Spring

(Tartelettes Feuilletées à la Rhubarbe et au Ricotta) At La Bastide Odéon, these are served with almond ice cream. Begin making the dessert one day ahead so that the rhubarb can drain overnight.

Ask the butcher to "french" the racks of lamb, which involves cutting away the meat from the ends of the rack to expose the bones. Serve with: California Cabernet • asparagus sprinkled with chives and toasted pine nuts • crusty baguette • blueberry crumble with cream

The Beranbaum family fell in love with this pie at a diner called Big Boy in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. We were addicted to this pie, consisting of a crisp crust filled only with fresh strawberries held together by a fruit juice glaze. We would drive fifty miles to Big Boy every weekend just to have it. When I tried to duplicate it in my kitchen, I discovered that a fruit glaze also works well with fresh raspberries or a mixture of raspberries and currants. The glaze preserves the freshness of the fruit for two days.

These also pair nicely with beef or lamb.

When draining the artichokes, turn them upside down to allow more water to escape from the leaves. What to drink: A crisp, dry Sauvignon Blanc is a good choice with this starter and the rest of the menu.

Vignarola You'll find this dish in trattorias all over Rome during the spring. The long, slow cooking causes the vegetables to lose their bright color, but the sweet flavor of the stew makes up for its rather bland appearance. Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 1 3/4 hr

A lovely start to this spring supper would be mugs of green pea soup sprinkled with chives. Accompany the pizza with an arugula, radicchio and endive salad dressed with balsamic vinaigrette. Offer gelato for dessert.

Toni and Lee Marteney of Kula, Maui, Hawaii, write: "Even though we live on Maui, where there are many fantastic restaurants, my husband and I always look forward to our trips to the mainland so we can eat at our favorite Southern California restaurant, Walt's Wharf in Seal Beach. All the food is superb and beautifully presented, but we always look forward to sharing the delicious grilled artichoke appetizer." The artichokes can be steamed in advance and thrown on the grill just before serving, which makes them perfect for entertaining.

Use any variety of young, small potatoes at the market — such as fingerlings, baby reds, or small Yukon Golds or yellow Finns.

The olive oil-and-cheese dressing is a nice alternative to drawn butter.

Great served as a side dish with roast chicken, pork chops or veal chops.

If you want to make the scallions but not the rest of the menu (Grilled Pork Kebabs with Ginger Molasses Barbecue Sauce), see recipe for creamed grilled corn for instructions on preparing a charcoal grill. Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 40 min (includes soaking skewers)

These delicate fish dumplings are steamed and chilled between layers of cabbage leaves to keep them moist. Leftovers can be refrigerated for a couple of days.

Regular oranges work just as well, but they won't impart the same fiery sunset color.