Cucumber

The herbed butter in the center of the burger adds great flavor and tons of moisture and is a good-time, exploding centerpiece to this fast and simple meal.

I use this recipe (more like a method, really) as a standard party offering, and it’s one of my all-time favorite snackers. I eat mine with flatbread, but it’s good to spread these combinations on sliced seedless cucumbers, too.

Sweet and salty food . . . I can eat it at the same time? I’m there. How about you?

Do you have trouble making up your mind? How does this sound: grilled meat, salad, take-out Thai food, and pizza, all in one meal? There are no special ingredients required; you can get them all in the regular market and have this pizza on the table in less time than it would take the delivery man to get to your door.

I love sandwiches because they are one-stop shopping: meat, salad, and cheese, all stuffed into bread. Oooooh-la-la, this is one fancy French grinder. Vive la Hoagie.

The English have nothing on this fish! Serve with store-bought frozen waffle-cut fries, prepared to package directions, and oil-and-vinegar-dressed slaw. Also, try skipping the tartar sauce one time and serve with malt vinegar instead—it takes even less time and effort and tastes great!

This recipe is an ode to my friend Leslie Orlandini’s Cider Vinegar Chicken, which I have only heard tell about. Hey, Les! You get an ode and I’m still sittin’ over here, hunched over my computer, open-mouthed, waiting for a taste of the real deal! HINT!

The seeds of cultivated fennel, like eggplant, are said to have been brought to France by Jews and other merchants. Of course, wild fennel grows everywhere in the south of France. I have tasted this salad in many North African French homes. It is very simple, and a lovely counterpoint to all the more elaborate salads of the North African tradition. Once the fennel and celery have begun to wilt a bit, the flavors all come together. If pomegranates are not in season, substitute dried cranberries or cherries.

My North Indian family called this salaad, or salad, but similar salads with varying seasonings are known in some parts of India as cachumbar. These salads generally contain onions (our Indian red onions), cucumbers, and tomatoes but, according to the seasons, we in Delhi could find radishes or kohlrabi in them as well. In some parts of India, barely sprouted mung beans and peanuts could be added. This fresh salad was always at our table at every meal in some form, with the simplest of dressings added at the last minute. There was never any oil in this dressing. Instead, there was fresh lime juice, salt, pepper, chili powder, and ground roasted cumin seeds. We just put a generous dollop on our plates (or side plates) and ate it with everything.