Roast

Serve this warm or at room temperature.

Cooked cocktail sausages are glazed with a sweet and spicy mixture flavored with Worcestershire sauce, and served with a sauce whose predominant ingredient is mango chutney.

Roasting the potatoes with the lamb gives them a wonderfully rich, meaty flavor.

The following recipe uses whole chicken breasts with the "tenders" (fillet strips) still attached. Because some supermarkets remove the tenders and sell them separately, it is best to buy your chicken from a butcher. All is not lost, however, if you use chicken without the tenders ­ simply stuff the chicken breasts with basil and wrap with bacon as described below.

"A friend of mine served herbed potatoes at a dinner party and inspired me to come up with this recipe," says Brenda Medvid of Reston, Virginia. "My version gets a tangy kick from the lemon juice, and conveniently, it uses only dried herbs. These potatoes make a quick side dish that suits my taste for home-cooked meals."

In 1991, the National Cancer Institute identified phytochemicals in fruits and vegetables; these compounds may be cancer fighters.

A simple but flavorful poultry main course.

This dish is best eaten right away. You can make all the parts — except for the pasta — way ahead of time and just throw it together at the last minute. (The slow-roasted tomatoes are also great in other roles — as part of an antipasto in the summertime, as an omelet filling, or as a topping on grilled bread.)

The roast can be prepped one day ahead. What to drink: A robust, medium- to full-bodied red, such as an Italian Barbera. Susan Simon also recommends a Carlo Hauner 1998 Rosso Antonello (made with Sangiovese and Nero d'Avolo grapes); it's produced on the Italian island of Salina.

Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 40 min

Serve these strawberries with vanilla bean ice cream, black pepper ice cream, or a spoonful of mascarpone, and with cookies such as biscotti or spicy sugar cookies alongside.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Make this with vegetable broth for a meatless main course.

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr

The rare breeds of Rouen Clair and Duclair from Stone Church Farm (845-658-3243) are small, tender, and have a low fat content, which makes them preferable to commercially available birds. We recommend the aged ducks, which have a richer taste. Order them two weeks ahead to allow preparation and shipping from the farm and request that the necks be removed. Since this recipe calls for a fair amount of soy sauce, it is important to use a brand with well-balanced flavors (such as Kikkoman).

Potatoes roasted with olive oil and chopped fresh rosemary are a nice accompaniment. What to drink: Poggio del Sasso.

Hoisin sauce — a combination of soybeans, garlic, chiles, and spices — lends a sweet-spicy flavor to this pork roast. Look for it at Asian markets and well-stocked supermarkets. What to drink: Uncork an Australian Merlot or a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.