Simmer

This is quick, easy and delicious - the perfect addition to a holiday buffet.

I lived in the Canary Islands for ten years and am reminded in a small way of that happy time whenever I make my former neighbor's spicy potatoes (tradition has it that the real thing is cooked in sea water). I hope that you will enjoy them--they go wonderfully well with grilled fish and meat. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

(From Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby, License to Grill, Morrow, 1997) Tommy who? Chris and John explain: "This classic Latin American dish is that rare bird, a completely healthful vegetarian meal that appeals to the taste buds of teenagers. Or at least it appeals to the buds of Tommy, a teenager who lives in the apartment above one of us and is the nephew of the other one. Tommy prefers his rice and beans cooked separately, rather than together, and likes lots of garlic and only a few bell peppers in the mix; so that's how we make it here. For some reason, it has almost as high an appeal rating as pizza and chips, those quintessential meatless teenage favorites."

Steamed green beans and a rice or pasta salad from the deli go nicely with this entrée inspired by the Pacific Northwest. End with a simple but sophisticated dessert of coffee ice cream drizzled with brandy and sprinkled with toasted hazelnuts. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

I usually forget how satisfying it is to eat mussels this way — splashing into the steamy bowl fragrant with spring herbs — until I'm at a restaurant eating them and think, "Mmm, I should make these again, soon."

Offer white rice alongside this simple, reduced-fat version of one of Rupa's childhood favorites.

Gianduia is a classic Italian combination of chocolate and hazelnuts. If you can't find foil candy cups, buy twice as many paper ones and use two (one inside the other) per candy. (Doubling the paper cups makes a sturdier form.) Arrange the confections in holiday tins, or place on decorative trays, wrap in cellophane and tie with gold ribbons.

Known as dal in India, this dish is often offered over rice or topped with plain yogurt.

In Italy a no-cook pasta sauce is known as salsa cruda, and makes a wonderful one-dish dinner. In this version, the combination of artichokes, olives, capers, and lemon zest is not only beautiful, but bold in flavor.

By the seventies, Julia Child, through her books and television shows, had made French food accessible, and the Cuisinart, introduced in 1973, made many of the cuisine’s more complicated techniques quick and simple. As a result, pâté became increasingly popular, and remains so today.

Serve with: Crusty baguette slices and a salad of arugula dressed with Sherry vinaigrette. Dessert: Vanilla ice cream topped with warm caramel sauce.

This sauce is traditionally served with fish, but we like it over steak and vegetables as well.