Blender

This soup is very thick; it can be thinned with additional chicken broth, if desired.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Jeanne Thiel Kelley, a contributing editor to Bon Appétit, says, "Every year, my family gets together for a big buffet, and soup is always the appetizer. The host greets the rest of the family at the door with a small cup of soup and a glass of wine. Each year the soup changes, but this one is particularly nice. It has lots of flavor and a creamy texture, yet isn’t so rich that it spoils the appetite."

Many Americans first tasted this cold vegetable soup at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. Gazpacho came into favor partly as a vehicle for showing off blenders, the popularity of which created a boom in recipes that called for liquefying ingredients. This recipe goes the Spanish classic one better with the addition of smoky chipotle chilies.

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 1 hr

Make these individual desserts a day ahead.

Janet and Travis Kuhl of Cranford, New Jersey, writes: "We recently went to chef Ming Tsai's Blue Ginger restaurant in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Our entire meal was top-notch, but the shrimp cocktail was our favorite." Poured carefully side by side into a cocktail glass, tomato puree and avocado puree make a colorful dip for the lightly battered and quickly deep-fried shrimp.

This sauce uses roasted fresh poblano chilies and their dried form, ancho chilies.

Parsley puree and green onions give this dish its vibrant — and appropriate — color.

"A friend of mine insisted I try the red bell pepper bisque at Ristorante Grano in Williamsville, a suburb of Buffalo," says Lucy Mitchell of Grand Island, New York. "I did, and now I'm hoping to prepare it at home."

We don't recommend doubling the sauce ingredients if you're cooking for more than two people — the sauce will lose its intensity. Instead, you may want to make two batches. Active time: 35 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

The best smoothies are made with very ripe fruit. Mango, pineapple and banana team up with light coconut milk in this one.

The leftover syrup from the lychees makes a delicious sweetener for iced tea. Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 30 min

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Blancmange is a jelled molded pudding (similar to a bavarian) that is made with almonds and milk and is served cold, often with a fruit sauce. Originally, the dessert was thickened with powdered almonds; today gelatin is used in their place. This dessert is said to hail from the Languedoc region of France.