No-Cook

The recipe and introductory text below are from Amy Sedaris's I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence.

Barbara Edwards, the reader who sent us this recipe, wrote that every time she served this salad, the men in the group would "lick the platter clean." We found the women in our test kitchens were crunching on it as happily as the men. The creaminess and tang of cottage cheese and mayonnaise offset the edge of onion and the crispness of cabbage.

Hard-boiled eggs, sour cream, and onion are traditional accompaniments for caviar. In this longtime staple of community cookbooks, they are turned into a shallow cake and spread with caviar. We used supermarket lumpfish caviar, but if you're feeling flush, use the good stuff, or even Japanese tobiko (flying-fish roe).

Vanilla ice cream is decked out for the holidays with orange liqueur and purchased almond lace cookies. Look for Florentine cookies at bakeries and some supermarkets.

Lime juice and curry powder enliven this simple yogurt dipping sauce. It's so quick and easy that you can make it while the pancakes are cooking. For best results, use full-fat yogurt. In a pinch, low-fat will do, but do not use nonfat.

This sweet-tart liquor-less cocktail is very popular at restaurant Frisson, in San Francisco, which mixologist Duggan McDonnell has helped turn into a drinking destination.

A perfect ending to any Asian meal.

Green Apple and Celery Salad with Walnuts and Mustard Vinaigrette Recipe

The wine and OJ supply antioxidants. (Amounts for a pitcher, about 20 drinks for 8 guests, are in parentheses.)

Each low-cal helping serves up heart-friendly flavonoids (found in the skin).

Instead of relying on fat for flavor, this fresh side dish uses varied tastes and textures to impress guests: crisp, peppery arugula; tart, crunchy pomegranate seeds; and rich, slightly sweet pecans. It's nutritious, too, with pecans contributing monosaturated fat (the good kind) and pomegranates providing a good dose of fiber, vitamin C, and antioxidants.

Although this orange butter takes only 5 minutes to prepare, it makes the Orange Cinnamon Sweet Rolls even more spectacular than they already are.