Salad

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional sitting time.

The walnut oil adds a distinctive flavor here. You can substitute olive oil and just sprinkle toasted walnuts over each serving.

"Blue Moon in Dayton serves a fabulous goat cheese salad with a raspberry-poppy seed dressing," writes Susan M. Berry of Dayton, Ohio. "Would they share the recipe?"

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

For an especially elegant presentation, this salad can be arranged on individual plates instead of one large platter. When trimming the base of the romaine hearts, be sure to leave a small part of each base attached to hold the leaves together.

Serve this alongside quesadillas.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 20 min

"Although I’ve been a subscriber for almost ten years, this is the first time I’ve written to request a recipe," writes Danette Laver of Ambler, Pennsylvania. "The honey-garlic dressing on the salad I had at Fork in Philadelphia was so good that I used a chunk of bread to soak up every last drop."

You can make the soufflés 4 hours ahead (keep at room temperature). Put in a 375°F oven for 8 minutes to reheat. Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 1 hr

A few years ago, when I was in southeastern Turkey working on my book Mediterranean Grains and Greens, I noticed that the women didn't soak their bulgur in water for some summer preparations. When I asked a Turkish friend about this, she let out a laugh. "In Turkey, no man would marry a woman who just used water! For cold bulgur dishes we always soak in tomato juice, onion juice, or fresh pressed and strained sour grape juice to flavor the bulgur first."

Adapted from Mnemba Island Lodge

You will have twice as much of the pesto as you need. You can cut the pesto amount in half, but I encourage you to make the full recipe. It will disappear quickly on bread, toast, or baked potatoes. This salad is even greater if you use your best olive oil.

Peyton Hughes of Iowa City, Iowa, writes: "My extended family met for a reunion in Boston a few months ago. For our last night together, we decided it would be appropriate to have dinner at Finale. I'll never forget the unusual grilled portobello salad." Farro, or spelt, is a cereal grain that's been eaten in southern Europe for ages.

Zingerman's is one of the best-known corner delis in the Midwest. This classic creamy potato salad, which has just the right amount of mayonnaise tang, is a mainstay on the menu there.