Steam

Potatoes are tossed with a rich mustard dressing and served atop a bed of crisp lettuce in this unusual and delicious salad.

Dijon mustard and dry white wine add French flair to this longtime favorite.

This dish is sensational with barbecued pork or grilled sausages or salmon. A spicy honey-mustard dressing is the salad's perfect finishing touch.

Shao mai are classic Chinese steamed dumplings. They make a nice starter or an innovative addition to a buffet.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

You will need three pots for this recipe.

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 4 hr In China, northern China in particular, pork belly — fresh (unsmoked) bacon with skin and bones — is cooked just like the rest of the pig. Chef Susur Lee simmers it, then steams it until its fall-off-the-bone-tender. Pork belly is available at Chinese meat markets and some butcher shops.

Ken Haedrich, cookbook author, says, "Since moving to New England nearly twenty years ago, I've heated the house with wood-burning stoves. And because our big Thanksgiving gatherings put oven space at a premium, I've often pressed those stoves into backup duty. That's how steamed breads—which can be cooked on top of the stoves — came to be a regular part of our feast. This steamed pumpkin bread provides another way to bring good pumpkin flavor to the meal, too. I also serve my special crescent rolls on the big day. One year, my kids let it be known that they wanted croissants on Thanksgiving, but that seemed like a bit more work than I could handle. Instead, I came up with these sesame crescents—croissant-like rolls with savory onion filling. I guess they did the trick, because nobody says much about croissants anymore. Plus, I can make the crescent rolls two weeks ahead and freeze them. That way, they don't take up any of that precious oven space." Note that this bread needs to cook in an empty 28-ounce food can (such as the kind used to hold whole tomatoes).

The dumplings can be assembled and chilled up to eight hours before steaming.

These rice-coated meatballs, commonly referred to as zhen zhu, meaning "pearls" in Chinese, are often prepared at home in New York City's Chinatown. Steaming them on lettuce leaves helps prevent them from sticking to the steamer rack. They are traditionally made with sticky rice (sometimes called sweet rice), but we've used long-grain rice, which is easier to find.

This fail-safe method for steaming rice comes from Kasma Loha-Unchit's book It Rains Fishes.

Complement the entrée—and the Chinese theme—with rice, stir-fried snow peas, then pineapple sherbet topped with coconut.

Steamed cauliflower florets, broccoli florets and carrot slices are mixed with olives and tossed with a sun-dried tomato and oregano vinaigrette in this Italian-inspired starter "from the garden."

This recipe originally accompanied Sugar Snap Peas and Baby Carrots with Cauliflower-Leek Purée .

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.