Feta

I’m just going to say it: this is the best macaroni cheese I’ve ever eaten – better than the macaroni cheese I ate as a child; better than the macaroni cheese I brought my own children up on when they were little (they don’t agree); better than any fancy restaurant macaroni cheese with white truffle or lobster; better than any macaroni cheese I have loved in my life thus far, and there have been many.

This vibrant green side dish is great served at room temperature, so you can make it a couple hours before your guests arrive for a dinner party.

I live in New York, where Greek salads are a reliable diner staple. I love the combination of briny Kalamata olives and salty feta cheese mixed with crisp romaine lettuce and refreshing cucumbers. This somewhat deconstructed, twenty-first century version applies the "warm goat cheese salad" method to a Greek salad, coating fresh feta slices in egg wash and quinoa and then pan-frying. The result is incredibly delicious—and as good as it looks in the picture!

Though good with any fresh vegetable, this sharp, creamy feta dip, smoothed with a little buttermilk, is exceptional with crisp spring radishes. Much as in the combination above, salt and fat mellow any heat from the raw radishes. Cheesemaker Mary Rigdon of Decimal Place Farm has been brining her goat's milk feta to order for us every week since Miller Union opened. If you have a local farmers' market that sells fresh cheeses, look there first for good-quality feta. I love the little pink, purple, or red garden variety radishes for this dip.

Flavor fish fillets with the Middle Eastern spice mix za’atar and then serve over couscous and sautéed greens for a totally satisfying 22-minute meal.

Turn breakfast into dinner by piling crisp-edged eggs, feta, sprouts, and avocado on top of toasted flatbread.

This is a gorgeous, seasonal hors d'oeuvre that would be lovely on a table or as a passed appetizer. The tang of the feta compliments the sweetness of the salad and the bitterness of the endive leaf, and the jewel tones of the beet and persimmon make for a beautiful bite.

Feta, Kalamata olives, oregano, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice give this grilled-squash pizza its unmistakably Greek flavor. I use a panini press to grill the slices of yellow squash and zucchini because I love the look and slightly charred flavor this method produces. You can also cook the squash in the oven or on a grill or stove-top grill pan. Grilling the cut face of a lemon half in the same way gives it a beautiful appearance and tones down its acidity a bit.

You'll have extra butternut squash left over after making the ribbons; cut into cubes, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast for an easy side dish.

"Because it's cheese! And nuts! In ball form! Best of all, it's infinitely riffable, as these recipes demonstrate. Hurrah, freedom! Hurrah, cheese balls!"

Set this up in advance and serve it at room temperature. The cheese will be soft enough to scoop with a cracker-and will taste better, too.

Borani is a Persian dip made with yogurt. The chioggia beets in this recipe give the dip a gorgeous hue.

A super-juicy watermelon is key; it should feel heavy for its size and sound hollow when tapped.

Cooked summer squash can be mushy. Solution: Eat it raw. If you can't find buckwheat groats, use chopped toasted almonds instead.

Mixing sorrel with spinach makes an outstanding spanakopita, but the combination is nothing new. The Greeks have been doing it for a long time and it makes a lot of sense. The distinctive tang of sorrel not only replaces the lemon juice often found in spinach fillings for spanakopita, but it also balances the brininess of the feta.