Quick

Watercress is the green of choice in Cuba, its peppery taste a perfect foil for the avocado and the sweet pineapple in this classic Cuban salad. I serve it with shrimp in a spicy tomato sauce called enchilado de camarones. In Cuba, the pineapple is never roasted, but this technique adds another dimension of flavor I find very appealing.

A sensuous variation on the theme of bread and chocolate is a silky ganache flavored with a garlicky Cuban-style olive oil mojo, smeared over slices of Cuban bread. Because the ingredients are so few and basic, it is important to use a not-too-bitter premium chocolate. I also like the effect of a mellow Spanish extra-virgin olive oil made with Arbequina olives, with their slight accent of apple peel. Sea salt sprinkled on the bread right at the moment of serving brings out all the flavors.

This garlicky sauce is the traditional accompaniment to the starchy root vegetables of the Hispanic Caribbean, especially Cuba. The acidic medium is usually Seville, or bitter, orange juice, though lime juice or white vinegar can be substituted. The mojo is at its best spooned or brushed over piping-hot boiled yuca, plantains, or other starchy tropical vegetables.

Here's a good base recipe for using frozen berries to prepare a flavorful sauce. I find that frozen berries need to cook a little to make them less watery and to concentrate their flavor. Look for raspberries that come frozen in a bag. Feel the bag to make sure all of the individual berries are loose and not clumped together. Bags of frozen berries tend to taste better than those frozen in a block.

This remoulade is a classic French dish and makes perfect use of an under-used vegetable. Choose from capers, parsley or gherkins (or any combination of all three), to add flavour and a pretty hint of green. The celeriac will discolour and brown as soon as it is peeled and sliced, so either use it straight away or soak it in water with lemon juice added, for up to 1 hour before using.

This delicious combination provides a mouthful of contrasts—crispy savoury bacon and soft, melting sweet prunes—great served hot or cold. Substitute the prunes with dried apricots for an equally tasty alternative.

Lucy's Whey The grilled cheese sandwich at Lucy's Whey has garnered an extensive group of followers. These devotees appreciate the careful attention that goes into each bite. With so few ingredients, each one should be extraordinary. If you follow this advice at home, you will see how a humble cheese sandwich can turn heads. You can make as many sandwiches at once as you have room for on a panini press (or in a ridged grill pan weighted on top with a skillet).

I introduced this recipe to the Oyster Bar in the early 1990s. We serve about 12 gallons of it every day.

This dressing is served on the side with Junior's Reuben sandwiches. It's so good that you'll find many other foods it matches up perfectly with, like sliced roasted turkey or chicken salad, a cold poached salmon salad, cold roast beef, or a fresh tomato salad.

Feed this luscious sandwich to your egg-eating veggie friends when they get a burger craving, and they'll likely think twice about ever ordering a veggie burger–puck again. When you eat it, it drips and spills everywhere in a decidedly appealing way. NOTE: The bun must be fresh. Really fresh. A stale bun will wreck this sandwich.

The personality of raclette in macaroni and cheese—the combination of cornichons and creamy, salty cheese takes to pasta with an irresistible grace.

I insisted that the theme of my coming-of-age party be mocktails and canapes because I wanted to be grown up, and had often seen my mum eat canapes at parties. My Rose Beef Bites are delicate and also delicious, with beef and horseradish being lifelong friends. Spending a tiny amount of time to be sure the beef looks pretty makes these canapés stunning to behold. Assemble the beef before the party, so then it's only a matter of spread, drop, serve, and smile!

These protein "truffles" are so ridiculously easy that I feel somewhat silly adding them to this collection. Then again, my super-simple, silly recipes are often my most popular. They are certainly favorites in my repertoire, in large part because of their fast factor, but also because of their portability and candy-like appeal. Plus, they are endlessly customizable by varying the spices, extracts, and other add-ins, or by giving them a chic coating of chia seeds, cocoa powder, or chopped nuts. Who says pretty and power can’t go together?

When we visited Kyoto, a few hours' ride from Tokyo on the famous Bullet train, we found a little restaurant in the heart of town that won us over with the names of dishes listed on the menu: Firecracker Tofu, Pickled Mixed Radish Salad, and the mysterious sounding Okonomiyaki. The chefs were clearly having fun at this place, and we were blown away by the depth of flavor they achieved with such simple preparations. We threw back some sake and tore through plate after plate of food. This salad is inspired by that meal, featuring quirky sea beans (a seaweed-like swamp/beach vegetable) and the haunting flavor of shiso (Japanese mint). You can find fresh sea beans at a gourmet market. If they're not available, substitute pencil-thin asparagus. Look for shiso in Asian markets, but substitute fresh cilantro if you can't find it.

Basil is wilted like a leafy green in this stir-fry, then added raw at the end for a double dose of its aromatic flavor.

This Mexican-inspired torta is stuffed with turkey, lime, cilantro, and pickled red onion.

Sure, it's optional, but trust us—you really want to make this.

The dressing should be emulsified when you add the butter. Keeping it warm will prevent it from separating, but if it does, add a couple drops of water and whisk again to bring it back together.