Asparagus

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Allen Susser is the man behind Chef Allen's, a favorite special-occasion restaurant near Miami. (He is also a cookbook author, has his own line of sauces, puts out a newsletter and has a Web site—www.chefallen.com.) Calling his food New World Cuisine, Susser uses an international repertoire of cooking techniques to prepare dishes with the best local ingredients. His focus on simple but powerful flavors shows in this dish.

In this preparation, orzo is treated like risotto, which produces richer flavors and a creamier texture — with almost no stirring.

Making risotto is often thought to be an ordeal of stirring, but it really only takes about 20 minutes. In actuality, it's an easy dish, especially when it's the main course.

Accompany this dish with a salad of baby lettuces and sliced sweet onion- such as Vidalia or Maui- and some seeded breadsticks. End with chocolate frozen yogurt drizzled with coffee liqueur or chocolate sauce.

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

This is a rich yet exquisitely simple dish that can be at its best only if every ingredient is of top quality. The asparagus must be fresh and in season, brightly colored, and crisp, with almost a glow in the center of the stalk. If you can buy butter from Normandy, use it; for Parmesan, use only Parmigiano-Reggiano, with its full, ripe flavor. The asparagus is not actually rôtie, or roasted, but rather sautéed in butter until it has a gilded, roasted appearance. The sprinkling of chopped raw asparagus at the end adds crunch and a slightly nutty taste to a dish of silken textures and flavors.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Asparagus Soup with Saffron

This dish takes just minutes to prepare, so steam some rice ahead of time. A salad of sliced radishes and sweet onions drizzled with a light vinaigrette rounds things out. For dessert, try vanilla frozen yogurt topped with sugared strawberries.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Sautéed mushrooms and warm crusty rolls are excellent with the frittata. Finish with ripe pears, chocolate biscotti and espresso.

"My favorite lamb dish in recent memory was a lamb shank at Bistro 110 here in Chicago," writes Valerie Young of Chicago, Illinois. "The waiter told me that it was seasoned with cumin, coriander, and curry, then braised for a very long time." The secret to this recipe? The lamb marinates overnight in a fragrant oil-and-spice mixture. If you don't have a spice grinder or coffee grinder, use a mallet to crush the seeds in a resealable plastic bag.

The cheese-filled salmon rolls are sliced into rounds for a lovely presentation. They make an elegant appetizer and would be delicious served with Pinot Noir.