It's a traditional spring dinner: lamb, with a side of mint jelly. A lovely choice, but we're here to liberate lamb-from mint jelly, and from the once-a-year menu.

The lesser-known hanger steak is the thick strip of meat that hangs between the last rib and the loin. It has a slightly grainy texture but it is full flavored. It may suffer an identity issue as it answers to hanging tenderloin, hanging tender and butcher's steak just to name a few.

Fiery and spicy, wasabi (wah-SOB-ee) just may be Japanese answer to horseradish (though not as pungent). The pearl of the Orient, wasabi is expensive, and because of this wasabi powder and paste are often called for in recipes, instead of fresh wasabi. The powder and paste forms that you are most likely to come across are actually fakes and are really green horseradish. Plan to bring along plenty of yen if you want the real deal, which can be found in some Asian markets.

What's not to love about sea scallops? They're versatile: bake them, fry them, grill them, kabob, stir-fry or saute them. They are perfect on their own or tagging along with pasta. Their mild, sweet flavor makes them more palatable to those who don't like their seafood to taste, well, too fishy. And they're plucked in abundance from Jersey waters this time of year, so they're plentiful at local fish markets and grocery stores.

It has been said that an apple is an excellent thing, until you have eaten a peach. With that in mind, we pondered the best way to eat a peach.