Saute

You can also serve blini topped with salmon roe. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr

"I had three kids in three years when I was a 'young married' in my twenties," writes Sheryl Hurd-House of Jupiter, Florida. "That's when I started cooking and realized I liked it."

Chinese broccoli (gai lan) is always sold flowering, though its buds are usually still closed.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Pan-Seared Salmon over Red Cabbage and Onions with Merlot Gastrique. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 30 min

Robert Colombi of Paris, France, writes: "My mother was Sicilian and my father, Corsican, but I was born in Morocco and lived there for many years. I learned how to cook mostly from my mother (which is why pasta often turns up at dinnertime), but also from my many travels throughout Morocco (which is why my favorite spices are coriander, thyme, and cumin). As I became older, I developed a stronger interest in cooking, especially after I moved to France and got married. I guess I started to feel very nostalgic about the country of my childhood, and it became more important for me to remember and re-create those tastes for my French friends and family." This intriguingly flavored dish comes together in minutes.

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 1 hr

At Babbo in New York, chef Mario Batali serves this dish with freshly made pappardelle pasta. We've simplified the entrée for the home cook by substituting purchased fettuccine.

Albóndigas con Salsa de Tomate y Chile de Serrano This is served with traditional Mexican White Rice .

The people who count such things say that scrambles now outrank all other egg preparations in America's affections. This San Francisco creation — claimed by almost every Joe who's owned a restaurant in the Bay area — helps to explain the popularity. With the addition of ingredients as basic but as unlikely as ground beef and spinach, the namesake cook (probably Italian-American) turned straightforward scrambled eggs into a distinctive treasure of tastes. For a full sense of place, serve the eggs with good sourdough toast.

It's best to serve this lobster salad right after you make it, rather than preparing it in advance. If the salad stands for more than half an hour, pineapple enzymes will alter the texture of the lobster meat. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 30 min

What to drink: Sauvignon Blanc or a dry rosé, such as a French Bandol.

The peppers can be roasted and the broccoli blanched a day ahead, leaving just the sautéing to do before serving. This dish is equally delicious served right off the stove or at room temperature.

"On Saturday mornings I like to go to the farmers' market near my house and buy whatever produce is at its peak," writes Justin Kulongowski of Portland, Maine. "One weekend I came home with all the ingredients to make this great salad."

These crab cakes get an extra kick from the chili-garlic sauce, available in the Asian foods section of most supermarkets.

If you can't find fresh lobsters, frozen lobster meat can be used.

Serve with: Tomato salad and crusty semolina bread. Dessert: Amaretti cookies.