Lemon

Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 20 min

Offer either brown or white rice and Asian beer, like Tsingtao. The chicken is especially tender because of the egg white and cornstarch coating.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

When you're cooking with veggies, don't overlook dessert! This cake has great texture, thanks to both pureed and grated carrots. It's delicious with or without frosting and great for parties.

If I could use only one marinade for the rest of my life, it would be this one. Redolent with garlic, piquant with fresh lemon juice, and fragrant with extra virgin olive oil, it instantly transports you to the Mediterranean. I can't think of a single food that doesn't taste better bathed in it. You can use it as both a marinade and a basting sauce. If marinating poultry, meat, or seafood, simply set a portion aside for basting.

The vitamin C used in this recipe prevents the apple juice from browning.

This hearty and satisfying main course, from Kokkari in San Francisco, was inspired by the flavors of Greece.

Preserved lemons, sold ready-made in Moroccan souks, are essential to that country's cuisine. The peel, pulp, and juice squeezed from the lemons can all be used. Sometimes, however, the juice and preserving brine, can be bitter; use fresh lemon juice in that case.

Use this exotic curd as a filling for the Mango-Banana Cake or for mini tartlets.

Steamed cauliflower florets, broccoli florets and carrot slices are mixed with olives and tossed with a sun-dried tomato and oregano vinaigrette in this Italian-inspired starter "from the garden."

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional sitting time. Butterflied leg of lamb can sometimes get a little unwieldy. To secure loose flaps of meat, run 2 long metal skewers lengthwise and 2 skewers crosswise through the lamb, bunching the meat together. Securing the lamb this way will also help it cook more evenly.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

Using a pastry bag to pipe the hummus onto the pita toasts saved us a lot of time (and made for nice-looking hors d'oeuvres). You can make your own pastry bag with a heavy-duty plastic bag. Just spoon the hummus into the bag and squeeze it into one corner. Then snip off the corner to make a small hole and begin piping.