No-Cook

When preparing the chocolate, don’t chop it. Cut it straight down to get small, irregular pieces.

A simple flurry of slightly bitter endive slivers is just the right palate cleanser after a substantial meal. The key to the equally easy vinaigrette is to temper sumptuous walnut oil with lighter, more neutral vegetable oil.

Juicy pineapple meets creamy avocado, crisp jicama, and red onion in a refreshing salad that goes especially well with the cilantro-chipotle tilapia .

_Editor's note: This recipe is from chef Wolfgang Puck. The tapenade can be served as an hors d'oeuvre, in a small bowl, surrounded with tiny toasted bread slices or crackers. At Spago, we spread goat cheese onto lightly toasted croutons, top them with the tapenade, and serve them with our Caesar Salad._

In a surprising twist, Tuscan kale is served raw—and makes for a substantial and satisfying winter salad. Be sure to choose bunches of Tuscan kale with small leaves, which are more tender.

These sandwiches are portable and keep well in a lunch box. The hummus should be thick for the sandwiches, but if you want to enjoy the leftovers as a dip, thin slightly with a little extra olive oil.

The kitchen was the domain of Miraglia Eriquez's grandmother, but this recipe was her grandfather's specialty. Sitting at the dining table, Poppy, as he was known, would peel and cut oranges, toss the pieces into glasses, and cover them with red wine. After the oranges soaked up and sweetened the wine, he would eat forkfuls of the fruit, then down the drink. It was—and is—the perfect prelude to dessert.

This recipe originally accompanied Jalapeño Popper Fritters with Tomato Salsa .

Whatever else you set out, great smoked salmon will always draw a crowd. And like any good leading actor, it works well with all of the supporting players, from horseradish cream to egg salad.

Vin Santo is an Italian dessert wine. If you can't find it, use sweet Marsala.

Here's the perfect ending to the feast: a light, bright dessert of oranges, dates, and cinnamon.

Za’atar is a Middle Eastern spice mix that includes sesame seeds, sumac, dried thyme, and dried marjoram. It’s available at specialty foods stores and Middle Eastern markets and from adrianascaravan.com.

Try to buy ripe tomatoes or let them ripen in a paper bag with an apple for two days.

Six ingredients yield big dividends. Be sure to use a good-quality fruity olive oil.

The chutney is macerated in vinegar and sugar, creating a syrupy sauce that also softens the fruit.

All the flavors of the cold Spanish soup—in a chunky salsa. The secret ingredient here is smoked paprika, which is now available in the spice section of many supermarkets. That variety is slightly sweet, but a hot version (available at specialty foods stores) can be used instead, if you want more heat.

You might run across purslane, with its glossy, plump leaves, at a farmers market—and you might even find it growing in the cracks of your sidewalk or in your yard. Luckily, this incredibly nutritious and juicy green is a weed, which means it pops up wild nearly everywhere. Lots of chopped parsley and a simple vinaigrette flatter its herbal, lemony crunch.

This pretty salad gets its name from the long slices of zucchini, which resemble tagliatelle pasta. I like to mix in some fresh mint and lemon for a nice zip, cucumber and sweet onion for crunch, and pistachio oil for fabulous depth of flavor.