Citrus

This Mediterranean-style dish can be teamed with green beans and rice, noodles or sautéed potatoes for an easy and sophisticated supper.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. From northeastern Thailand, som tai is a salad Thais and farangs-the Thai name for foreigners-have come to love. It is traditionally made with grated green (unripe) papaya that is pounded slightly to soften the fibers before being tossed with lime juice, dried shrimp, and chilies. As the availability of green papaya in the United States is limited, we used cucumber and carrot. We also left out the dried shrimp in order to create a more delicate but still delicious dish.

Onions, olives, basil and lemon accent this unusual combination from Un Grand Café in Chicago, Illinois. If you cannot find Yukon Gold potatoes, regular white-skinned potatoes will do nicely.

Here's an easy but impressive dish from the Admiral's Inn in St. John's Antigua. When ordering the whole snapper from the fish market, have them clean and scale it. If you cannot find whole red snapper, use fillets and bake them about 25 minutes.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This light, lovely dessert is a refreshing way to end the meal. Partner the fruit with sesame cookies.

This lovely summer soup has a rich, smooth texture even though it contains no cream. For a picnic, bring the cold soup in a thermos and the chives in a plastic bag, and then serve in sturdy ceramic bowls.

This starter gets a double dose of cayenne — in the cornmeal coating for the shrimp and in the garlicky mayonnaise dip.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional sitting time.

For a casual supper, broil rounds of prepared polenta roll, and toss romaine lettuce with oil and vinegar; end with cheesecake. For a special dinner, have broccoli spears with browned butter and orzo pilaf with Parmesan. Buy a hazelnut dacquoise or other fancy cake from the bakery for a great dessert.

If you don't have the pastry rings we call for in this recipe, you can use 1/2-cup muffin cups. However, the batter will fill 6 muffin cups, making smaller cakes.