Big-City Shortcuts

My daughter loves to cook dinner for her friends in spite of long work days and a extracurricular life in Manhattan.

Her formula is predictable: She cooks a meal that comes together in less than an hour. Even so, she doesn’t forsake fresh vibrant flavors.

Here’s one of her menus that I made recently. It comes together fast, but allows the luxury of sharing a simple, stylish meal at home without a huge effort.

A few shortcuts--canned pickled beets, pre-washed bagged baby greens and baby spinach and bakery angel food cake--are in order here. But be sure to buy shrimp in the shell; they are more tender and have better flavor than their shelled counterparts. The shells also enrich the risotto broth.

MIXED BABY GREENS WITH BEET VINAIGRETTE

1 (8 1/4-ounce) can sliced pickled beets, drained, diced small, 1/4 cup liquid reserved

3 tablespoons minced red onion

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/8 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper

2 (1/4-pound) packages mixed baby greens, about 12 cups, chilled

Combine drained beets, onion, mustard, olive oil, beet liquid, salt and pepper to taste and mix well. Can be made 3 days ahead to this point and refrigerated. Let come to room temperature before using.

To serve, toss greens with vinaigrette. Arrange on chilled salad plates. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

93 calories; 294 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 7 grams fat; 7 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.81 gram fiber.

RISOTTO WITH LEEKS, SHRIMP AND SPINACH

1 quart reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 cup clam broth

1 pound shrimp in shells, washed

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced, about 1 3/4 cups

2 teaspoons pressed garlic

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

4 cups baby spinach leaves, stems trimmed

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus extra for serving

1 tablespoon butter

2 small Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced, about 1/2 cup

Salt

Red pepper flakes

Combine chicken and clam broths in saucepan and bring to boil. Add shrimp. Cook just until shrimp are opaque, about 2 minutes. Use slotted spoon to remove shrimp. Peel and devein shrimp. Set aside. Keep liquid hot.

Heat olive oil in heavy 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add leeks and garlic. Cook until leeks become soft, about 3 minutes, stirring often. Add rice, stirring to coat. Cook 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup hot liquid. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly to avoid sticking. Add hot liquid 1/2 cup at a time as soon as rice has absorbed liquid in pan.

After rice is almost tender but still firm, 15 to 20 minutes, stir in spinach. Add reserved shrimp, cheese and butter. Heat through and stir, about 1 more minute. Add tomatoes. Stir to combine, adding remaining liquid as needed. Rice is done when somewhat tender but still firm to bite, about 20 minutes total cooking time. You may not use all of liquid. If you need more, add boiling water. Add liquid carefully toward end of cooking to avoid runny rice; it should have a creamy consistency. Season to taste with salt and red pepper flakes. Serve immediately on warm dinner plates. Serve extra cheese at table.

Makes 4 main-dish servings

Each serving contains about:

380 calories; 1,151 mg sodium; 187 mg cholesterol; 12 grams fat; 36 grams carbohydrates; 32 grams protein; 1.56 grams fiber.

WARM CRANBERRY-RASPBERRY SAUCE ON ICE CREAM CAKES

This sauce is so tangy and tart that it needs the balance of the vanilla ice cream and cake. The dessert works as well with sponge cake or pound cake. An alternative: Make parfaits in long-stemmed glasses, alternating the cranberry-raspberry sauce (at room temperature) with softened vanilla yogurt or ice cream.

SAUCE

1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

1/3 cup sugar

2/3 to 1 cup cranberry juice cocktail

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon raspberry liqueur or kirsch (cherry liqueur)

1 pint fresh raspberries

ASSEMBLY

4 angel food cake slices

1 pint vanilla frozen yogurt or ice cream

SAUCE

Pulse cranberries and sugar in food processor fitted with metal blade until finely minced. Transfer mixture to 1-quart non-aluminum saucepan. Stir in 2/3 cup juice. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-high heat, stirring often, until berries are translucent, about 4 minutes. Stir in butter until melted. Remove from heat. Add liqueur. Can be made 3 days ahead to this point and refrigerated. Let come to room temperature before using. Add remaining juice if mixture is too thick.

ASSEMBLY

Gently reheat sauce until warm on stove top or in microwave oven. Remove from heat. Stir in raspberries. Top cake slices with scoops of ice cream or yogurt. Spoon warm sauce over. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

351 calories; 118 mg sodium; 37 mg cholesterol; 11 grams fat; 62 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 2.62 grams fiber.