Blue Cheese

"I return to Seattle's Cassis Bistro for the fine food and service," writes Eleanor O'Keefe of Seattle, Washington. "In addition to the regular menu, there are always some fantastic seasonal specialties. I'd love to make one of their salads—it has dried cherries, bacon, and a blue-cheese vinaigrette."

"Our family vacations in Albany, New York, wouldn’t be the same without one dinner at Nicole’s Italia in nearby Guilderland," says Stephanie Clauson, Wayne, New Jersey. "I’d love to get the recipe for the spinach salad.'

This variation on basic polenta incorporates fresh corn just off the cob.

We use this dressing with our Onion-Crusted Fried Chicken Salad, but it's great, too, as a dip with pieces of fried chicken, vegetables, or best of all, with fried frogs' legs. It's a real thick dressing that gets even thicker when chilled.

Pink grapefruit can be used if you can't find the blood oranges.

To impart smoky flavor to food when using an outdoor gas grill, add a handful of wood chips (soaked in cold water 30 minutes and drained) to a smoker box and place it under the grates and on top of ceramic briquettes in the far right or left corner of the grill.

Gorgonzola cheese adds zip to this salad.

"We lived in New York for several months, long enough to learn to love the creamy polenta at Union Square Cafe," says Ross and Karen Martin of Pasadena, California. "If you can't get their recipe, we might need to fly across the country to have the dish again." This polenta gets its richness from being cooked in a milk-cream mixture instead of the usual water or broth.

When buying green beans, look for the skinniest ones—they have the best texture. Offer plenty of crusty bread, and open a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon to go with this hearty main-course salad.

If Cabrales is difficult to find in your area, it can be ordered on-line from tienda.com. Italian Gorgonzola can also be substituted. Serve the onions and the Roasted Red Peppers with Garlic with plenty of crusty bread. What to drink: Albariño. This fragrant Spanish white varietal is a smooth match with the starters and the red snapper baked in salt.

Drained nonfat yogurt—rather than mayonnaise or sour cream—provides the creamy texture. Start making this dip a day ahead, and try it with apple or pear slices.

The ultimate onion dip? You decide.

Beef and Roquefort have a long-standing culinary partnership, but the thick and sweetly smoky slices of barbecued red onions are what really make these burgers great. Keep the meal all-American with chilled beer, homemade lemonade and iced tea. A fresh peach pie with vanilla ice cream is a perfect dessert.

If you can't find Cabrales cheese, substitute Roquefort or Danish blue cheese.