Salmon

Make this the centerpiece of an hors d'oeuvre platter that includes crackers, breadsticks, cornichons, and olives.

A terrific way to finish off the cranberry relish. Make full use of your oven — and your time — by roasting small red-skinned potatoes alongside the fish, then tossing the potatoes with butter and parsley to have as a side dish. Boil slim green beans or haricots verts to complement the main course. End the meal with slices of marble pound cake ("toasted" briefly in the oven) topped with chocolate sauce and whipped cream.

The Ginger Fried Rice with Shiitake Mushrooms is a perfect side dish for this salmon.

If you prefer, the eggs can be fried instead of poached. Do-ahead steps make this dish very manageable — even for six. The sauce can be prepared the day before.

"As a kid, I'd accompany my mother to her job at the racetrack, where she would lead the horses out to the starting gate," writes Michael Hunter of Studio City, California. "Eventually I was helping out in the stalls, and when I got older, I became a jockey. My mother was also the person who, in a roundabout way, inspired my other passion: cooking. I'd come home from school, and she would have prepared something from a box or can. I didn't always like what was on the dinner table, so one day I asked her to buy me a cookbook. Pretty soon I was making dinner for us almost every night. Now, after seventeen years of racing horses and cooking for family and friends, I'm making the jump to professional cooking."

This is a nice starter for brunch or supper. It can be made a day ahead and rewarmed before serving.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Great with pumpernickel bread.

This entrée from Chateau Lake Louise at Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada, would be perfect for a dinner party. The fish is especially good accompanied by broiled red onion slices and steamed asparagus. To make this even easier, have the salmon skinned and boned at the fish market.

This delightful open-face omelet is aptly named; it's bursting with flavor and style.

Here's a delicious new take on smoked salmon.

For the opener, spread butter and prepared horseradish on thin baguette rounds, and top them with bay shrimp. Boil small red potatoes and green beans to have alongside the seafood.

A simple but elegant cold dish. The sauce can be made a day in advance.

The créme fraîche topping melts fast, so to make the most of its fabulous taste and texture, add it just before eating.