Chive

Sprouting wild rice is a simple and delicious way to enjoy this amazing food completely raw. The process of sprouting wild rice is called "blooming" because the seeds actually unfold, very much like little petals, revealing the pale, tender insides. It's a really fun thing to watch, however slowly, and it's groovy to eat something you've seen transform over a few days. This salad combines fresh springtime tastes and textures, all sauced up with a delicious dressing featuring bright lemon and spicy mustard. The herbs add the final layer of flavor, making this a salad that truly tastes alive! Because the rice is sprouted, it is very sweet, requiring salt in the salad—make sure to season it well to suit your own taste.

Double-baking means double the fun—and the indulgence. This hybrid of baked and mashed potatoes is comfort food par excellence.

These vibrant, savory, and slightly spicy deviled eggs are perfect for parties, but easy enough to make as a snack, too.

These irresistible garlic bread bites can be served as an appetizer or a snack. If you have leftovers (though we doubt you will!), try them sprinkled over soups or salads.

Vibrant greens, handfuls of fresh herbs, nuts for crunch, and horseradish for bite. Ingredients are suggestions; feel free to mix it up.

A simple puréed soup, known as velouté in French, is the perfect way to whet the appetite and take the edge off hunger without overfilling your guests' bellies before the big feast. Here, chestnuts, which come already roasted in jars, make an earthy and seasonal soup that can be made well ahead of time. Serve in shallow bowls, or even teacups or shot glasses, while guests are still milling around.

The best thing about making ranch from scratch? If you like a more garlicky or more herby ranch, the choice is yours to adjust the recipe accordingly.

The intensely flavored soffrito is the foundation of this rich pasta; double the ingredients and freeze half for next time.

Delicate squash blossoms are a farmers' market treasure. Look for flowers with perky, intact petals and a generous length of stem still attached. Wrap them loosely in damp paper towels and tuck them into a zip-top bag; they'll keep this way in the fridge for a few days. Or bypass the storage completely and turn them into a predinner bite as soon as you get home.—Alison Roman

"Cool and bright, this herb-laced corn salad is my new summer staple." —Alfia Muzio, recipe developer

The peppers will go from softened to mushy if they sit too long; you want to serve them with some bite left.

Where a chutney and mustard sauce overlap. Choose a very ripe– even bruised–peach for easy peeling.

When you don't feel like struggling to shuck oysters, just throw them on the grill.

Selling skeptics on the idea of a vegetarian dinner is easy when it's in pie form. Maitake mushrooms add heft.