Quick

I remember often seeing mountains of these little finger sandwiches in my Aunt Elsa’s kitchen. She would make vast numbers and freeze them in advance of big catered events like baby showers or wedding receptions (see below for tips on getting ahead). I love these creamy and crunchy chicken salad sandwiches—with lots of mayonnaise, crunchy celery and nuts, and sweet grapes and relish, they are perfect picnic fare. Judging by how quickly I’ve seen them fly off the serving platter, my friends and family agree! Red onions are a little sweeter than white ones; use what you like.

This is a Christmas favorite at my house, perfect for everything from big holiday parties to a quiet winter night at home. Sometimes I put a batch of it on to simmer just because its delicious fragrance of warm spice and apple fills the house and makes me happy.

Traditionally, Long Island Iced Tea is made with clear liquors and a splash of cola to give it an iced tea color. Instead, my version depends on a fabulous vodka that my friend Virginia from Alabama gave me: sweet-tea-infused vodka from a small distillery called Firefly.

The limes we grew in Texas are almost a hybrid lemon-lime and we used them to make “ades.” It wasn’t until I was much older that I realized other people usually used lemons, not limes. This is the recipe I grew up with, and it works just as perfectly with the limes you can buy at the store as it did with the limes we grew.

I can’t—don’t want to!—imagine Red Velvet Cake (page 201) or Mom’s Carrot Cake (page 204) without this luscious cream cheese frosting. This recipe makes a generous amount because, as far as I’m concerned, you can never have enough. So feel free to pile it between the layers and all over these or any other cakes (and to steal a spoonful or two just to taste along the way!).

When I tell my guests that this is dessert, I often have to convince them that it really is acceptable to put vinegar on fresh berries. More than acceptable, actually, it is exquisite. Sweet-tart balsamic vinegar flavored with fruit is a perfect counterpoint to luscious, sweet strawberries. This is especially beautiful with large strawberries or with a combination of strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries.

This fabulous citrus sauce comes together in minutes. It is an elegant addition that brightens any fish dish, or try it on chicken cutlets.

I tasted this sauce for the first time in Normandy, France. It was served over Dover sole (page 70) and after I’d eaten it I made my way directly to the tiny kitchen. There the chef rattled off the recipe in rapid French while I frantically scribbled whatever I could understand and asked him questions in my pigeon French. I did, at least, grasp that success depends on using very cold Normandy or European butter (page 25)—believe me, I’ve tried it with ordinary supermarket butter and it’s not at all the same. This is as good over delicate flat fish as it is over richer salmon.

My sister Esmeralda uses this on her excellent BBQ Chicken Pizza (page 91), and it’s also good brushed on burgers on the grill. Dried barbecue seasoning can be found in the spice aisle at the grocery store.

These are ingredients I always have on hand, so this grill sauce is easy to pull together in just a few minutes to add luscious flavor to grilled steak or ribs. When I have a little more time, I make it an hour or two in advance and use half to marinate the meat before grilling and the other half to brush on while grilling.

This sweet, herby dressing has great texture and bold flavors, and it’s delicious with hardier greens such as baby spinach and romaine. It’s also excellent as a sandwich condiment and drizzled over grilled chicken.

Chipotles in adobo are smoked jalapeños in seasoned tomato sauce sold in cans available at most grocery stores. When you make this, it looks like it won’t work with such a small amount in the food processor, but once the oil is added it will come together. Most important is that you add the oil very slowly, just a few drops at first. If too much goes in at once, the sauce will separate into a gloppy mess and you’ll have to start all over again. This smoky aïoli is well worth the effort: The heavenly VeraCruz Corn (page 151) depends on it. And drizzle it over the Flautas (page 93) in place of the tomatillo-avocado sauce.

I am lucky to live near the Grey Moss Inn, one of the most beautiful restaurants in San Antonio, which also has the most amazing wine list in the area. I love to eat there whenever I can, and this dressing is one of the reasons. After tasting it the first time, I once again found myself in a restaurant kitchen asking for the recipe. The chef graciously agreed. Try it tossed with tender romaine hearts, or spoon over asparagus (page 145), tomatoes, or steamed green beans.

Few ingredients awaken the taste buds the way fresh lemon does. This dressing has a clean, pure flavor perfectly suited to a light salad of tossed greens. It may also have some magical qualities—it’s the one dressing that gets my nieces to eat salad! It can also be used as a marinade for grilled chicken, shrimp, or pork.

An electric stand mixer makes mashed potatoes dangerously easy to prepare. You may find yourself eating them every night! Just be sure to leave them a little chunky: If you overmix them, they’ll become gluey. I love to eat these as a side with just about anything, especially Chicken Fried Steak with White Gravy (page 106). They’re so good that sometimes I even serve them as an appetizer, spooned into cocktail glasses and topped with a sprinkling of chopped fresh chives.

This vinaigrette is excellent on just about any green salad. I especially like it on butterhead lettuce, oak leaf, and other delicate greens. Sweet-and-tangy balsamic vinegar is the star here, so choose one that is good quality.

Portobello mushrooms are so meaty and flavorful that many of my vegetarian friends prepare and eat them the way I do steak—throwing them on the grill and making a main course of them. For my part, I’ll take the steak and the portobellos, ideally prepared the way they are here: cooked simply so that their natural qualities can shine.

When I was a kid, my mom cooked squash all the time because it grew (abundantly!) in our garden. I admit I had to learn to love it, and this is one of the ways I learned. Slow cooking and a touch of Parmesan bring out the natural sweetness of the squash. It’s also beautiful; the green and yellow colors really pop off the plate.

Broiled asparagus is the vegetable side dish I prepare most often when I’m throwing a big dinner party because it’s sophisticated but quick and easy to make. Actually, I prepare it as often as I can, whether I’m having a dinner party or not, because it is my absolute favorite vegetable. I’d eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I could. The timing here depends on how thick the asparagus are—they can be pencil thin or super thick. Just pierce them with a knife; when it goes in easily, they’re ready to be broiled to get some nice, brown color.

One of my chores when I was a kid was to “top and tail” and remove the strings from the green beans we’d harvested from the garden. The baskets of fresh-picked green beans sometimes seemed endlessly high and I often questioned why I had to go to all that trouble to remove something as harmless as tops and tails. Today I appreciate the simplicity of the task. I love fresh green beans so much that I miss them terribly when they’re out of season. You can cook the beans as long as you like; the longer they cook, the sweeter they get.