Roast

Goes great with: Stir-fried snow peas, green beans, sliced zucchini, and fresh basil. What to drink: New Zealand or Oregon Pinot Noir.

The buttery sauce that coats the crabmeat and the shells is part of the pleasure of this dish; to really enjoy it, dispense with the utensils and just eat the crab with your hands. Serve with a green salad dressed with tarragon vinaigrette and plenty of crusty sourdough bread.

Harold J. Bigley of New York, New York, writes: "A few months ago I went to a party in The Hamptons catered by Loaves & Fishes in Sagaponack. The veal chops with polenta were outstanding. Could you get the recipe?" Ask your butcher to french (trim the fat from) the bone end of the veal rib chops.

If you're making this entire menu in a single oven, we recommend baking the yuca gratin ahead; while it cooks, brown the lamb and coat with the sauce and farofa. When the gratin comes out of the oven, the lamb can go in. (The gratin will stay warm while the lamb bakes and stands.)

Baby beets simply roasted to bring out their sweetness need just the barest slip of butter and a sprinkling of fresh rosemary. Candy cane beets, if you can find them at a farmers' market, look especially festive, but so does a medley of red and yellow ones. If baby beets are unavailable, cut peeled roasted large beets into 1-inch cubes.

Jan Schroeder of Corvallis, Oregon, writes: "A great thing about my job is that I get to do a lot of cooking. I work for the berry industry and one of my duties is developing recipes. I often get ideas from local chefs, but it's also rewarding to see what I can come up with on my own."

Throughout the season, quail is always on the Highlands menu. We stuff them with ham, tasso, chicken liver, foie gras, crawfish, or corn bread. Our quail come from a farm in South Carolina, but most butchers or specialty markets sell semi-boneless quail, ideal for stuffing. (Editor's Note: The recipe below is for four quail, enough to serve two people as a main course. If you are cooking for more people, chef Stitt recommends that you prepare two quail for each extra person and adjust the other ingredients proportionally.)

You'll need metal turkey-lacing pins (sold at supermarkets) to secure the roulade. Because they grow up to be portobellos, crimini are sometimes labled baby bellas. They are often sold in 6-to 8-ounce containers.

The milder flavor and softer aroma of Turkish bay leaves are preferable in this dish.