Salad recipes

Creamy German cucumber salad (Gurkensalat) tossed in a tangy sour cream dressing with mustard and fresh dill. Salting the cucumbers first keeps every slice crisp and the dressing thick, never watery.

Ensalada de Nochebuena, a traditional Mexican Christmas Eve salad with oranges, bananas, beets, jicama, pineapple, peanuts, pomegranate seeds, and sugar cane on a lettuce-lined platter.

Halloween hairball salad: walnut-sized balls of mashed avocado and alfalfa sprouts rolled up and perched on grated carrots, finished with Italian dressing. Kid-friendly ghoulish fun.

German potato salad tosses tender sliced potatoes and onion in a tangy-sweet apple cider vinegar dressing with just a touch of mayo. A lighter, Oktoberfest-style side that's even better after it rests.

Fungus among us salad tosses crisp iceberg, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, and red onion with chilled creamed spinach as a green, gloopy 'fungus' dressing. A Halloween party gross-out salad kids love.

Grilled eggplant salad topped with a quick-pickled cucumber and red onion relish in cider vinegar dressing. A smoky, refreshing summer vegetable side.

Lemon cloud dessert with a light baked soufflé top and chilled strawberry-mint compote. An elegant Easter or spring dinner-party dessert with bright citrus and fresh fruit.

Cranberry party mold sets raspberry gelatin with yogurt, fresh cranberries, crushed pineapple, apple, celery, and walnuts for a tangy-sweet holiday salad. A retro Thanksgiving and Christmas table classic.

Fish fillets are cooked on a bed of mushroom-bread stuffing in this dish. Just add a salad or vegetable, and dinner is served.