorite condiiments. They are wonderful piled on a burger, roll-up, or sandwich; tossed in a salad; or festooned over a plate of sliced tomatoes, drizzled with olive oil, and then finished off with a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper. They also make a colorful topping for just about any hors d'oeuvre.

Cassis, also known as black currant, has a deep, velvety, ripe-berry flavor, along with a slight sourness; this sorbet plays up those qualities. We use bottled nectar, but if you find fresh black currants, you can certainly make your own (see cooks' note, below).

Chipotles ("chi-POTE-lays") are red-ripe jalapeños that have been smoked and dried. Chipotles canned in the sauce called adobo take the sweet heat in a more piquant direction.

Expect a line to form when you unveil this stunning dessert. It's swirled throughout with tangy lemon curd, which amplifies the richness of the surrounding cheesecake.

This dramatic, gorgeous terrine isn't just visually arresting; it's also absolutely delicious — and such a sophisticated change of pace from a salad to start the meal. We used beets, haricots verts, and wax beans here, but feel free to improvise if other vegetables look tempting at your local farmers market; you'll need a total of 6 cups of cooked vegetables. Since the vegetables are cooked until very tender — a knife should be able to cut through them without resistance — the terrine slices beautifully.

Fruit tart desserts often steal the spotlight in summer, but this easy savory treat showcases plum tomatoes in their prime with such simple grace that you'll forget about sweets for the moment.

Brandi Neuwirth of Cary, North Carolina, writes: "My family and I moved here from Los Angeles last year, and my new surroundings have really influenced my cooking. There's a great farmers' market nearby where I get lots of local ingredients. The produce there inspired me to create this dish, which is a real taste of the South." These pretty ice cubes are great in lemonade and summer cocktails.