Southwestern

A jicama, watercress and red onion salad and warm corn tortillas would be terrific with this meatless entrée. Scoop lemon sherbet into cantaloupe halves for dessert. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This flavorful bread uses just a tad of canola oil instead of lots of butter.

This easy-to-make dip is also great as a topping for burritos and enchiladas. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less, but requires additional unattended time.

Here's a perfect partner for turkey or veal burgers, sausages and toasted French bread.

Cumin, chili powder, garlic and fresh lime juice are combine in the easy-to-make spice paste. It adds lots of flavor to the beef in this recipe, but can also be used on chicken, pork, shrimp or firm fish like halibut, swordfish and shark.

In New Mexico, chili verde is prepared with lots of meat — and no beans. This recipe uses chicken, and you can make it spicier by adding jalapeño chilies. Serve it with the Layered Rice Salad and the Toasted Jalapeño Corn Bread .

Great on its own or served alongside grilled fish, chicken or steak.

To make this recipe even easier to prepare, substitute three tablespoons diced canned green chilies for the fresh Anaheim chili.

Texans like their barbecue spicy, in the tradition of the Southwest, which is chili pepper country. For this recipe, you'll need to order a U.S.D.A. "choice" grade, packer-trimmed brisket: That's a brisket with none of the fat cut off. Before being cooked, the meat is seasoned with a dry rub; during cooking, it is brushed regularly with a beer-based mop. You'll need to use a smoker for the brisket (a converted barbecue won’t maintain the very low heat required), and to get the most authentic Texas flavor, seek out the natural lump charcoal specified in the recipe; it's available at barbecue stores, some natural foods stores and some supermarkets.

A one-dish meal with all the earthy flavors of the Southwest.

Complement this meatless supper with a chopped romaine and sliced avocado salad, followed by orange sorbet with nut cookies for dessert.

Poquitos are small, pinkish-brown beans indigenous to the Santa Ynez region. Dried pink beans are a good substitute.

A cross between spoon bread and tamale pie, this flavorful, colorful side dish is a huge crowd-pleaser. Assemble it at least one hour and up to one day before baking.

I'd say this is one of the most perfect American appetizers for a group: warm and creamy, full of flavor, easy and spreadable. Toasted pita triangles and crisp toasts are my favorite choices to offer guests to slather this rich mixture on. No matter what you select, you'll probably find this recipe as versatile as I do.

This recipe can be made in 45 minutes or less.

This sauce can be prepared with yellow bell peppers instead of poblano chiles. Both sauces go equally well with the chicken-and they also complement each other nicely. So follow your mood: earthy poblano or sunny, sweet yellow bell pepper-or make half a recipe of each and serve them both. This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.