Smoked Salmon

Be sure to use the whipped cream cheese sold in tubs—it will give this dip a smooth, light texture—and not the regular cream cheese in blocks. If the dip seems a little salty, just serve it with unsalted chips.

A green salad is all you need to make this pasta — its creaminess sharpened with a touch of horseradish — into a complete dinner. When shopping, it's helpful to know that egg noodles are usually sold coiled into small nests.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 30 min

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 30 min

Purchased phyllo pastry is used here instead of a regular pie crust for quick and easy assembly. This tart is best when served at room temperature.

If you can't find yellow pear or yellow cherry tomatoes, use all red cherry tomatoes to make this colorful and refreshing salad.

A quick yet elegant pasta dish.

This looks like sushi, but it's really a new way to present the familiar Passover fish course.

A salad of baby greens and raspberry vinaigrette and some pencil-thin breadsticks go well with the pasta. End the dinner with orange sherbet, Swedish butter cookies and, perhaps, a shot of aquavit.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. We found this pasta just as delicious without the salmon.

Called Goldie Lox at Sarabeth's restaurant in New York, this delicious dish gets its name from the golden color of the eggs, which are combined with the lox. There are pockets of cream cheese throughout this savory mixture, the key to creating them is keeping the cheese cold until it is folded into the eggs. Be sure to have plenty of coffee and an assortment of teas on hand to complete the meal.

Goat cheese and fennel prove to be the perfect partners for smoked salmon. Pour glasses of Champagne or Sauvignon Blanc.

At the restaurant, these are called truffles and are served on mixed greens with a watercress vinaigrette, but they are also excellent presented on their own as hors d'oeuvres.