Sear

An elegant and simple main course.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Serving the sauce at room temperature helps bring out the taste of the caviar.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This recipe was inspired by one from Odessa Piper, chef-owner of L'Etoile restaurant in Madison, Wisconsin.

The spice rub that we have used in this recipe works equally well with other steaks such as sirloin.

Serve with: Baked potatoes and sautéed zucchini. Dessert: Dulce de leche ice cream with toasted almonds.

Add french fries, glazed carrots, and a salad of romaine wedges with blue cheese dressing. End with cheesecake and raspberries.

This recipe offers a prime example of cooking à la minute because the entire dish can be prepared and executed very quickly. (It also uses few enough ingredients that you could purchase all of them in the express lane of your local supermarket on the way home from work.) After sautéeing the halibut, the fish is removed from the pan, which is then deglazed with white wine and fresh lemon juice. Butter is swirled in gradually to yield a rich, flavorful sauce — punctuated by scallions, capers, and diced tomato — that is simply poured over the fish; its pleasing citric acidity and buttery richness make it a perfect foil for the halibut.

"At Highland's Garden Cafe in Denver, Colorado, I had an unusual and delicious lunch entrée of fish with sambal vinaigrette and wasabi cream," says William Starret, Jr. of Washington, D.C. "I would greatly appreciate it if you could get the recipe for me."

This elegant entrée deserves special accompaniments, like buttered baby carrots sprinkled with chopped tarragon, twice-baked potatoes (available frozen) and a spinach salad tossed with toasted walnuts. New-York-style cheesecake with strawberries provides the properly indulgent finale.

To save even more time, buy the peppercorn medley packaged in a pepper grinder in the spice section of the supermarket. Serve with: Curried rice and sautéed snow peas.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.