No-Cook

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

You can find the Neufchâtel cheese called for here next to the cream cheese at your supermarket. Don't be alarmed by the holes in your coeur à la crème molds — they allow liquid to drain out of the bottom so the hearts will be firm enough to hold their shape.

Whether you use heirloom, beefsteak, or cherry, this simple dish is all about the tomatoes. Be sure to use the ripest ones you can find for the best results.

We like to serve this fresh salsa with grilled fish, chicken, or pork, or as a dip for tortilla chips.

Nothing can beat greens from the farmers market — they're so beautiful, delicate, and fresh, you simply can't help buying some.

Fire-roasted salsa adds depth of flavor to this fat-free soup; it can usually be found in the supermarket deli case.

Vinaigrette is the French word for oil and vinegar dressing. At the restaurant they have an olive oil tasting every year to decide which kinds to buy, because each year's crop of olives tastes a little different. Olive oils come from Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Mexico, and California. The dark green "extra virgin" oils taste the most like olives. The cooks use extra virgin olive oil for salad dressing, not to cook with. The paler, yellow oils labled "pure olive oil" taste milder, and those get used for cooking.

This tastes like vanilla ice cream and feels like snow.

This simply elegant ice is inspired by the Bellini, a mix of peach nectar and Prosecco made famous at Harry's Bar in Venice. Scoop it into flutes and top with Prosecco for a lovely aperitif. The ice is good on its own, too, especially between courses.

Although the name means "half-frozen," a semifreddo is made by freezing a mousse-like custard in a mold. The result is an airy confection, which may explain the impression that it is only semifreddo.

Affogato is a typically Italian way to enjoy ice cream — it's literally "drowned" in espresso or another liquid topping. (Lemon sorbetto splashed with grappa is a refreshing summer example.)

Serve this sauce over baked, broiled, or sautéed white-fleshed fish.