Here’s the thing: It’s fun to eat with your fingers. Skewering puts the fun in food, taking ordinary recipes and sticking it to them (pun intended), along with an assortment of dipping sauces -- because dipping a stick in a sauce is half the fun of eating food on a skewer. It’s a lively presentation inviting interaction, and it’s also a great way to encourage your kids to eat their food, or to feed a crowd with do-ahead cocktail party bites.

These Asian-spiced morsels take the humble, comforting meatball (a consistent crowd-pleaser in its own right) and ramps it up with a sweet and spicy blend of ground turkey, ginger, cilantro and garlic. They are fragrant and addictively good, perfect for entertaining or family food. Paired with a sweet-and-sour chili sauce for dipping or drizzling, they are guaranteed to be gobbled up.

Asian Turkey Meatballs With Chili Sauce

Active Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes, plus chilling time

Yield: Makes about 20 (1 1/2-inch) meatballs

Meatballs:

2 pounds lean ground turkey

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

3 scallions, white parts finely chopped, green parts thinly sliced and reserved for garnish

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 red jalapeno chili pepper, seeded, finely chopped

1/2 cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Chili Sauce:

1 cup unseasoned rice wine vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon Sambal Oelek (red chili paste)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves

1 tablespoon chopped mint leaves

2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger

Vegetable oil for pan frying

Combine all of the meatball ingredients together in a large bowl and mix without overmixing. Form into 1 1/2-inch balls (wet your hands from time to time to prevent sticking). Arrange on a plate, loosely cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 6 hours.

Prepare the chili sauce: Combine the vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining ingredients. Cool to room temperature.

Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs in one layer without overcrowding and flatten slightly. Cook until brown on both sides and thoroughly cooked through the center, 6 to 8 minutes, turning as needed. Transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel. Repeat with the remaining meatballs.

Spear the meatballs with small skewers. Garnish with the green scallions. Serve with the Chili Sauce for dipping or drizzling.

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There is a magical window of time when fresh figs are abundant, and now is the time. Soft and fragrant, fresh figs are oh-so-ethereal to eat. Their flavor is delicate yet nuanced. Depending on the variety, they can be sweet and winey, honeyed or grassy.

Black Mission figs are the smallest -- dark and furtively sweet. Brown Turkey figs are larger, striated in brown and yellow, and pleasingly sweet like honey. Calimyrna figs are perhaps the prettiest -- green and golden like wheatgrass, with a nutty vegetal flavor.

When figs are ripe, they are luscious to eat straight up, but if you are lucky to have too many, then layer them into sandwiches and salads, or perch them atop pizzas and bruschetta.

This salad is studded with Brown Turkey figs, and fortified with farro grains, feta cheese and pistachios for the right balance of sweet, salt and heft. If you prefer a leafier salad, then halve the amount of farro.

Fig and Farro Salad With Feta and Mint

Active Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes, plus cooling time

Yield: Serves 4

1/2 cup semi-pearled farro

1 1/2 cups water

Dressing:

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 small garlic clove

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 to 4 ounces baby arugula

1/2 small radicchio head, shredded

6 Brown Turkey figs, stemmed and quartered

2 ounces crumbled feta or fresh goat cheese

1/4 cup mint leaves, torn if large

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped pistachios

Finely grated lemon zest, for garnish

Cook the farro: Combine the farro and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot and simmer until the farro is tender, about 30 minutes. Drain any excess liquid and cool the farro to room temperature.

Make the dressing: Combine the vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, honey, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Add the oil in a steady stream, whisking to emulsify.

Assemble the salad: Combine the arugula and radicchio in a serving bowl. Scatter the farro over the salad and top with the figs, cheese and mint. Drizzle some of the dressing and gently toss to combine. Add more dressing to your taste. Garnish with the pistachios and lemon zest and serve immediately.

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When it comes to baking, I like to keep it simple, preferring presentations that are not too fussy, but fresh and light. This especially applies to cake.

It was my daughter’s birthday recently, and her favorite cake is a Danish lagkage (layer cake), which is the traditional birthday cake served at celebrations. In refreshing Danish fashion, the cake is simple and minimal, with thin layers of vanilla sponge, whipped cream and fresh fruit. In the summer, we pluck raspberries and strawberries for decoration and to layer between the cake. In the winter, we smear preserves (made from berries we picked the previous summer) over each cake layer before adding the cream. Sometimes we combine both the whole fruit and the preserves. It’s flexible and beautiful, no piping, no bling. The only decorations are a pile of fresh berries on top and pretty snipped edible flowers from the garden. It’s perfect.

I have messed around with different vanilla cake recipes over the years, and this is the one I currently favor. This sponge cake recipe is adapted from Cooks Illustrated. Make sure that all of the sponge cake ingredients are at room temperature before you begin.

Danish Layer Cake With Whipped Cream and Berries

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, plus cooling time

Yield: Serves: 8 to 10

Cake:

4 large eggs

1/2 cup whole milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

2 cups cake flour

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

Whipped Cream:

2 cups chilled heavy cream

2 tablespoons sifted confectioners' sugar

1 cup raspberries

Assorted berries (raspberries, sliced strawberries, red or black currants) for garnish

Fresh edible flowers and herb sprigs for garnish

Make the cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two (8- or 9-inch) cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment and butter the parchment.

Whisk the eggs, milk, vanilla and lemon zest in a medium bowl to combine.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Briefly mix on low speed to blend.

Add 1/3 of the butter to the flour mixture and mix on low speed to blend, then increase the speed to medium and mix for about 10 seconds.

Add half of the remaining butter and mix for 10 to 15 seconds to blend. Add the remaining butter and mix for 10 to 15 seconds. The mixture should be wet and granular.

Add half of the egg mixture and mix to just combine without overmixing. Add the remaining egg mixture and mix until smooth without overmixing.

Divide the batter between the pans. Transfer to the oven and bake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then invert the cakes and cool completely. When cool, use a serrated knife to slice the cakes in half horizontally (optional).

Make the cream:

Whip the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer until traces of the whisk are apparent. Add the sugar and beat until firm peaks form. Place 1 cup raspberries in a bowl and mash with a fork. Add half of the whipped cream and gently stir to combine.

Assemble:

Place one cake layer on a cake plate and top with raspberry cream. Repeat with remaining layers. Spread the remaining whipped cream over the top and sides of the cake. (You can leave the sides “naked” if desired.) Top with fresh berries. Garnish with snipped edible flowers and/or herbs. Serve the cake immediately.

Tip: If you would like more fruit flavor, gently heat 8 ounces high-quality raspberry preserves in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until runny. Cool slightly and spread over each cake layer before topping with the whipped cream.

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