Southwestern

Home turf: New Mexico
Local flavor: Southwestern-style chili is all about the chiles (with an "e"), as in this pillar of regional cooking, chile verde. The chiles are green and mild (New Mexico's famous hatch chiles are perfect), and the meat is pork. Tangy tomatillos balance the chiles and coat the slow-cooked pork. To up the regional cred, serve it "Christmas" style—with a combo of green and red chiles.
Make it a meal: Serve with warm corn tortillas, avocado and spinach salad with honey-lime vinaigrette, and a dark beer like Negra Modelo (Mexico, $8 per six-pack). If you can find it, use dried Mexican oregano in this recipe. It has a smoky flavor that dried Mediterranean oregano doesn't have. Look for it at Latin markets.

At Mesa Grill, this barbecue sauce is used as is, or as a base for some more complex sauces. The ancho and pasilla chile powders add Southwestern flavors to the traditional barbecue-sauce ingredients: tomatoes, onions, garlic, sweet molasses, and brown sugar.

This is a great marinade for chicken fajitas, fish, or shrimp. I seal everything in a Ziploc bag, place it in the refrigerator, and marinate for 2 to 4 hours, to ensure that the flavor soaks in. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes to 1 hour before grilling.

The Original: Filling made from ground beef simmered in a spicy tomato sauce. Our Version: Tender pieces of pork simmered with roasted green chiles and salsa verde.

Chilaquiles is a classic Southwestern casserole made from crumbled tortillas, tomato sauce, and cheese. Here, its savory flavors are augmented with black beans and zucchini.

For a falling-off-the-bone roast (about $4 a pound), crack open a tenderizing can of beer.

The inspiration for these handheld burritos came from those served at the Santa Fe Farmers Market, in New Mexico, where they are truly the early bird's reward—feasting on a portable breakfast while scoring the pick of the produce is a magical start to the day. Though either Mexican or Spanish chorizo would work, we prefer the smoothness of the Mexican sausage and the way its flavor, rich with chiles, soaks into the potatoes. Avocado adds a fresh, bright note.

Heaps of leafy cilantro and the crumbly Mexican white cheese known as queso fresco update a classic side dish. Cornstarch thickens the cream quickly and imparts a velvety gloss.

Smoke baking is a great technique to use for garlic bread, pizzas, quiche, or a savory breakfast casserole—whenever you want to bake and get a hit of smoky flavor at the same time. You can smoke bake using a charcoal grill, gas grill, or a traditional smoker with a smoking temperature you can control (water smokers have a set temperature of 225°F to 250°F and will not work for this recipe). When chiles from Hatch, New Mexico, come to market in August, I stock up on enough to roast and freeze for chile pies, pots of Southwestern chili, and batches of salsa through the winter months. You can substitute other varieties of chiles (or bell peppers for a less spicy result) in this recipe and experiment with additional ingredients, such as a garnish of chopped scallions, cilantro, or parsley. A teaspoon of your favorite chili seasoning blend or barbecue dry rub could add a special accent. If you can't get Hatch chile peppers, no problem. Buy fresh green Anaheim peppers and fire roast them at home. For a true Southwestern flavor use the heavier mesquite wood—very sparingly here—or pecan. This is a great dish for a light supper or an outdoor brunch. Suggested wood: Pecan or mesquite

This recipe originally accompanied Baja Fish Tacos .

Chile verde—slow-cooked pork in a tomatillo sauce—gets a speedy update.

Smoked salt and paprika give this turkey a smoky southwestern flavor that pairs very nicely with the spicy-sweet gravy. Look for Halen Môn oak-smoked sea salt at specialty foods stores and surfasonline.com.

A double layer of bread crumbs is the key to these extra-crispy homemade bar snacks.

Editor's note: The recipe is from Susan Curtis and Nicole Curtis Ammerman's book Santa Fe School of Cooking: Flavors of the Southwest.

Ancho chile powder gives the meat its southwestern flavor. Chef Purviance suggests serving the brisket with southwestern-style coleslaw (sliced cabbage, jicama, and red onions tossed in a red-wine vinaigrette) and black beans with corn, tomatoes, and chiles. Leftovers would make great sandwiches.