Latin American

This sauce, called caldillo de jitomate ("tomato broth"), has a consistency closer to a light tomato soup than an Italian marinara.

If you're making these fries to go with the broiled steak with horseradish cream, as shown below, skip the chipotle mayonnaise and squeeze lemon or lime juice over the fries.

These skewers are traditionally made with Brazilian queijo de coalho, a dense, salty white cheese very similar in taste and texture to the Haloumi we use here. Soaking the cheese on the skewers removes some of the salt and prevents the skewers from burning.

Crema — a Mexican cultured heavy cream similar to sour cream — is often drizzled over enchiladas and tostadas and added to side dishes and sauces. Here it lends a tangy balance to rich avocado and sweet corn.

This dish — meant to be eaten with your fingers or with wooden picks — is a light, refreshing hors d'oeuvre to complement tequila. The recipe is a take on the jicama and cucumber spears that are a popular Mexican street snack.

(Tamal de Coco) These tamales were created for a Mexican Passover menu, to accompany Santibañez's Slow-Braised Lamb Shanks with Guajillo-Pineapple Sauce. If you're not preparing the tamales for Passover, you can substitute nonkosher ingredients such as regular vanilla extract and butter.

Charoset, a traditional Passover condiment, represents the mortar used by Israelite slaves in Egypt. In this contemporary Mexican version, bananas and other fruit are puréed and cooked down to a sweet spread. "Some people say that the banana was the original 'apple' of the Garden of Eden," says Mexican-Jewish food writer Lila Louli, who collaborated with chef Roberto Santibañez on his Passover recipes. "It's also a very common ingredient in Mexican cooking."

Cachaça, a spirit made from sugarcane, gives these drinks their distinctive flavor. In Brazil it is traditional to make caipirinhas one or two at a time, as we do here. For ease of entertaining, however, you can simply combine all the ingredients in a pitcher.

Macarrones con Crema y Queso Poblano and serrano chiles give a mild kick to this cheesy Mexican pasta.

If you're making this entire menu in a single oven, we recommend baking the yuca gratin ahead; while it cooks, brown the lamb and coat with the sauce and farofa. When the gratin comes out of the oven, the lamb can go in. (The gratin will stay warm while the lamb bakes and stands.)

Pozole can refer to hominy, as well as to the name of the stew made with it.

Calabazas are commonly found at Latino markets already cut into large wedges; kabochas are generally sold at natural foods stores.

Shari Ledwidge of Greenehaven, Arizona, writes: "My husband and I spend several weeks each year traveling around the United States. Our journeys always take us to wonderful food stands and farmers' markets, which have inspired some of my favorite recipes."

This lively salsa is typically served with Argentine asado—beef, pork, or lamb cooked over an open fire or grill. It's also wonderful with a seared skirt steak.

The bright flavors of fresh parsley and garlic make this vibrant sauce sauce a favorite accompaniment to Argentine beef. It packs a punch, so start with just a drizzle.