Balsamic Vinegar

As temperatures drop and autumn's enter- taining moves indoors, get ready to juggle that glass of merlot in one hand while you reach with the other for a bore d'oeuvre. Zzzzzzzzzzz. You know the kind. Cubes of bland cheddar and pallid Swiss, all tossed into a jumbled pile like loose Legos or - even worse - lined up in neat rows, each chunk stabbed with a toothpick that waves a sad little fringe of colored cellophane. "It's your classic, cheap catering tray" is how Mick Kipp, owner of the Whiskey Island Pirate Shop on 36th Street, derides this cheesy old standby.

When my cooking students ask me how I determine whether a restaurant is good or not, I often reply, "It's all in the vegetables." I explain that if a chef pays attention to these side dishes, you can be certain the rest of the menu will also be carefully prepared. The same adage applies to home chefs. Show me the cook who presents beautifully cooked vegetables, and I know the other dishes will be just as tempting. In the fall, a new crop of vegetables appears: squashes in all colors and shapes, huge cabbages, tightly coiled Brussels sprouts, and fresh rutabagas and sweet potatoes.

NOW THAT THERE are ripe peaches in the kitchen, mornings should smell sweeter. The other morning I was sitting at the kitchen table, savoring the flavors and aromas of a bowl of peaches and cream. Then I sniffed something foul but familiar. I smelled smoke. The air streaming through the kitchen door carried the same off odor that had filled the neighborhood a week or so earlier, when the smoke from a burning CSX freight train rolled out of the Howard Street tunnel. "Not another train fire," I thought.

Recipe of the Week: Kabobs 52 Easy Recipes for Year-Round Grilling Lobel's Prime Time Grilling Recipes & Tips From America's #1 Butchers By Stanley, Leon, Evan, Mark and David Lobel Wiley / 2007 / $27.95 I've never been to the Lobels' famous Madison Avenue butcher shop, frequented by Manhattan's finest socialites and celebrities. But man, oh man, do I want to go now. The second edition of their cookbook includes 160 recipes, ranging from brisket, ribs, duck and pheasant to the perfect-sounding burgers.

My earliest memory of sampling cranberries is at our family's Christmas dinners when, each year, my mother would serve canned cranberry jelly along with roast turkey and corn bread dressing. I loved the tangy taste of this fruit, and for me the berries became quintessential holiday food. Like countless others, I rely on these tart, crimson-hued morsels to add verve to menus during this season. Unlike my mom, however, who preferred canned berries, I use fresh ones.In fact, almost every year I devise some new recipe for this fruit whether it's a relish, sauce, chutney or salsa.

The mere mention of the phrase fast food is enough to send most serious chefs running for their slow cookers. But for celebrity chef Jacques Pepin, fast food is nothing to sneer at - if, that is, it's done Pepin-style. With the publication of Fast Food My Way (Houghton Mifflin, 2004, $32) - a companion to Pepin's new television series of the same title - the prolific French cook shares the best of his easy, quick recipes. Fast food, as Pepin defines it in the introduction to this lively, brightly illustrated cookbook, is not processed.

The well-dressed salad these days is not just a bowl of super-fresh ingredients. Good salad dressings are a must to enhance the delicate flavors of lettuce, vegetables and fruit.Yet trying to keep salads low in fat with homemade dressings is tricky -- a classic vinaigrette contains 10 grams of fat per tablespoon. Is there a secret to keeping flavor in and fat out?I've found a number of successful substitutions for oil in homemade dressings. The key is to retain the proper balance of flavors.

Due to an electronic transmission error, the recipe for roasted tomato salad from "Delia Smith's Summer Collection," printed in this section on June 26, was incorrect. The correct version follows.Roasted tomato saladMakes 4 to 6 servings as a first course12 large tomatoessalt and pepper2 large or 4 small cloves garlic, finely chopped2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil12 large fresh basil leavesDRESSING:2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar12 large fresh basil leaves24 black olivesHeat the oven to 400 degrees.

It's so pretty that its appearance alone seems reason enough to buy it.But summer squash, now in its peak season, offers other attractions as well: It's fun to cook with and good to eat.The assortment is surprising if you've never taken close notice. Just about everybody knows zucchini, that prodigious over-producer of countless gardens, but there are many other kinds: yellow crookneck, chayote, green or yellow pattypan and more.What's the difference between summer and winter squash? Winter squash, such as acorn or butternut, has a thick, hard skin and will keep a long time after it's picked if properly stored.

Picnics don't have to be limited to hamburgers and hot dogs. A world of flavors can be found in the three portable dishes below.Roasted vegetable and linguine saladMakes 4 servings3/4 pound linguine1 teaspoon plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, preferably extra-virgin1 1/2 pounds asparagus, trimmed and peeled3 bunches scallions, trimmed2 large red bell peppers, seeded1 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon fresh black pepper1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese1/4 cup balsamic...