Spring

Store-bought crusts make these scrumptious a snap to prepare.

You can also "grill" the steak in a ridged heavy-duty skillet set on the stove top.

With the galette, offer radicchio tossed with black olives, toasted walnuts and a Sherry vinaigrette. Spoon some stewed rhubarb over vanilla ice cream to top off the meal.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Round out this collection of sophisticated hors d'oeuvres with oysters on the half shell and purchased chicken liver pâté accompanied by crackers. Chilled Champagne and dry Martinis are perfect with these easy appetizers.

In this easy dish, the sage is at its best, partnered with shallots.

Eggs are a staple of the Turkish diet. An ingredient in many dishes, they are also prepared on their own as a main course for lunch or as an appetizer for dinner. Here they are poached, set on a bed of yogurt (another staple) and drizzled with a red pepper-sage butter. The red pepper that fires up Turkish cooking - a cross between paprika and dried crushed red pepper - is much more popular than black pepper, especially outside the large cities.

Baby artichokes are much easier to prepare than the large ones, as they can be eaten choke and all. For ease of serving, these vegetables may be tossed with the roasted potatoes (see Green Olive, Lemon and Garlic-Roasted Leg of Lamb with Potatoes and Pan Gravy ) for a delicious all-in-one side dish.

You can start baking this beautiful cake two days ahead: Make the cake layers and the raspberry curd a day before assembling; then the completed cake can be refrigerated a day before serving.

Italy's sweet and buttery-smooth mascarpone cheese adds flavor and creaminess. Begin this cheesecake at least one day ahead.

Sephardim (Jews of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean extraction) eat coriander seeds during Passover; if you do not because you are from an eastern European Jewish background, you can simply leave the coriander out of this recipe. Active time: 50 min Start to finish: 3 hr

Carol Waddington of Cumberland, Rhode Island, writes: "I recently attended a function that was catered by Downcity Food + Cocktails of Providence, Rhode Island. The appetizer buffet was incredible — I especially enjoyed the scrumptious artichoke hors d'oeuvre." Serve this with crusty bread to soak up some of the creamy cooking juices.

What to drink: Fruity, soft red wines — such as Merlot and some Zinfandels — work well with the mustard glaze and ham.

Serve these spicy grilled shrimp with bread for sopping up all the sauce.