Olive

When choosing a steak, look for meat with good marbling (fat that runs throughout). This keeps the meat from shrinking and drying as it cooks.

Whether spread on sandwiches or served alongside roasts, this classic Provençal condiment of pummeled olives is always handy and delicious. However, it's during cocktail hour, when served simply with croutons, that people seem to love it best. A food processor replaces the traditional mortar and pestle for faster results. Refrigerate for up to a week.

Mary deMuth of Rowlett, Texas, writes: "Because my husband is in a graduate program, we've been able to meet people from all over the world. It has been a great experience for our three children — and a chance for me to add to my recipe collection. We frequently have other students over for dinner, so I'm always learning new dishes. Next year our family will be moving to southern France, and we're very excited about the food we'll have there. We hope to make many new friends who will share their Provençal specialties." This side dish is a perfect contribution to any potluck picnic. Toss in a can of drained tuna for a more substantial salad.

Preparing the zucchini for this dish won't heat up your kitchen — simply salting thin slices is enough to tenderize them. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 30 min

Serve with: Roast leg of lamb. Combine with: Crusty bread spread with goat cheese. Use as: A seasoning for roast chicken (spread tapenade under the skin before cooking).

Broccoli is called sparaceddi in Sicilian. In this side dish, it is "drowned" in a heady mixture of olive oil, onions, anchovies, olives, red wine and cheese. While there are variations of the basic preparation throughout Italy, food historians generally think it to be of Sicilian origin.

This tangy, fresh yogurt "cheese" -known as labaneh- vies for attention with hummus and tahini on the standard Israeli platter of mezze, or appetizers. Here it's seasoned with sesame seeds and spices, and drizzled with olive oil. Plan to start this the day before serving.

Although bay leaves in this recipe smell delicious and look enticing, they should not be eaten because of their sharp edges.

The following recipe was inspired by pissaladière, the Niçoise tart that features a similar topping.

Chef Lionel Lévy uses black olives in this unusual clafoutis but still serves it as a dessert, along with a mâche salad drizzled with lemon-honey vinaigrette. We like that combination in place of an after-dinner cheese course, but we also think it makes an excellent (and surprising) first course.