Leek

This easy dish features thinly sliced, roasted leeks and fennel with grated Parmesan and poppy seeds baked inside a store-bought puff pastry crust. Serve the tart for with a green salad on the side.

Nice for lunch or dinner with some salad, or as a snack at teatime.

Servings: Makes 10 servings.

The lamb in this recipe is blanched to make a light-colored stew. Active time: 1 1/4 hr Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr

Round out the menu with sliced radicchio, fennel and roasted bell pepper salad; crisp flatbread; and apricot sorbet with cookies.

You can use frozen baby lima beans (with the same delicious result) instead of the fresh favas, which are harder to find.

Also delicious served atop steak.

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 1 hr

There will be enough of this delicious make-ahead soup for seconds or leftovers.

Zucchini gives a summery twist to the classic leek-and-potato soup; this new take on an old favorite is served at Quisiana.

This filling is definitely not peas and hard carrots and tough chunks of chicken. Instead, there are sun-dried tomatoes and shiitake mushrooms with flavorful pieces of thyme-seasoned chicken. And best of all, the individual pies can be assembled a day ahead, leaving only the baking to be done before sharing them with the family.