Prepare the bell pepper sauce, adding the tomato and the serrano chile to the blender when puréeing the sauce.

Strain the sauce as directed in the recipe.

Adjust salt.

Cover and refrigerate the sauce until cold.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and cook the scallops, turning once, just until firm, (but do not brown), about 1 minute.

Transfer to a plate to cool.

Add salt and drizzle with half of the lime juice, turning to coat.

Drizzle the remaining lime juice on the avocado slices.

To serve, pour about ⅓ cup of the red pep- per sauce in the center of each of 4 salad plates.

Tilt the plates to pool the sauce.

Arrange the avocado slices equally on the sauce, in a fan shape, among the plates.

Arrange the scallops equally on top.

Garnish each plate with a sprig of cilantro.

Wipe the chiles with a damp paper towel to remove dust.

In a hot dry skillet warm the chiles briefly until they soften and are pliable.

Slit the chiles down 1 side, seed, and devein, leaving the stems intact.

Reserve.

In a medium saucepan, bring to a boil the vinegar, water, brown sugar, bay leaf, allspice berries, and oregano.

Remove the pan from the heat.

Add the reserved chiles, fresh mint, and olive oil.

Cover and marinate at room temperature, turning gently once or twice, 6 to 8 hours.

About 1 hour before serving, mix the tuna, mayonnaise, and lime juice in a medium bowl.

Drain the chiles and discard the marinade.

Stuff the chiles equally with the tuna.

The marinated chiles are fragile, so handle very gently to prevent tearing them.

Place 1 stuffed chile on each of 4 serving plates.

Garnish with lettuce leaves.

Sprinkle with crumbled cheese and chopped cilantro.

Cut the core out of the tomatoes.

Stand 1 tomato, cored side up, on a flat surface.

With a sharp knife, cut from the top straight down to within 1 inch of the bottom into evenly spaced 4 segments or into 8, if desired.

Gently spread open like petals.

Repeat until all are cut.

Set aside.

In a bowl, mix the tuna, mayonnaise, capers, and chiles.

In another bowl, toss the spinach, oil, vinegar, and salt together.

To assemble the salads, divide the spinach evenly among 4 serving plates.

Place 1 tomato in the center of each plate on the bed of spinach.

Spoon the tuna mixture equally inside each tomato cavity.

Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

In a large bowl, break up the tuna into small pieces with a fork.

Add all of the remaining ingredients and toss to mix.

The salad can be covered and refrigerated up to 4 hours for best flavor.

In a large bowl, put all of the ingredients, except the eggs and cheese.

Toss well to mix.

Taste for salt.

Divide the salad among 4 serving plates.

Garnish each salad equally with the egg wedges, and sprinkle with cheese.

Prepare mayonnaise, if using.

Then, in a medium skillet, heat vegetable oil to a depth of about ½ inch.

Fry the tortillas, 1 at a time, turning, until crisp and golden brown on both sides.

Drain on paper towels.

(This can be done ahead.

)

In a large bowl, stir together the tomato, avocado, onion, serrano chile, cilantro, and lime juice.

Add the crabmeat and salt.

Toss gently to combine.

To assemble, put 1 crisp tostada on each of 4 plates, and divide the lettuce equally among the tostadas.

Spoon the crab mixture equally on top.

Add a dollop of chipotle mayonnaise and serve at once.

Scoop out the melon seeds.

Peel the melon and halve lengthwise.

Slice the melon crosswise 1⁄2-inch thick and put in a large shallow bowl or pie plate.

Discard papaya seeds and peel.

Slice the papaya crosswise 1⁄2-inch thick, and put in the bowl with the melon.

In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, oil, sugar, and salt.

Spoon over the fruit and turn gently to coat with the dressing.

Let stand about 10 minutes.

Arrange the melon and papaya equally among 4 serving plates.

Scatter the shrimp equally over the fruit.

Garnish the salads with parsley sprigs.

In a medium bowl of warm tap water, soak the hearts of palm for 10 minutes to remove any “tinny” taste.

Drain very well and chop coarsely.

Add the shrimp, serrano chile, mayonnaise, and salt.

Mix well.

Pack ½ cup in a flat-bottomed measuring cup or ramekin and invert to unmold onto an individual serving plate.

Place 4 tomato wedges around the shrimp.

Repeat to make 4 servings.

Garnish each plate with parsley.

In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, vinegar, cumin, salt, and pepper.

Gradually whisk in the oil.

Set aside.

In a large bowl gently mix the tomatoes, corn, beans, avocado, cucumber, onion, jalapeños, and shrimp.

Add the dressing and toss to combine.

Adjust salt.

Mound the salad on a serving platter or in a shallow bowl.

Drizzle sour cream over the top and sprinkle with cilantro.

Cut the grapefruit from between the membranes into segments (over a bowl to catch juices).

Reserve the segments on a plate.

In a large bowl, toss together the greens, mint, oil, vinegar, the two teaspoons grapefruit juice, and the salt.

Divide the greens among 4 plates.

Arrange the grapefruit, avocado, and shrimp on top.

Garnish each plate with radishes.

Serve at once.