Quick

Green olive bruschetta spread can be found near jarred olives and pasta sauces, or in the refrigerated section of the supermarket. It usually contains chopped olives, oil, sun-dried tomatoes, and herbs.

Be sure to buy the salmon with the skin on, which makes it much easier to handle as it grills. Keep in mind this is a special cut that your fish market or supermarket seafood counter may have to order. What to drink: Tom Douglas likes to pair this with a Washington State Chardonnay. Try: Columbia Crest 2002 Grand Estates Chardonnay ($11).

Great with: Grilled lobster, shrimp, or filet mignon.

Great with: Grilled hoisin-glazed ribs, pork chops, or chicken satay.

For a main-course salad, add some grilled shrimp or chicken and diced papaya.

Great with: Grilled rib-eye steak.

Chilled shrimp in piquant remoulade sauce is a Creole classic. Here, it tops pumpernickel toasts spread with a chili-molasses butter. What to drink: Berry Rum Punch.

The skewers grill above the flames, suspended between two bricks to keep them from touching the grates of the barbecue. No bricks handy? Substitute disposable foil mini loaf pans (found on the baking aisle at the supermarket).

Tony Matranga of Los Angeles, California, writes: "When I started cooking, the process was a mystery to me. I would try to re-create other people's dishes but couldn't get them quite right. After working in an Italian bakery and several restaurants, and observing chefs, I began piecing together recipes and finally came up with some great results of my own."

This drink contains a refreshing combination of ingredients — the herbaceous mint, the tart lime, the hot, spicy ginger, and the crisp, bright gin. When used in drinks, gin's botanicals have the ability to cut through the sweetness of liqueurs and sugar. The botanicals stimulate the palate and keep it feeling fresh and clean. Gin also pushes flavors "forward" (much the way a squeeze of lemon does) without altering the flavor profiles. This recipe makes 1 gallon, which yields approximately 25 to 30 drinks, depending on the size of the highball glasses. This sounds like a lot, but it's not. A gallon would go very quickly for a party of 6 people. For home entertaining, you can premix all of the liquids a couple of hours ahead and then store in the refrigerator. When you're ready to serve the drinks, just mete out the liquid into a mixing glass and muddle a sprig of mint into each. It makes enjoying your own party a lot easier, rather than having to worry about continual prep. And please, no shortcuts here: Do not presqueeze the lime juice more than only a few hours ahead. It loses its vitality quickly. And do not infuse the mint into this (or any drink). It takes on a funky, vegetal quality, which mars the taste of the drink. Using commercial ginger beer is not recommended, as it is too sweet. Nonalcoholic note: Without gin, this makes a very refreshing nonalcoholic beverage!

Editor's note: This recipe is adapted from Gabrielle Carbone, coproprietor of The Bent Spoon ice cream parlor in Princeton, New Jersey. These peels add a wonderful, bright flavor to our Lemon Ice Cream, but this technique can also be used to make candied lime or grapefruit peel. The recipe can be doubled or tripled to make a bigger batch. Try dipping the peels in bittersweet chocolate for a delicious treat. Because you'll be eating the peel, it's especially important to use an organic lemon (which won't have been sprayed with pesticides) in this recipe. If you must use a regular lemon, scrub it vigorously to clean the outside as thoroughly as possible.

The first time my Nantucket Island friends Nigel Dyche and Sarah Chase made this for me, I was incredulous at how fabulous it was, yet so simple. The fish tastes of the sea and the smoke from the grill with no extraneous flavors to mask the ocean-fresh steaks. The mayonnaise coats the thick pieces of fish, keeping them moist inside and promoting a golden caramelized color on the outside. Nantucket Islanders use this recipe mostly for swordfish, and it is one of their favorite summer meals, especially when paired with thick slices of ruby-red garden tomatoes.

We prefer Nova salmon for this particular recipe because it's the mildest and least salty. Although Nova has become a general term for smoked salmon, it really describes the delicacy made from fish descended from wild Nova Scotia salmon.

If you don't have peach brandy on hand, use additional white wine instead.

We found a significant difference in the amount of liquid exuded by fresh versus frozen sour cherries when cooked. If your cherries give off a lot of liquid, you may have to reduce your syrup a little longer.