(CBS) Food TV personality, "Iron Chef" and cookbook author Cat Cora has put together a collection of super-easy recipes that can get whipped up any night of the week in her new book, "Cooking From the Hip: Fast, Easy, Phenomenal Meals."

Cora is the Food Network's only female Iron Chef champion; she is also the executive chef at Bon Appetit magazine. "Hip" is her second cookbook.

In her free time, Cora also founded the group "Chefs for Humanity," which organized chefs and food providers to provide relief to families in her native Mississippi and Louisiana who were devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Cora's book has four sections -- Fast, Easy, Fun and Phenomenal. She wants the recipes in her book to be part of every home cook's nightly repertoire.

Cora's personal Web site can be found at www.catcoracooks.com.

RECIPES

Watermelon Gazpacho:

6 cups chopped, seeded watermelon; reserve juice
1 cup peeled, seeded, and diced cucumber
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
3 celery hearts, diced
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon lime juice (from 2 large limes)
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup crème fraiche (optional)

Puree the watermelon and any reserved juice in a blender or food processor until smooth. Set aside.

In a large bowl, toss the cucumber, peppers, celery, onion, herbs, lime juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste. Pour the watermelon puree over the vegetables, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 1 hour.

Taste and season with more salt and black pepper or jalapeno, if it's not spicy enough. Serve very cold, topped with a spoonful of crème fraiche, if you like.

Asian Steak and Spinach Salad:

1/2 pound baby spinach
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon light or dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 sweet red onion, cut into 1/4-inch-thick-half-moons
1/2 pound grass-fed steak (sirloin, tenderloin, porterhouse, New York strip, or rib-eye)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1-2 tablespoons chopped unsalted peanuts, for garnish

Wash the spinach and spin dry or roll up the leaves in a clean dish towel. Place the spinach in a large salad bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the garlic, lime juice, brown sugar, and soy sauce and set aside.

In a large cast-iron skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the onion and sauté for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Transfer the hot onion to the salad bowl on top of the spinach. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan. Sear the steak until medium-rare, about 3 minutes per side. (If you like your steak well-done, keep it in the pan for 1 more minute.) Remove the pan from the heat, immediately transfer the steak to a cutting board, and let it rest.

Let the skillet cool for a few minutes. Add the soy-lime mixture to the pn and turn the heat to medium-high. Deglaze the pan by stirring constantly and loosening any bits of steak that cling to the bottom. Reduce the heat to low to keep the sauce warm. Slice the meat as thin as possible, cutting against the grain. Arrange the meat slices over the onion and spinach. Drizzle with the warm sauce and sprinkle with the cilantro and peanuts. Serve immediately.

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