Olive

Versions of picadillo—a savory dish of beef, onion, and tomato punctuated by olives and raisins—are served in many Latin American countries. Crowned with a tender biscuit topping made with arepa flour, it becomes a homey one-dish dinner.

Kate keeps the cocktail local by using Teton Glacier Potato Vodka, which is produced in Rigby, Idaho. Store the vodka in the freezer so it's icy cold

A handful of olives are delicious with the bitter greens.

This beautiful seafood salad makes a terrific home for leftover Niçoise olives from the braised Veal Cacciatore . Quickly cooking the calamari renders it snowy white and very tender—such a nice backdrop to the salty olives and crunchy celery. Scallion, lemon zest, and celery add freshness.

Briny olives and sweet golden raisins work in tandem to bring balance to this simple, delicious one-pan fish dinner.

Haute ham and eggs! These appetizers are protein-rich, and cutting out the crust makes them incredibly low-cal.

Here's a great accompaniment for roast chicken or the perfect side dish to bring to a potluck feast.

Serve with pita toasts or crackers, or smear it on grilled chicken breast or tuna steaks for a main course.

A few years ago I created a menu of regional American dishes (both traditional and invented) for a special Fourth of July wine dinner. I wanted something particularly clever to represent Manhattan. I kept thinking of sophisticated New Yorkers drinking martinis and decided to try my hand at making a sauce with similar ingredients. I like the double dose of juniper with the deep, rich taste of wild salmon, and the olives add a distinctive briny note.

Wheat berries are whole wheat kernels that become appealingly chewy when cooked, and bulgur, a Middle Eastern staple, is crushed dried wheat kernels (best known as the basis for tabbouleh). Together they make a nutritious and satisfying salad (the grains are hearty and filling) that can stand alone as a meal or work as a side dish with grilled lamb chops or crispy seared fish. I’ve called for celery hearts because I love their sweetness, but regular stalks of celery work just fine.

People may feel a bit wary at first glance, but this broccoli soup is delicious and the eyeball is a harmless hard-cooked egg.

Even those who prefer their tuna raw or quickly seared will be won over by this preparation. Marinated in a savory anchovy-lemon dressing, the tuna steaks are cooked until their centers are pale pink but still quite juicy. The bold flavors continue in the colorful sauce of briefly cooked tomatoes, black olives, capers, celery, and basil.

Cutting cauliflower into thick, meaty slices, core and all, is a neat trick. So is roasting it, which brings out the best in this vegetable, caramelizing its edges and playing up its nuttiness. A briny olive vinaigrette adds just the right sharp-savory note.

Food critics often say that the measure of a great restaurant is its roast chicken. This technique is much more forgiving than regular oven-roasting chicken, although it doesn't have a crunchy crust. I believe that achieving moist white meat is even more important than the crust.

This fresh salsa was dreamed up when we were testing our Salt-Crust Chicken . It's also wonderful with fresh cod, corvina, branzino, and striped bass. It was invented by Lucía Soria, who, while still in her twenties, went from being a cook in my restaurant in Buenos Aires to the manager of Hotel Restaurant Garzon in Uruguay and my second-in-command at important events such as the inaugural dinner for Argentina's president.

Pile a few choice toppings on store-bought pizza crust and throw it on the grill for a magnificent—and easy—vegetarian dinner for a crowd.

In this main-course riff on salade niçoise, the olives make a splash in the dressing while peppery arugula stands in for lettuce, grilled salmon for oil-packed tuna. Yet the beautiful contrasts of the original are still front and center: potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, and hard-boiled eggs.

While you're at it, double this recipe, then freeze the extra grilled focaccia. (Rewarm the thawed bread right on the rack in a 350°F oven for about 5 minutes.) It's great with soup or salad, or as a snack with drinks.