Watercress

Smoked sable is as moist as smoked salmon, but with a voluptuous silkiness all its own. To balance its sea-saltiness, top it with earthy roasted beets and fresh watercress. This festive salad makes a wonderfully light start to a lavish Thanksgiving feast.

In French bistros, confit duck legs are traditionally served with a very simple, sharply dressed frisée salad. This version of the light meal gilds the lily by switching out frisée for peppery watercress and adding juicy navel oranges and nuggets of toasted walnuts.

After a rich main course, you'll love the clean flavors of this minimally dressed salad. Watercress and fris´e are tamed by slivers of celery root and green apple, which also makes for a seamless segue into the next course—Camembert with apple butter from a local market.

This really simple, really beautiful stir-fry of earthy, bright green watercress is a "tumble of yum," in the words of food editor Maggie Ruggiero, who tested Reusing’s recipes.

The beer and cheese combo gets saucy, turning toast and fried eggs into a truly luxurious meal all about extras: extra-stout beer, extra-sharp Cheddar, and extra good.

Spain's famous piquillo peppers add a sweet-spicy edge to the aioli. Idiazábal, a smoky sheep's-milk cheese from the Basque region, is great with the portobellos. If you can't find Idiazábal, substitute smoked Gouda.

This refreshing soup makes a great first course for a summer dinner party.

Ruggiero couldn't figure out what made the salad dressing at New York's Natori so irresistible and was shocked when she finally got the secret ingredient out of the sushi chef: grated apple. Nor would you ever guess it from a bite of this dressing, since it's not at all sweet or fruity, just perfectly balanced and lip-smackingly delicious. Its slight pulp extends the unctuous richness of avocado and complements the clean assertiveness of watercress.

Here, quickly sautéed greens get some spice and a kick of heat (thanks to red-pepper flakes)—and they become an ideal partner for the Buffalo salmon<\a>.

It's not Easter dinner without the eggs. In this recipe, they are boiled just until the yolks are set, then sliced and topped with a fresh herb sauce.

Simple to prepare but impressive when served, this is spring elegance at its best. The salad is shown with purple watercress, a beautiful, rare variety you might find at farmers' markets. Green watercress works great, too.

This new way with latkes is a delicious main course for brunch, too.

For a pretty garnish, sprinkle this light and refreshing salad with hulled, toasted pumpkin seeds.

This satisfying fall salad uses familiar ingredients in unexpected ways.

Sukiyaki The term comfort food might have been coined for this bowl of rich, home-style broth surrounding thinly cut beef and a selection of Asian vegetables. The traditional accompaniment of beaten egg makes a silky dipping sauce.