Red Onion

This impressive main course is ideal for a healthful dinner party. Serve it with crusty country style bread to soak up the flavorful juices.

A charming alchemy takes place when you "quick-pickle" red onions. They act very sweetly with a wide range of birds, meat, and fish, and I also use them in Papas a la Huancaina and Conch Salad.

Cornmeal gives these blini a slightly crunchy texture that is perfect with the salsa.

Also good made with melon or oranges.

Liven up chicken pibil with these pretty-in-pink, spicy-as heck pickled onions.

(Epaule d'Agneau Braisée au Thym, Sauté de Carottes et Fenouil) Have a butcher cut the lamb shoulder-blade chops about two inches thick for this dish.

One of the layers in this delicious salad is lightly pickled sweet-and-sour cucumbers, a favorite throughout Denmark. They do need to marinate overnight, so make sure you start this recipe a day ahead of time.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Serve with: Grilled herbed potato slices and a salad of mixed baby greens and chopped beefsteak tomatoes, dressed with a red-wine vinaigrette. Dessert: Purchased plum tart with whipped crème fraîche.

The agrodolce (tart-and-sweet) flavors of vinegar and raisins used in marinating the fish are typical of Jewish-Italian cooking.

Here's a perfect partner for turkey or veal burgers, sausages and toasted French bread.