Onion

Serve with Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc.

This light and lovely main course comes from executive chef Jeff Tunks at the acclaimed DC Coast in Washington, D.C.

If Chilean sea bass is unavailable, any sea bass is fine to use. Score the fish on the skin side, so it won't curl.

The long cooking time makes this lamb meltingly tender. Offer noodles alongside.

In this dish, Elena Rovera prefers the clean, fruity flavor of Roero Arneis, a dry white wine from the Piedmont region of Italy. She typically serves the chicken with rosemary potatoes. Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

Rockfish is used in this dish at Cashion's Eat Place in Washington, D.C. If you can't find rockfish fillets, substitute sea bass.

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."

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.

Use leftover roast chicken for this, or buy a cooked chicken at the market. For an extra-special treat, top each baked slice with a dollop of sour cream and sliced avocado.

Fresh corn from a farmers' market or a grower's farmstand will taste the sweetest.

Save time by using vacuum-sealed pouches of tuna, which don't need to be drained.

As a working mother with four daughters, my mom had very little spare time, yet she always managed to turn out meals reminiscent of her native Canton, China. This dish, one of her specialties, takes its name from the moist, velvety texture the chicken gets from being poached at a low temperature. My mother loved the short preparation time (the chicken finishes cooking through heat retained in a covered pot) and that the poaching liquid can be strained and then chilled or frozen to be used again. Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

There's no need to trim the watercress; you can use every bit of it in this recipe. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 2 3/4 hr(includes chilling)

Serve with: French fries or potato chips, and steamed broccoli.

New York Filipinos are sentimental about adobo — meat or fish with lots of garlic, soy sauce, and vinegar. We used cider vinegar to good effect, but authentic Filipino cuisine calls for coconut, palm, or sugarcane vinegar. Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 40 min