Weeknight Meals

A nonstick skillet and an adjustable-blade slicer make this elegant dish easy. Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 30 min

Offer this Italian cornmeal side dish in place of potatoes or rice. It's best served immediately out of the oven.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Corn bread and a black bean, green onion and red bell pepper salad with lime vinaigrette are good barbecue side dishes. End with lemon bar cookies from the bakery.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Marinated peppers, mushrooms and eggplant make nice accompaniments to these Mediterranean-style pizzas. Finish up with almond cookies and mixed berries.

Although lamb is not commonly found in Chinese dishes, Hong Kong restaurants reach out to explore every nuance of Asian cuisine. Lamb is popular with the nomads of Mongolia and Manchuria; they would most likely cook the meat in a firepot. Here it's used in a more delicate stir-fry.

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 1 hr

Serve this terrific dish with crusty bread and soup spoons so that your guests can enjoy every last drop.

Salatat Baqduness wa Bassal This salad is common throughout the eastern and southern Mediterranean from Turkey to Egypt. It is always laid on the bread on which grilled meat and poultry are served. In Turkey the salad is seasoned with only sumac; in Egypt, with lemon juice; and in Syria, Lebanon, and Israel it is seasoned with both. A chef friend of mine, Sami Tamimi, whose recipe this is, taught me to soak the sliced onions in boiling water for a few minutes before using. This softens them slightly and, more significantly, takes away some of the sharpness. Be sure to dry the onions well before adding the seasonings.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

If you can't find yellow pear or yellow cherry tomatoes, use all red cherry tomatoes to make this colorful and refreshing salad.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Joan Nathan's The Foods of Israel Today is full of intensely flavored recipes, such as this salad. Grab a copy now, while so many fresh vegetables are available.

Arugula's bold flavor and the texture of curly frisée team up in this simple salad.