Fruit

Everybody knows now that the undisputed king of mangoes is the Indian Alphonso. It is intensely sweet and has an unbeatable perfumed aroma. I'd go as far as saying that you haven't tasted a real mango until you've tried an Alphonso (and nobody is paying me for this). The season, though, is very short—mid-April to the end of May—so try to prepare this salad then.

I can't think of a more rustically elegant (is that a contradiction in terms?) starter. Serve with some robust white bread or pita and you are, literally, in food heaven. In the recipe you'll find Sami Tamimi's technique for getting the seeds out of the pomegranate, which I am afraid is now a very well-known secret.

Puff pastry is a boon for the solo cook. You can keep it frozen, then defrost and cut off enough for just one serving, refreezing the rest. I’ve been known to make my own puff pastry, but Dufour makes such high-quality, all-butter dough that I rarely get my hands dirty with the homemade stuff anymore. (It’s available in many parts of the country, but is not as widely available as puff pastry by Pepperidge Farm, which I like less because it uses shortening.) Now in the middle of winter, when the memory of fresh cherries and other pie fruit is a distant memory, I can combine dried cherries, almonds, and Mulled Wine Syrup (page 6) on a simple piece of puff pastry and bake up a tart that seems like the essence of summer.

When I first visited Portland, Oregon, I left with two regrets: that I didn’t plan on more days (so I could eat more) in that glorious food-obsessed city, and that I didn’t pack an extra duffel for all the edible stuff I wanted to carry back home. On that last point, I limited myself to dried sour cherries and dry-roasted hazelnuts. When I wasn’t scarfing them out of hand, I threw them into dishes, alone but often in combination, proving the validity of the saying, “If it grows together, it goes together.” For this dish, I turned the hazelnuts and dried cherries into a sauce that can be made with Mulled Wine Syrup (page 6) or Pinot Noir (another Oregon specialty) to pour over pan-fried Cornish hen. I like to cook it al mattone, which means “with a brick,” a quick method that results in even cooking, a crisp skin, and moist flesh.

Again, easy peasy. Not only can this be made while the pasta is cooking, you have plenty of time to make a lovely salad and assemble a cheese plate for after dinner. Parmesan, lemon, and basil are a threesome made in heaven. The cheesy lemon basil flavors are also very kid friendly.

Here it is: the recipe that started it all. And once you've made it, you'll know why. It serves up the kind of home-cooked goodness that no restaurant meal can top. The chicken's crispy skin is drenched in herb-infused juices (don't forget to pour the pan dripping back over the chicken before serving or, alternately, to drizzle them over individual pieces on the plate), and the trick of turning the chicken 15 minutes into cooking keeps the meat uniquely moist. Any simple sides will work with a main course this splendid. You can go with either white wine (in which case a Riesling would be nice) or red (try pinot noir). Happy cooking-and an even happier future to you and the lucky person you've deemed worthy of this dish.

I first sampled a version of this light and lively salad as a meal at chef Yves Camdeborde's Le Comptoir in Paris's 6th arrondissement. Yves and I participated in the New York marathon in 2006, and I am sure that the strength gained from this protein-rich salad helped me make it to the finish line! This dish has it all: color (the red bits are lobster roe), crunch, and a light touch imparted by a dressing of yogurt and mustard.

I think we all play favorites in the kitchen; I know I do. One day I am all over my Tahini-Lemon-Yogurt Dressing, dreaming up salads and dishes that would marry well with its salty tang. Then, suddenly, I abandon it in favor of another dressing and another direction. At this writing, this is my most loved dressing, and I drizzle it on everything I can get my hands on!

A chicken that's allowed to run will provide the full flavor necessary to support the tangy Stilton cheese and tart sweetness of the apples in this dish. Talk to the purveyors at the farmers' market or your butcher, and they'll be happy to tell you about the chickens they sell.

Editor's note: Chef, nutritionist, and cooking teacher Lourdes Castro shared this recipe from her cookbook, Latin Grilling. It's a classic Cuban dish and the centerpiece of a festive party menu she created for Epicurious. If you have leftover pork, Castro recommends making Grilled Cuban Sandwiches . Cubans love their pork. It's hard to find a Cuban or Cuban-American who doesn't have a memory of spending hours waiting for a lechon, a whole pig, to finish cooking in someone's backyard, and then sharing it with family and friends (I am certainly no exception). What sets Cuban-style pork apart is the use of mojo criollo, a highly seasoned marinade made up of tangy citrus juice, vast amounts of garlic, cumin, and oregano. And while roasting a whole pig is deliciously fun, smaller cuts are far more manageable and easier to work with.

Editor's note: Chef, nutritionist, and cooking teacher Lourdes Castro shared this recipe from her cookbook, Latin Grilling. It's the first course in a festive Cuban party menu she created for Epicurious. Here I have taken a Cuban classic, camarones al ajillo (shrimp in garlic sauce), and adapted it for backyard entertaining. I was also inspired by the crowd-pleasing mounds of cold poached shrimp with sides of cocktail sauce you see at buffets. So I grilled jumbo shrimp, piled them on a platter, and served them with mojo, the addictively delicious citrus-garlic sauce that has become synonymous with Cuban cooking.

I just ate a meal of some meltingly tender pork, butternut squash, and toasted walnuts. No, this isn't my food journal. I'm sharing this information with you because the above foods are supposed to reduce the incidence of many diseases that might come my way. Okay, maybe you're not interested in your arteries working at peak capacity; maybe what you want is to enjoy food to the maximum and not have to force it down your throat because it's good for you. That said, you'll love this dish, whether or not its health benefits ever cross your mind.

The fresh lemon juice and lemon zest give these crisp and buttery shortbreads a zesty kick.

A passover meal wouldn't be complete without haroseth, a traditional, chutney-like condiment.

Graham crusts typically start with crushed graham crackers. Here, graham flour gives the crust a nutty flavor and hearty texture.

Pavlova is Australian for "big meringue topped with stuff" (typically berries and whipped cream).