Watercress

To impart smoky flavor to food when using an outdoor gas grill, add a handful of wood chips (soaked in cold water 30 minutes and drained) to a smoker box and place it under the grates and on top of ceramic briquettes in the far right or left corner of the grill.

Salade de Cresson et Endive Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 10 min

Seared beef tenderloin with Mustard-Horseradish sauce. Guests place the beef atop baguette slices to make miniature open-face sandwiches.

Sheenga Chat Here is a wonderful recipe of the chettinad (the business community) of Madras whose food often reflects a fusion of northern and southern flavors. In this shrimp preparation, for example, both Curry Powder and Garam Masala are used to achieve intriguingly complex results.

This updated classic adds dashes of red — and depth of flavor — to the usual apple, celery, and walnut mix. Make the salad ahead and refrigerate, then add the watercress and pecans right before serving.

Here, sea scallops take an Asian turn when they are flavored with toasted coriander seeds, grilled, and teamed with a hoisin-orange sauce and vegetable salad.

Alice Waters, who opened Chez Panisse in 1971, took salads to new heights with unusual, farm-fresh greens; she also popularized the use of goat cheese, which was being made by Laura Chenel not far from the Berkeley restaurant. Those ingredients come together in this delicious salad.

The original recipe for oysters Rockefeller, created at the New Orleans restaurant Antoine's in 1899, remains a secret to this day. The appetizer, oysters topped with a mixture of finely chopped greens and copious amounts of butter and then baked in their shells, was considered so rich that it had to be named after the richest man of the day, John D. Rockefeller. A few years later, no self-respecting restaurateur would be without his own version on the menu. This lighter take features spinach, watercress, green onions and grated Parmesan.

The jalapeño-flavored butter is also good with chicken or fish, or even corn on the cob.

Truffle oil lends an earthy flavor; it can be found at specialty foods stores and some supermarkets. If you can't find the oil, these sandwiches will still be delicious without it.

Italians like to have salad after the entrée, so do the same, if you like.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Red pears are first choice here, but any ripe, firm pears would be delicious. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.