Rick Browne

Why "soda jerk"? Because two kinds of pop lend the right dose of sweetness.

A butter baste makes the zucchini so amazingly full-flavored that you can even omit the cheese — although it's a delicious accent to the lemony zing.

Fish sauce lends a tantalizing Asian twist to the butter sauce here, and makes simple grilled corn into something altogether new.

Big, thick slices of sweet onion get a quick glaze.

With two hues of cabbage and two kinds of apples, as well as carrots and yams, this multi-colored slaw will look gorgeous on a picnic or buffet table.

Potatoes in three colors give this salad an all-American look.

Editor's note: This recipe was included with two others from our roundup of great cookbooks for Dad. There are more than 80 varieties of the avocado fruit, with the Hass variety responsible for 85 percent of production. The Hass avocado was discovered by a California postman named Rudolf Hass. Avocados are rich in unsaturated fats, contain no cholesterol, and are packed with dietary fiber and vitamins such as folic acid, A, B6, C, thiamin, and riboflavin. And for good measure, this salsa adds honey, mango, strawberries, and citrus juices to complete the healthy affair.