Jean Georges Vongerichten

This dish is only as good as the crab it's made with; buy the freshest you can find.

Cold soup and hot shrimp—this is a fantastic combination on a warm night. Blending the honeyed sweetness of this summer melon with intensely savory vegetables makes this dish incredibly refreshing. And I give the hot, spicy shrimp a hit of freshness by grilling finely sliced mint right onto them.

My grandmother passed this recipe down to my mom and she then passed it on to me. It's a casserole of pure comfort. First, bitter endive is simmered until sweet, then wrapped in savory ham and smothered with a creamy nutmeg béchamel. Gruyère tops it off before it's baked until bubbly and golden.

Talk about addictive. My director of creative development, Greg Brainin, created these, and I can't get enough of them. For a double dose of heat, fresh chile slices cling to the fiery sauce on the crisp wings.

Although the base of this fairly standard Vietnamese dish is a caramel sauce, the garlic, shallots, and black pepper cut through the sweetness like a knife, providing terrific contrast. Since the last 45 minutes of the cooking time are unattended, this is a good dish for a night on which you want to entertain.

Simple grilled shrimp combined with papaya mustard becomes wondrous. The fabulous dipping sauce, which combines mustard powder for heat and Dijon-style mustard for complexity, is also wonderful over tuna, crab, or scallops. I like it on hot dogs too.

A huge hit for us: spicy, sour, sweet, and herbaceous. This is among the greatest noodle dishes ever.

When the weather warms up, these can be grilled, as they do at Spice Market. Look for the skewers in the kitchenware aisle.

From the menu at Vongerichten's TriBeCa restaurant, 66.

If using chicken halves, ask the butcher to bone them for you.

The French prince: Jean-Georges Vongerichten, executive chef and co-owner of Jean-Georges, Jo Jo, Lipstick Cafe, Mercer Kitchen, and Vong in New York City. What you'll love: No-mess cooking — just wrap the chicken and vegetables in foil, then bake and serve. Our taster says it all: "Super easy and very delicious."

This recipe makes more broth than you will need for the Sea Urchin Mousse . The leftover broth freezes well — use it for making soups or stews.

This unique combination of flavors has been on the menu at Restaurant Jean Georges since its opening, and it continues to draw raves. The form of the layered scallops and cauliflower is basic but lovely, and the dark green sauce has a mysterious, mustardy flavor; few people could guess what is in it, and almost no one could imagine how simple it is.