Cast Iron Skillet

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 25 min

The consistency and flavor of bottled Asian chile sauces can vary, as can the heat of fresh chiles, so make adjustments to taste. For these tropical rolls, we found the thinner Wei-Chuan brand spring roll wrappers worked best. Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 1 hr

Pan-roasting or toasting in a dry cast-iron skillet is a cooking technique used often in Mexican cuisine. We use it here to bring up the flavors of corn, onion, and pumpkin seeds. We created this salad as a main course, but it's also a terrific side dish. Active time: 50 min Start to finish: 1 hr

Active time: 3 hr Start to finish: 4 hr

I first created this recipe at Routh Street Cafe in 1984. I've since had it on menus at five different restaurants in some form or another. It's also delicious when spread with a mixture of one part jalapeño jelly and three parts cream cheese whipped together. It's also best served warm.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

(Sliced Potato Cake)

The following recipe calls for semiboneless quail. This means that the rib cage and backbone have been removed, but the wings and legs are left intact.

Use a cast-iron skillet or other heavy skillet to make this recipe. Serve the bubbling cheese right from the pan, and partner the whole meal with icy Margaritas.

This variation on the Chinese classic incorporates jícama, which retains the crisp texture of water chestnuts even when cooked.

Frying tenderloins is like frying chicken: All recipes are fundamentally alike, but each has a twist, ranging from how the flour coating is seasoned to what the cooked meat ought to be drained on (paper towel? brown paper bags?).

Linguiça is a garlic-flavored Portuguese sausage available at most supermarkets. Serve with: Frisée salad drizzled with a red wine vinaigrette.

Chicharrones are cracklings — the flavorful solids that are left over from making lard; the resemblance these little morsels of chicken bear to them accounts for the name "chicken cracklings." Chicharrones de pollo is a typically South American dish, variations of which can be found all over that continent and up into the Central American peninsula. The chicken is chpped up Chinese-style — bones, skin and all — into small pieces. Then it is usually marinated, rolled in wheat or corn flour, and deep fried — although sometimes it is not marinated, and sometimes it is fried without any breading at all.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

We served these steaks with the Roast Parsnips and Sautéed Broccoli Rabe .