For Lise Funderburg's book club meeting, she asked chef Marcus Samuelsson to suggest dishes from his Manhattan restaurant, Merkato 55, and his award-winning cookbook, The Soul of a New Cuisine: A Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa (Wiley, $40).

"When the main purpose is not the meal but to get together and talk," Samuelsson says, "it's great to have things you can nibble on throughout the event. Food from warm climates works perfectly because the flavors and textures hold up over time, whether you're serving it cold, room temperature, or hot."