On the Menu Mixed Greens With Pickled Beets and Eggs Seared Salmon Fillets With Orange-Dijon Pan Sauce Very Simplest Mashed Potatoes Steam-Sautéed Asparagus Strawberry-Almond Tarts Online Extra recipes The Big and Bigger Frittata Linguine con le Vongole Sauces for Salmon Fillets Tomato Tarragon Sauce for Seared Salmon Fillets Twelve steps to cooking every day Also this week: How to cook without a recipe Cooking like Mom

By Pam Anderson

2 books by Pam Anderson: "The Perfect Recipe" and "How to Cook Without a Book" (To view a book at amazon.com, click its image above
Timeline: That morning Assemble salad (but don't dress it); refrigerate. Assemble and bake tarts; leave at room temperature on baking sheet. 12:30 Start potatoes. Prepare (but do not cook) asparagus; place in large pot. 12:40 Heat skillet for salmon, season salmon, assemble sauce ingredients. 12:45 Cook salmon, then pan sauce. Keep in warm oven. 12:55 Finish potatoes. Keep warm, covered, on back on stove. 1:00 Dress salad and, as you sit down to eat it, start cooking the asparagus.

It's anything but a day of rest. The car desperately needs an oil change, the house is a wreck, every clothes hamper is full, and the workweek looms. To top it off, you've volunteered to host Easter this year, and a deli tray or takeout pizza just won't cut it.

Part of the stress of cooking is assembling a menu and trying to follow recipes. By understanding that recipes exemplify formulas and techniques that could be easily memorized, you can learn to cook without a book.

Follow this menu, if you like. Or use its principles, which I explain, to tailor a meal that works for you. Kids don't like beets in their salad? Substitute bacon or tomatoes.

If the salmon doesn't look good at the fish counter, then consider tuna. Or head to the meat counter and pick up a couple of steaks. The cooking technique is all the same.

Produce department out of asparagus? Substitute carrots or sugar snap peas; steam-sautéing works for them all. Want a different fruit in the tarts? Use pears or apples.

By learning to cook this way, you're in control. Plus, you'll save money over restaurants: The ingredients for this three-course meal for six cost less than $45.

Mixed Greens With Pickled Beets and Eggs

Behind the recipe: This exemplifies my rule-of-thumb salad formula. To make salad without a recipe, figure about 1 1/2 cups of greens per person (here, 6 people times 1 1/2 cups equals 9 cups of greens). Add extra ingredients according to the season, the occasion and what you've got around. With flavorful ingredients such as the eggs, scallions and beets shown here (or walnuts, apples and Stilton cheese, for example, or pine nuts, red onions and dried cranberries), you need nothing more than a drizzling of olive oil and vinegar directly over the greens. To save time, buy a selection of prewashed greens.

9 cups prewashed mixed salad greens, such as spinach, watercress, arugula or mesclun
1 can (16 ounces) sliced pickled beets, drained, rinsed and cut into strips
3 scallions, thinly sliced
3 hard-cooked eggs, diced
6 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 Tbs. balsamic or red wine vinegar

Place salad ingredients in a large bowl. Eyeballing, if possible, drizzle 6 Tbs. olive oil over the salad ingredients, then sprinkle generously with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Taste salad to be sure everything is lightly coated with oil and well- seasoned. Eyeballing, if possible, sprinkle salad with about 2 Tbs. vinegar; toss again, then taste. Adjust seasonings. Serve immediately.

Serves: 6.
Per serving: 223 calories, 5g protein, 15g carbohydrates, 2g fiber, 17g fat (2g saturated), 278mg sodium.

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Seared Salmon Fillets With Orange-Dijon Pan Sauce

Behind the recipe: This searing technique works for all single-serving-size cuts of fish or meat. Try salmon, swordfish, tuna, pork tenderloins cut into medallions, filet mignon or rib-eye steak. As long as the cut is about 1 inch thick and the pan is very hot, the food should be done in 6 to 7 minutes. Keep skillet size in mind: If the pan is overcrowded, the meat won't sear well, and if there's not enough meat in the pan, the exposed surface area will smoke excessively.

A fast pan sauce finishes the dish in style. Start with 2/3 cup of liquid, perhaps add a flavoring (mustard or herbs), and always finish with a tablespoon of butter. Three sauce variations are shown below; in the ingredient list, we've used an orange-Dijon combination. If you hold the orange juice and substitute 1/3 cup each of chicken broth and balsamic vinegar, you'll have Balsamic Pan Sauce. Or, for Tomato Pan Sauce, use 1/3 cup each of broth and white wine, with a diced tomato and a pinch of tarragon. These sauces are quick: Dump all the ingredients except the butter in an empty skillet, and in a couple of minutes, you'll have the kind of sauce you expect to find in an upscale restaurant.

6 center-cut salmon fillets (about 6 ounces each)
2 Tbs. canola oil
1/2 tsp. each: salt and ground black pepper
2/3 cup orange juice
1 1/2 tsps. Dijon mustard
Pinch of dried thyme
1 Tb. butter

Set a heavy-bottomed (a thick pan is important!) 12-inch skillet over low heat for 5-10 minutes while making the rest of the meal.

Three minutes before searing, turn on exhaust fan and increase heat to a strong medium-high.

Put salmon fillets on a plate and drizzle with oil; turn to coat. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.

Add salmon fillets, flesh side down, to the hot pan. Cook over high heat until they develop an even, rich brown crust, about 4 minutes. Turn and continue to cook until skin side develops an even, rich brown crust, about 3 minutes. Remove from pan and let sit a few minutes while making sauce.

Combine the juice, mustard and thyme in a mixing cup. Add to the empty skillet; boil until reduced to about 1/3 cup.

Tilting skillet so that reduced liquid is at one side of the pan, whisk in butter until sauce is smooth and glossy. Spoon a portion of sauce over each portion of fish and serve. You may keep this dish warm, covered with aluminum foil or in a 200-degree oven, while eating salad.

Serves: 6.
Per serving: 382 calories, 34g protein, 3g carbohydrates, 0g fiber, 24g fat (5g saturated), 343mg sodium.

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Very Simplest Mashed Potatoes

Behind the recipe: Once you've made these potatoes, you'll never need a recipe again. To save time, I've used baby "new" potatoes. Larger ones can be used, but remember to increase cooking time, or cut in chunks.

2 pounds red new potatoes
6 Tbs. butter, at room temperature
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 Tbs. coarsely chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Place potatoes in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to boil, cover, then simmer until a wooden or metal skewer inserted into a potato can be removed with no resistance, 15-20 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup of the potato cooking liquid; set aside. Drain potatoes, then, leaving them in the pan, slash with a knife to break them up a bit. Add butter, about 1/4 cup of the reserved potato water and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. Roughly crush potatoes with a masher or fork. Adjust seasonings, add more liquid if needed and stir in parsley. Keep warm, covered on back of stove, or serve immediately.

Serves: 6.
Per serving: 213 calories, 25g carbohydrates, 11g fat (7g saturated), 3g protein, 7g fiber, 127mg sodium.

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Steam-Sautéed Asparagus

Behind the recipe: This technique is good for lots of other vegetables: sugar snap peas, carrots, broccoli, green beans, cauliflower, cabbage, winter squash, Brussels sprouts and more! If you want to cook just

1 pound of vegetables, simply reduce the water, butter and salt slightly. And if you want to add other flavorings -- lemon or orange zest, dried herbs, onion or garlic -- just add them to the pot along with the other ingredients. Don't start cooking the asparagus until you're about to sit down for the salad.
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 Tbs. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 pounds asparagus, ends snapped off and discarded
Ground black pepper

Bring water, butter, salt and asparagus to boil in a Dutch oven or a large deep skillet. Cover and steam over medium-high heat until asparagus are brightly colored and just tender, about 5 minutes.

Remove lid and continue to cook until liquid evaporates, 1-2 minutes longer. Adjust seasonings, including pepper to taste.

Serves: 6.
Per serving: 45 calories, 3g protein, 3g carbohydrates, 1g fiber, 3g fat (2g saturated), 224mg sodium.

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Strawberry-Almond Tarts

Behind the recipe: With the dough already mixed and rolled, fruit tarts are a cinch to make with frozen puff pastry. Stick pastry in the fridge to thaw; if you forget, then open the package and separate the sheets -- they'll thaw in no time. Many fruits can be substituted for the strawberries: Try raspberries, apples, apricots, peaches or pears.

1 package (17 1/4 ounces) frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
1 egg, beaten
4-ounce tube of almond paste
3 Tbs. sugar 1 1/2 pints strawberries, washed, hulled, patted dry, sliced

Adjust oven racks to lower-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Working one sheet at a time on a lightly floured work surface, cut each sheet into four squares, reserving two of the squares for another use, or make two extra tarts.

Working with one square of dough at a time, fold each side of dough in 1/2 inch, then unfold to form a crease. With a pastry brush, brush the four corners of dough with the beaten egg, then pinch each corner to form a 4-cornered lipped square. Place tart shells on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Grate almond paste on the coarse side of a box grater, separating it as it's grated to prevent clumping. Sprinkle over the bottom of the tart shells along with some of the sugar. Arrange strawberries over the almond paste in slightly overlapping rows. Sprinkle strawberries with a little more sugar.

Bake until golden brown, 15-20 minutes. Cool briefly; serve. (The tarts can be baked ahead and rewarmed at 200 degrees, or baked during the meal.) Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Serves: 6.
Per serving: 483 calories, 8g protein, 47g carbohydrates, 2g fiber, 20g fat (4g saturated), 165mg sodium.

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Linguine con le Vongole (with clams)
(from Mario Batali Holiday Food, Clarkson Potter 2000)

Serves 4 to 8

To view this book at amazon.com, click its image above

3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 pound New Zealand cockles or 24 Manila clams, scrubbed and rinsed
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup canned plum tomatoes, roughly chopped with their juices
1 Tb. hot red pepper flakes
1 pound linguine
1/2 cup finely chopped Italian parsley

Bring 8 quarts of water to boil in a large pasta pot and add 3 tablespoons salt.

In a 14 to 16 inch skillet, heat the oil and garlic over medium heat until the garlic is golden brown. Add the clams, wine, tomatoes, and pepper flakes, cover and cook 7 to 8 minutes, until all the clams have just opened.

Meanwhile, drop the pasta into the salted water and cook accordingly to the package directions to 1 minute shirt of al dente. It should be quite firm. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta in a colander and pour colander and pour immediately into the skillet with the clams.

Cook over high heat for 45 seconds. Stir in the parsley, add some of the reserved pasta water if the pasta seems too dry, and serve in a large bowl.

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Sauces for Salmon Fillets

By Pam Anderson

Balsamic Pan Sauce for Seared Salmon Fillets
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup low-sodium canned chicken broth
1 Tb. butter

Measure vinegar and broth in a 1-cup Pyrex measuring cup. Proceed with directions for making sauce in the Seared Salmon Fillets.

Per serving of Salmon with Balsamic Pan Sauce: 372 calories, 34g protein, 0g carbohydrates, 0g fiber, 25g fat (5g saturated), 319mg sodium.

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ONLINE EXTRA

Tomato Tarragon Sauce for Seared Salmon Fillets

1/3 cup low-sodium canned chicken broth
1/3 cup dry vermouth or white wine
4 small canned tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp. dried tarragon
1 Tb. butter

Measure broth, vermouth, tomatoes and tarragon in a 1-cup Pyrex measuring cup. Proceed with directions for making sauce in the Seared Salmon Fillets.

Per serving of Salmon with Tomato Tarragon Sauce: 377 calories, 34g protein, 1g carbohydrates, 0g fiber, 25g fat (5g saturated), 352mg sodium.

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Pam's 12-step program for cooking every day

Be committed. Cooking every day is a habit. To develop it, you must resolve to stick with it.

Keep staples handy. Face an empty pantry and you're likely to order in or dine out. Stock up on basics with a long shelf life: canned tomatoes, olive oil, vinegar, pasta, rice, broth, garlic, onions, eggs, cheeses, Romaine hearts. Have small cuts of frozen meat and poultry that thaw quickly.

Shop infrequently. Racing to the grocery every day is overwhelming. I shop once a month at a food club and once a week at my local grocery.

Don't follow recipes. Learn the rules behind a recipe so you can cook with the ingredients you have. See rules for an elegant spring dinner.

Leave a pan on the stove. On especially bone-weary nights, it helps me to see an all-purpose pot or skillet sitting on a burner.

Turn it on. As soon as you walk in the kitchen, put water on to boil for pasta, or turn a skillet on low.

Start cooking before everything is ready. When I make a supper soup, I heat a pot while I chop an onion, and I prepare other vegetables and meat while sautéeing the onion. No wasted time.

Limit the menu. Traditional meat-starch-vegetable meals take more time than one-dish dinners (such as pasta with vegetables, a frittata filled with vegetables and cheese, or a stir-fry).

Use few pots. I cook vegetables in the same water as pasta. I cook a frittata's filling in the same pan as the frittata. I use the same tongs to toss salad, stir pasta and serve it all.

Get help. I delegate tasks that sidetrack: setting the table, pouring drinks, making salad, serving, clearing the table, cleaning up.

Clean up as you go. The dirtier the kitchen, the tougher it is to cook.

Eat the salad while the rest of dinner finishes cooking. You can eat sooner. Plus, kids are more likely to eat salad if it's served first.

-- Pam Anderson

Photo Credit: BRIAN LEATART for USA WEEKEND