Blender

This soup can also be served chilled.

Crisp baguette slices are a natural with this, or serve the Rosemary Toasts, substituting tarragon for the rosemary. Either way, a salad of Boston lettuce and Belgian endive with lemon vinaigrette makes a lovely accompaniment, and a fruit tart is a good grand finale.

If you're in a last-minute rush for dessert, use purchased sorbet.

Serve the baked fish with rice and a salad of tomatoes, cucumber and green onions.

This sauce accompanies Epicurean Broiled Turkey .

Pears are eaten widely in this part of the country, and Campari-based aperitivi begin many meals. Here the herb-based drink shows up after supper, adding its festive color and distinctive flavor to an easy-to-make pear dessert topped with a sauce incorporating Italy's famous mascarpone cheese. The pears are even better when accompanied by glasses of the Italian dessert wine Malvasia delle Lipari.

A nice dressing for greens or coleslaw.

"Twenty-Two Eighteen restaurant here in Seattle is a sophisticated spot featuring live jazz," says Allison Webb of Seattle, Washington . "When I was last there, I tried a wonderful salad of baby greens mixed with roasted red bell pepper and feta cheese." At the restaurant, the salad also comes with feta croutons and a tomato-ginger chutney.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Ami Askins of San Diego, California tried a garlicky dipping oil at Grappa in Park City, Utah. And although bottles of the oil are sold at the restaurant, she'd like to be able to make it fresh at home. Try this versatile dipping oil with bite-size pieces of your favorite breads — or drizzled over sliced tomatoes.

Baba Ghanouj Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. The fennel is the special flavor in this soup.

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

This is one of my mother's recipes and call me biased, but it's the best around. This is a vegetarian black bean soup, and one of the keys to its success is the quality of the olive oil: use the very best you can find. You can make the soup a day in advance and it will taste even better the next day. This is a no-fail recipe that I know you're going to enjoy.