Steam

Fingerlings have a particularly earthy quality that tastes of the essence of potato. Steaming them, rather than boiling, preserves their delicate shape and prevents them from becoming waterlogged, so that the simple dressing really comes through.

Why you'll make it: Because it's everything that's good at the market right now in one good-for-you salad.

Quinoa is a fast-cooking, protein-packed whole grain. Steamed, it makes a perfect partner for lime-spiked black beans and fresh tomato.

The light custard is quick to make, but it has to be prepared just before it's served.

Charmoula is a North African mixture of herbs, oil, lemon, and cumin.

Many of the minority peoples of Yunnan traditionally boil a chicken to show respect to their dead. Once the ceremony is finished, they shred the meat and mix it with ginger, garlic, and cilantro to make "ghost chicken." The lime in this recipe, unusual for Chinese cooking, suggests the influence of Southeast Asia, which the province borders.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from The Swiss Secret for Optimal Health: Dr. Rau's Diet for Whole Body Healing, by Thomas Rau, M.D., and Susan Wyler. A play on green beans in peanut sauce, this is a tantalizing salad your whole family will love. If you have no digestive problems, enliven to taste with crushed hot red pepper.

This vegetarian showstopper will bowl you over with its layers of flavor — one bite is enough to understand why it's often called one of the world's great dishes. Barley couscous, lighter and more aromatic than the well-known semolina version, serves as a nutty, fluffy base; tender-firm vegetables and a fragrant, golden broth are ladled over; and crunchy fried almonds and sweet onion confit add even more texture and flavor to the beguiling complexity.

Steam the dumplings in batches and eat them when they're at their best — hot out of the steamer.

Chef Ming Tsai created this recipe for Epicurious's Wine.Dine.Donate program. Serve the potstickers with his dim sum dipper and cranberry-teriyaki glaze.

Visually arresting and ready in a snap, these steamed cauliflower wedges are the side dish of your dreams.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Ted Allen's The Food You Want to Eat. For Allen's tips on throwing a Thanksgiving party, click here. Mashed potatoes really serve primarily as a silky, textural vehicle for butter, cream, and salt, in my view. Cauliflower does an excellent job as well — and considering all the other carb sources on your table today, there's no harm in a whipped white dish that contains few of them. Steaming works better than boiling for this purée because boiling leaches flavor out of the cauliflower. You can get a big pot with a steamer insert anywhere for about $20.00. But go ahead and boil if you need to; just use less liquid to thin the purée. (The cauliflower will have absorbed a lot of water in boiling.) There's no law that says you can't purée other quick-cooking vegetables as well; imagine whirled peas, as the Phish fans used to exhort on their Volvo bumpers. The bright green color looks fantastic on a plate.

Serve these dumplings with Café Zuzu's Chicken with Vegetables

Natilla is the Cuban answer to a French pot de crème. Here, an icy coffee granita tops the pudding for a cool contrast. (The puddings need to chill overnight and the granita needs freezing time, so be sure to start a day before serving.)