Leafy Greens

Although this mix of greens with pine nuts and raisins is typically a vegetable course, here it is placed on toasted bread rounds to serve as a tapa. If you prefer it as a side dish, chop the chard very coarsely.

This delicious salad is from Johannes.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 15 min

Use leftover chicken if you have any on hand, or start with a rotisserie chicken. Be sure to pick up the sliced peppers from the salad bar while you're at the market. Crunchy sesame breadsticks are all you need to complete the meal — except, of course, dessert, which could be pineapple slices sprinkled with coconut and broiled.

An Asian treatment of chestnuts that will be right at home with all your side dishes.

Complete this one with cherry tomatoes, potato chips, and lemonade.

Potato salad, grapes or fresh figs, and brownies round out this lunch. To make things even easier, use raw onions.

Buttermilk and blue cheese make this slaw rich and tangy.

An inspired mix of flavors.

Maude Emhoff, Stafford Springs, Conn.
Watch the heat carefully, lowering it as necessary. Do not let the casserole boil, or the pork ribs will toughen.

Fresh kernels of raw corn are so sweet and tender that they don't need to be cooked. Their natural sugars and crisp juiciness pair wonderfully with the salty Parmesan and peppery arugula.

When we were children, shrimp dumplings were our favorite dim sum dish. The classic filling is shrimp and bamboo shoots. The dough is not difficult to make, but it is very important that the water be boiling hot. If it is not hot enough, the wheat starch will not cook and the dough will not work. Wheat starch _(dung fun)_is only available in Chinatown; regular white flour is not a substitute. The tortilla press used here is excellent for making the dough into thin, uniform rounds, but you can also make the dumplings by hand: Roll the dough into scant 1-inch balls. Place one ball between your lightly floured hands and press to form a circle. Press the dough evenly with your fingertips to make it as thin as possible, about 3 inches in diameter and a scant 1/8-inch thick.

This salad was inspired by one we had in Rome that was made with Stracchino cheese, but we've used mascarpone, which makes an admirable and accessible substitute. (Stracchino, a springtime cheese, is difficult to find here, even in season.) Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 25 min

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 20 min