Spanish

Talk about a sandwich with bravado: The bold flavors start with the smear of green-olive-flecked oil on the chewy, rustic rolls. Then come the layers of juicy sausages, piquant arugula, and piquillos. The fire-roasted sweet red peppers from Spain are well worth seeking out for their tenderness and subtle, smoky heat.

It's Basque chefs like Juan Mari Arzak and Martin Berasategui who grab the headlines for their culinary pyrotechnics (think of their food as the culinary equivalent of the Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao). But what you may not realize is that the Basque country is also a hotbed of grilling—done by and large with a simplicity that stands in striking contrast to the foams, jellies, and deconstructions of Spain's culinary avant-garde. A sprinkle of sea salt, a splash of vinegar or olive oil—these are the seasonings favored by the majority of Basque grill masters. Consider this simple grilled cod topped with olive oil and fried garlic—inspired by Beti-Jai ("always a holiday"), a popular restaurant tucked away in the warren of narrow streets in the old quarter of Donostia-San Sebastián.

Serve with hot chocolate.

My mother and father were both good cooks, and both of them had definite opinions about how things should be done in the kitchen. But this dish was my father's—his alone—so my mother never said a word about it. I like to call it the "tripe of my father," aita being the Basque word for "father." It is a rustic family-style dish that satisfies the appetite and nourishes the soul. As you cook honeycomb tripe, it will throw off a lot of liquid, which eliminates the need for stock and flavors the sauce. Like most braises, this tastes even better the next day.

Bell peppers and cumin add sweetness and spice to this tangy tomato soup, but it's the pimentón that really pulls all the flavors together.

Jamón Serrano, a salty cured Spanish ham, is the traditional pairing for Manchego cheese. The ham is sold at specialty foods stores and at Spanish and Latin markets, and the cheese can be found at some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores.

In this rustic marriage of land and sea, red-pepper flakes add just the right amount of heat to hearty potatoes and wonderfully tender octopus (from a can!)

Pollo con Frutos y Frutas Secas As this recipe demonstrates, Ferran Adrià, the alchemist chef of El Bulli, is as practical as he is inventive. It's adapted from the cookbook he dedicated to quick recipes that can be made with supermarket ingredients, and it features a store-bought rotisserie chicken that's deliciously doctored with a sauce of dried fruit, pine nuts, and port wine. Though you can whip the dish up in less than half an hour, the flavors are sophisticated enough for a fancy dinner party. If you'd like to roast your own chicken, so much the better.

These Mexican treats taste best when they are freshly fried (though we have given you some prep-ahead options), so make them when friends and family are gathered around for the holidays. Once the churros are made, everyone can get in on the action, dipping them in a choice of sugars and/or an easy warm chocolate sauce.

Crunchy on the outside, juicy on the inside, this pork tenderloin gets sultry flavor from smoked paprika, almonds, and Madeira.

This recipe comes from Eben Freeman, bartender of Tailor Restaurant in New York City. Though sangria is typically made in larger batches, Freeman demonstrates that it can also be concocted right in the glass for a single serving. When it comes to ingredients, he eschews the fancy add-ons found in many recipes, instead sticking to a simple formula of Spanish wine (ideally a young Rioja), Spanish brandy, and lemon juice. If you prefer, sugar can be added to taste, and different light red wines, citrus juices, and brandies substituted.

Try to buy ripe tomatoes or let them ripen in a paper bag with an apple for two days.

The softly fried eggs are a wonderful counterbalance to the rich ingredients in this Spanish take on salade lyonnaise. Migas are Spanish croutons.

These irresistible nibbles are at their best served within minutes of deep-frying. If that seems like a little much for Thanksgiving dinner, you can fry them up to 4 hours ahead and warm them up in the broiler or microwave as your guests arrive. You could also serve them at room temperature, though they won't be quite as crispy on the outside and creamy in the center.

The small potatoes known as fingerlings have a sweet, buttery flavor. Small redskinned potatoes would work well, too.

In Spanish, escabeche refers to placing already cooked seafood into a marinade—a pickling of sorts—but this subtle shrimp salad is gentler than anything you might expect from the term pickled. Complemented by silky thin-sliced onions, the shrimp get their tender-firm texture from slow-poaching followed by marinating.

Spanish anchovies in vinegar (boquerones) are milder than salted anchovies and have a light pickled taste. They are available in the refrigerated section of some specialty foods stores and online from markys.com.

This recipe was created by chef Geraldine Ferraro of the Four Swallows Restaurant on Bainbridge Island in Washington. It's part of a special menu she created for Epicurious's Wine.Dine.Donate program.