Asparagus

"The warm asparagus salad I had at Figs restaurant in Boston was as original as it was delicious," says Lena Madore of Los Altos, California. "They served it with a chickpea pancake. I'd love to try both recipes." This salad is great with or without the wedge of farinata, a flat savory cake of Italian origin made from chickpea flour.

This vegetarian entrée makes an elegant and easy lunch. Serve with: Italian Pinot Grigio • arugula with balsamic vinaigrette • warm ciabatta • vanilla gelato topped with fresh strawberries

Serve this robust dish alongside the <epi:recipelink id="109317"">skirt steak with cilantro sauce</epi:recipelink>.

Slices of prosciutto spread with goat cheese and wrapped around asparagus tips make terrific cocktail party fare. The leftover asparagus stalks can be cut up and used in soup, or toss them with pasta, olive oil and Parmesan cheese.

Melon wedges wrapped in prosciutto make a lovely first course; the garlic mashed potatoes, baked tomato halves topped with Parmesan, and an Italian Chardonnay are perfect with the fish. Offer an arugula salad after the main course, and fresh strawberries in grappa with lemon sorbet and biscotti for dessert.

Crusty French bread and baked potatoes with butter are terrific alongside the eggs and asparagus. Add a fresh fruit tart from the bakery, and you'll know that this is definitely not breakfast.

Sformato D'Asparagi con Fonduta This savory flan has an intense asparagus flavor. Its texture is unusually tender for a flan, without a trace of egginess.

Lisa Caiazza of Franklin Square, New York, writes, "At the Manhattan law office where I'm a legal secretary, it seems as though the phones are always ringing. And if it isn't the phones that have me occupied, then there are lots of documents that need my attention. By the time I get home from the city, I usually have only about 45 minutes to put together dinner for my husband, Angelo, and myself. Still, that's enough time to make something filling and delicious, like a salad and a hearty pasta or soup." A quick and flavorful pasta dish that's special enough for company.

This recipe is from chef Peter Doyle from Cicada in Sydney. "This dish is a play on Maltaise sauce, but in a lighter, fresher version more conducive to our climate."

Crusty bread and a salad complete the meal.

It’s unclear just who the Louis of Crab Louis salad fame was; perhaps he was affiliated with the Olympic Club in Seattle, where opera star Enrico Caruso, who visited there in 1904, is said to have fallen in love with the crab salad. San Francisco also claims the dish, which reached its zenith there in the teens, as a specialty at Solari’s restaurant and at the St. Francis Hotel.

Go to your local farmers' market for a variety of fresh vegetables to serve with these flavored salts. You'll probably find yellow wax beans, pink radishes, slender asparagus, sweet bell peppers, and an assortment of teardrop, cherry, and grape tomatoes. Dip the veggies into the olive oil first, then the salt.

In this dish from La Belle Vie in Stillwater, Minnesota, the asparagus could be broiled if that's more convenient.

Sephardim (Jews of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean extraction) eat peas during Passover; those from eastern European Jewish backgrounds do not. Feel free to omit the peas — the soup is just as delicious without them. It's important to use a flavorful chicken stock for this recipe, so if you have a stash of homemade stock in your freezer, this is the time to use it. Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 4 hr (includes making stock)