Root Vegetable

This is an unusual use for pistou, a Provençal variant of pesto made of basil, garlic, olive oil, and salt. It's normally stirred into simple vegetable soups to give them some oomph, but it brings the same lively savoriness to green beans, contrasting nicely with their buttery quality. Don't worry about being knocked over by raw onions on top of all the other strong flavors-soaking them in cold water for 15 minutes removes some of their pungency while preserving their crunch.

Steamed quinoa has an unbelievably light and fluffy texture. If you can get fresh-picked corn, you can add it to the salad raw—even without cooking, the kernels will be sweet and tender.

Boiled first to ensure tenderness all the way through, these spuds gain a smoky flavor and crackly roasted skin from a brief stint on the grill. If you have fresh rosemary left over from the Grilled Poussins with Lemon Herb Butter, strip off all but the top 1 inch of leaves and skewer the potatoes on the woody stems—it looks beautiful on the serving plate and gives the potatoes a lovely perfume.

In this vibrant green dish, the bitterness of broccoli rabe comes in second place to the sweetness of the peas and the comforting familiarity of olive oil and garlic.

Frances Foley—mother of Gourmet's freelance photography assistant, Stephanie Foley—found that when she grilled an entire coil of Italian sausage, everyone clamored for the well-browned outer ring. Rather than draw straws, Mrs. Foley now grills individual small coils so each person gets their own crispy edge to savor. We've used her method as the basis for these meaty sandwiches, and piled on some of our own quick-cooking toppings.

Lightly blanched squid makes a simple and elegant salad with the tang of fish sauce and fresh lime juice.

Quinotto de Hongos y Camarones
This dish—quinoa prepared risotto-style—is so good, you'll forget it's good for you. Quinoa, whose name means "mother grain," is indigenous to Peru and dates from the time of the Inca civilization. Compared with other grains, quinoa is very high in protein and relatively low in carbohydrates. If you're pressed for time, we found a great substitute for fresh clam broth.

Find a good-quality jerk paste, and it's like Caribbean magic—you can make a complete island meal in a flash.

Tender chunks of lamb served kebab-style are paired with a traditional Mediterranean-inspired salad in this simple grilled dish.

Splashes of lemon add a bright note to this simple chicken dish seasoned in the Provençal tradition with rosemary and garlic.

Bresaola-a beef lover's prosciutto equivalent-gives this virtually no-cook dish a bright platform with deep flavor.

In this homey recipe, chicken is cooked with a thick creamy sauce. Kishk is traditionally eaten cold, but it's equally delicious warm.

The turbot is roasted on a thin cake of overlapping potato slices and then sauced with a simple pan sauce, garnished with tomatoes and black olives. Turbot is rarely available in the United States, but another flatfish such as a fluke or flounder makes a good substitute. You will need a mandoline or other vegetable slicer to slide the potatoes very thin. Ovenproof nonstick frying pans work best here, so the potato cakes don't stick, but if necessary you can use other 8-inch frying pans or cake pans; line them with rounds of parchment paper.

For easy serving, ladle the soup into pretty bowls, and set them on the buffet table.

Using roast chicken from the grocery store makes this recipe super-easy. Improv: Add sweet and crunchy accents by mixing a few chopped toasted pecans and some dried cranberries into the chicken salad. Instead of rolls, use crusty French bread or thick slices of sourdough bread.

Charlotte Fekete of Athens, Georgia writes: "I'm a junior in college, and I'm planning to go to cooking school after graduation. I've already had some experience decorating cakes and working for a caterer, but it was my mom who taught me how to cook. I've also learned a lot from reading magazines and cookbooks." Marinating the vegetables gives them a lively pickled flavor.

Improv: Substitute chopped red or yellow bell peppers for the tomatoes in the salad; try basil instead of cilantro in the dressing.