I also use this dough recipe to make bread, raisin bread and pizza crust.

Popeye would approve of my version of Dr. Seuss’s favorite dish, which includes spinach and green onions. To avoid cancer-causing nitrites, choose uncured ham. It is sold at natural foods markets and many supermarkets. If you do not eat pork, use turkey bacon instead. A one-dish meal, these colorful eggs make a hearty breakfast accompanied by whole-grain toast.
Fast Fact: Spinach is rich in beta-carotene as well as folate.
Quick Tip: For chopped spinach in seconds, grab a handful of raw leaves or cooked spinach and snip it into strips using kitchen shears.

If you’ve been to Michael Chiarello’s restautant, Tre Vigne, in California’s Napa Valley, or have seen his TV show on the Food Network, you may be enjoying his Italian cooking, which features big flavors and pleasing unexpected twists. In this salad, he skips the egg found in the classic Caesar dressing and then pairs this lighter dressing with an unusually full-bodied leafy salad. Anchovy lovers, this one’s for you!
Adapted from At Home with Michael Chiarello, by Michael Chiarello (Chronicle Books, 2005).

Fast Fact: Arugula gets its bite from health-promoting sulfur compounds related to those in watercress.
Quick Tip: This dressing likes to sit so that the garlic and anchovy flavors can bloom, so if possible, make it a day ahead. Remove from the refrigerator 1 hour before using to bring it to room temperature.

Instead of mixed greens, this makes a good first-course salad. It also goes well served with grilled or poached salmon or a butterflied leg of lamb.
Adapted from Salads, 150 Classic and Innovative Recipes for Every Course & Every Meal, by Leonard Schwartz (HarperCollins, 1992)
Fast Fact: Walnut oil contains the same beneficial omega-3 fatty acids as walnuts.
Quick Tip: Leftover dressing tossed with cold boiled potatoes makes a quick potato salad.

Sicilians serve cauliflower sautéed with onions, raisins, and capers as a topping over warm pasta. Eating some cold leftovers of the topping, I discovered that it also makes a good salad. Adding tuna turns it into a satisfying main dish.
Fast Fact: Mark Twain called cauliflower “cabbage with a college education.”
Quick Tip: Adding some lemon juice or vinegar to the water keeps cauliflower white when you cook it.

To make this smoky-flavored eggplant salad the center of a meal, serve it accompanied by oil-cured Moroccan black olives, feta cheese, and warmed pita breads. It also makes a great dip or even a filling for a sandwich. I like making it a day ahead to let the garlic flavor develop and meld with the other seasonings.
Fast Fact: Eggplants with a dimple in the bottom are female and have more seeds than the flat-bottomed male eggplants.
Quick Tip: To make this salad, I prefer using a golden olive oil that has the softer, more fruity flavor of ripe olives.