Cucumber

After he went on the Blue Voyage, Boston chef Chris Schlesinger came up with the idea for this recipe, which brings together many of the characteristic flavors of Turkey's Mediterranean coast. Halibut works best, but you can use any mild, firm-fleshed white fish.

Nori, or sushi paper, can be found in Asian markets and health food stores.

Editor's note: This recipe was created by Erika Lenkert, author of the book, The Last-Minute Party Girl: Fashionable, Fearless, and Foolishly Simple Entertaining. For Lenkert's tips on throwing a last-minute New Year's Eve party, click here. I adore this cocktail recipe because it's refreshing, pretty, and has subtly mint and cucumber flavors that will keep everyone guessing at exactly what's in it. You can dress it up for an evening fete by straining it and serving it up with edible gold or silver flecks as it is done here, or dress it down by throwing everything — mint, cucumber slices, and all — into a serving pitcher. Best of all, you can skip squeezing limes all day by using limeade concentrate. Shhhh. It'll be our secret.

Full of fiber-rich garbanzo beans, an Indian staple, this healthy dish from Maneet Chauhan is an ideal side or starter. Add grilled shrimp or chicken to make it a meal. You can use the marinade recipe from our tandoori tilapia with hearts of palm salad .

Maneet Chauhan, chef at Vermilion in Chicago, uses nonfat yogurt to reduce calories but not taste.

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.

This creation from Salvatore Marino, chef at Il Grano in Los Angeles, is the perfect finger food: tasty and healthy.

From the menu at Vongerichten's TriBeCa restaurant, 66.

Hedy's favorite cucumber salad and one she prepares often, it's particularly good with poached salmon, trout, pike, cod, almost any fish. Hedy says that cucumber salad is often paired with sausages and potato salad. "That's quite traditional."

Imrov: Use fresh lemon juice instead of yuzu juice; try English hothouse cucumbers in place of the Japanese variety.

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

Lightly blanched squid makes a simple and elegant salad with the tang of fish sauce and fresh lime juice.

Mild fillets get zing from a coating of wasabi mayonnaise.

For easy serving, ladle the soup into pretty bowls, and set them on the buffet table.

For a more substantial meal, the salad can be served on pumpernickel bread or toasted French bread as an open-face sandwich and topped with slices of hard-boiled egg. Garnish with lemon wedges and dill sprigs.

All of the ingredients that make gazpacho so yummy — tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, and bell peppers — turn up in this main-course salad.

These refreshing cocktails are perfect for summer entertaining.

This noodle salad, studded with slices of sweet mango and crisp cucumber, is a cooling oasis in the midst of a meal packed with rich, spicy dishes. The glazed roast pork gives the salad added dimension, but could also be served on its own.