This twist on a classic salade Niçoise uses smoked salmon in place of tuna and adds extra vegetables in place of hard-boiled eggs and olives. Lovely served as an untraditional brunch, special weekend lunch or light supper.
This light and satisfying soup highlights the earthy flavor of the greens.
1 cup long-grain white rice or basmati rice
6 tablespoons butter
1 onion, finely chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 1/4 pounds spinach leaves, stemmed and coarsely chopped
Slices of soft goat cheese coated with fresh herbs make a wonderful nibble to keep in your repertoire when unexpected guests call to say they're in town. Serve them as an hors d'oeuvre with wine, or set a round of the cheese beside a salad of lightly dressed greens as an appetizer. Begin with a log of plain, soft goat cheese and cut it into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Finely chop lots of fragrant herbs such as parsley, dill, coriander, lemon thyme, and mint. Spread them on a plate and add a touch of color and spice with crushed red peppercorns.
Special equipment: 2 (12-inch) wooden skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes
For the squash
1 (4-pound) spaghetti squash
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon brown sugar
For the glaze
1 cup chicken broth
No need to call your local pizza joint. Thanks to prepared dough and bottled roasted red peppers, making your own calzones can be easy and far more satisfying.
Buck's tuna salad is made with dolphin-safe dry-pack albacore tuna, which goes into an electric mixer with mayo, onion, and celery. Because it's in a mixer instead of a food processor, you get flakes of fish and it never turns to mush. There's just enough mayo to hold it together, and the celery and red onion seem insignificant - until you taste. It has the right amount of crunch and onion bite. Like Buck's tuna salad at Whole Foods, this is made in a mixer. Make two cans at once, so the beaters can whir the salad properly. The tuna should not be pureed or pasty, but a little flaky.