Dill

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

It seems that we're always agreeing to bring a big salad to an informal dinner party only to discover, too late, that there's no time to make a last-minute salad. No one would guess that this wonderfully fresh salad started its journey to dinner two days earlier — in fact, it requires that extra time to mellow its flavors. It's a very portable salad that can sit for hours at room temperature with no ill effects.

To start, offer a seafood appetizer, such as chilled cocktail shrimp with herbed mayonnaise. What to drink: Pour Champagne or sparkling wine throughout the meal.

Tangy and refreshing, this dip is called tzatziki in Greek. Here, it's served with crisp baked pita wedges, but it also goes well with crudités. Drain the yogurt a day before you plan to prepare the dip. And mix up a big batch of lemonade to pour throughout the picnic.

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 45 min

Soaking the red onion in cold water mellows its strong flavor.

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 30 min

This refreshing dish can be prepared and chilled two hours before serving.

Grated roasted beets lend interest here.

The chef at Kristina's makes this dish with haddock; we call for sea bass, which is more readily available.

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

This sauce accompanies Fish Mixed Grill .

Carole Resnick of Cleveland, Ohio, writes: "I invented the following recipe for salmon mousse on dill pizzelle as an appetizer for a gathering. I hope that you enjoy it as much as my guests did."

While this recipe isn't terribly difficult, it is labor-intensive. We recommend you break it up into a couple of steps: Make the filling, then enlist a friend or two to help you do the rolling the following day.

We like making our own pickled beets with spices and herbs that give these sandwiches a true Scandinavian flavor. You can, however, use bottled pickled beets if you don't have two days for marinating.