Spring

Roasting the heads of garlic results in a less-pungent aioli — a nice quality in an appetizer, since too much raw garlic can hijack the palate for the rest of the evening.

Forget pie: Strawberry and rhubarb are together again in a whole new way. (Use purchased crepes if you're short on time.)

Here, rhubarb becomes a sweet-tart stuffing and sauce for roast chicken. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.

Chicken thighs are a natural for braising because they stay nice and juicy. Plus, the dark meat is a good counterpoint to the sweetness of peas and the slight acidity of the artichokes.

Editor's note: Erika Lenkert, author of the book, The Last-Minute Party Girl: Fashionable, Fearless, and Foolishly Simple Entertaining, learned this recipe from Chef Hiro Sone. For Lenkert's tips on throwing a last-minute New Year's Eve party, click here. One holiday I hosted a potluck dinner party in Napa with some of my favorite food friends, including one of my very favorite chefs on earth — Hiro Sone — accompanied by his talented pastry chef wife and dear friend Lissa. Hiro anted up this soup, which I forced him to teach me how to make. It offers truly luxurious results with minimal effort. Kept covered and warm in a double boiler on the stove, its velvety texture and creamy flavor should last the length of any party.

Executive chef Michael Psilakis, at Dona in New York City, recommends piling leftovers of this dish over greens for an easy next-day salad.

Provençal-inspired, this light, brothy seafood dish will have you wondering how something so delicious could be so easy to make.

This refreshing treat, from Mridula Baljekar, author of Indian Cooking Without Fat (Metro Books), is a cool finish to spicy dishes.

Get two of your daily fruit servings with this diet-friendly dessert from Annie Clemmons, pastry chef at Cyrus in Healdsburg, California.

This layered salad is definitely stacked: Michael Taus, executive chef and owner of Zealous restaurant in Chicago, has piled in all the vitamins C and B12 you need for the day, as well as 50 percent of your daily requirement for vitamin A.

When the weather warms up, these can be grilled, as they do at Spice Market. Look for the skewers in the kitchenware aisle.

This traditional, tasty drink has 200 fewer calories than a margarita. Olé!

Lamb shoulder is meltingly tender here, and a natural partner for earthy-sweet artichokes.

To call this bracing pink drink a rhubarb-infused ginger ale doesn't do it justice; it's much less syrupy-sweet and more cooling. The slightly tart flavor of rhubarb pairs well with lush picnic dishes.

ARNI GEMISTO ME HORTA KE FETA Editor's note: This recipe is excerpted from Aglaia Kremezi's book The Foods of the Greek Islands. To read more about Kremezi and Greek Easter, click here. This recipe comes from Andros, and it is one of the most delicious ways to cook a whole Easter spring lamb or kid. The various spring wild greens on the island, seasoned with fennel, mint and other aromatic herbs, together with the local slightly sour fresh cheese, are used to make the stuffing. In my version, instead of a whole tiny lamb, I use a shortened leg of lamb (shank half) partly boned, to make room for the stuffing. The result is quite different but equally enticing. Serve with Roasted Potatoes with Garlic, Lemon, and Oregano.

This spicy stew is no garden-variety meal. Healthy eating is easy when Mother Nature cranks out plenty of nutrient-packed produce. Chef Shawn McClain of Chicago's Spring restaurant created a vegetarian dish using a variety of veggies in a tagine, a flavorful Moroccan stew. We can't think of a tastier way to help get your five-a-day.