No-Cook

"During a vacation in Scottsdale, Arizona, my brother-in-law took me to his favorite restaurant, Cowboy Ciao," writes Linden Avery of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. "It serves a very colorful, delicious chopped salad called a Stetson. Could you get the recipe so I can re-create it at home?" This main-course salad is presented with the ingredients lined up in rows. For convenience, you could just toss the salad instead.

These parfaits (or budini — Italian for "puddings") of ultra-creamy mascarpone layered with Marsala-soaked strawberries perfectly illustrate the way of dessert in Italy: utterly simple, not too sweet, and delicious.

Yogurt gives this dip a refreshing tang.

For this salsa, we prefer the tang of a regular pineapple — not too ripe and not "extra sweet." Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 1 hr

To make the salad, Mary uses leftovers from a roast chicken and adds giardiniera, Italian-style pickled vegetables.

The Spanish sauce known as romesco is usually high in fat; this version contains less oil, but just as much flavor.

Thanks to precooked bacon and enhanced bottled dressing, this salad is a snap. For dessert, go all out with brownies à la mode.

Flat-leaf parsley is also known as Italian parsley. It's not only a different shape than curly-leaf parsley but also has a stronger flavor.

Whether spread on sandwiches or served alongside roasts, this classic Provençal condiment of pummeled olives is always handy and delicious. However, it's during cocktail hour, when served simply with croutons, that people seem to love it best. A food processor replaces the traditional mortar and pestle for faster results. Refrigerate for up to a week.

The fruit juices blend with the sugar, spices, and orange-flower water to create a lovely syrup. What to drink: Orange Muscat wines (such as Essencia) would be perfect with this.

It's hard to believe that this sweet, crunchy, and smoky salsa has only six calories per serving.

Talk about deviled eggs: The decadent filling includes smoked salmon and salmon caviar. What to drink: A chilled dry rosé is refreshing; it also stands up to the sweet-sour components of this menu.