Ham

Bresaola-a beef lover's prosciutto equivalent-gives this virtually no-cook dish a bright platform with deep flavor.

Make these sandwiches when you don't want to turn on the stove.

Why "soda jerk"? Because two kinds of pop lend the right dose of sweetness.

This salad is no bland picnic side dish: Slices of deli ham and bits of salty bacon give it hearty main-course appeal.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from The Dooky Chase Cookbook by Leah Chase and are part of our story on Mardi Gras.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from The Dooky Chase Cookbook by Leah Chase and are part of our story on Mardi Gras.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from The Dooky Chase Cookbook by Leah Chase and are part of our story on Mardi Gras. Chase also shared some helpful tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. In Madisonville, where I grew up, we would use smoked ham to add flavor to our red beans. In New Orleans, they would use pickled meat. Pickling of pork was done in the Creole community. Pickled ribs with potato salad were popular. The meat was pickled in a brine, more or less, along with seasonings. There is a market in New Orleans that still makes pickled meat, in just this way. They might also use some kind of vinegar. In this red beans recipe, I stick with the smoked meats, just like in the country.

(Amêijoas na Cataplana Casa Velha) Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Jean Anderson's book The Food of Portugal. Anderson also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Anderson and Portuguese cuisine, click here. The Portuguese ingenuity for combining pork and shellfish in a single dish dates back, it's been said, to one of the darker chapters of Iberian history — the Inquisition. Amêijoas na Cataplana, together with a number of other pork-shellfish combinations, were invented as a sort of culinary double-whammy to test one's Christian zeal (pork and shellfish being proscribed to both Jew and Moslems). On a recent swing through the Algarve Province, where this popular cataplana recipe originated, I tried to verify the theory, without success. Manuel Paulino Revéz and Esteban Medel do Carmo, assistant directors at Faro's Escola de Hotelaria e Turismo do Algarve (Algarve Hotel and Tourism School), both doubt that there's any connection between the Inquisition and the creation of Portugal's many pork and shellfish combinations. They do admit, however, that Amêijoas na Cataplana is a recipe so old that its genesis is clouded by the dust of ages. Whatever its origin, the gloriously soupy mélange of unshucked baby clams, ham, and sausages in garlicky tomato sauce is supremely successful. This particular version comes from Casa Velha, once one of the Algarve's top restaurants. Now closed, alas, it was located in a historic, heavily beamed farmhouse amid the umbrella pines and luxury estates of Quinta do Lago near Faro. Note: Portuguese clams are tiny, thin-shelled, and uncommonly sweet. The best substitutes are West Coast butter clams or, failing them, the smallest littlenecks you can find. This dish need not be prepared in a cataplana, a hinged metal container shaped like a giant clam shell that can be clamped shut; any kettle with a tight-fitting lid works well. Finally, this is a naturally salty dish, so add no extra salt before tasting.

Editor's note: The recipe below is excerpted from Katie Brown Entertains. To read more about Katie Brown and to get her tips on throwing a headache-free cocktail party, click here

The egg in this fried rice is cooked by a super easy method. Rather than being made like the classic egg "crêpe," the egg is cooked right in the well of the rice, which creates a much more delicate texture.

I first met Katy Sparks in the flesh at New York City's French Culinary Institute. We were both there to teach on a mentorship program, and since I was already wild about the food at her restaurant, Quilty's, I made a beeline for her and insisted we become friends and spend lots of time eating together. For fun, Katy and I have given several cooking classes working as a duet; she made these dates at our first class together. They are just the kind of thing I find irresistible — sweet, crunchy, juicy, spicy — you name it, they've got it. Once you have the ingredients, they're very easy to put together.

The quantity of meat you'll have in your finished stock will vary depending on whether you use shanks or hocks. Although shanks from the butcher yield more meat, they are not as widely available as hocks, which can be found at most supermarkets. This recipe is an accompaniment for Sea Scallops with Ham-Braised Cabbage and Kale .

This dish — the result of a conversation between two food editors who had just returned from opposite parts of the country — almost made itself. Paul Grimes came back from Charleston talking about the creamy stone-ground grits, shrimp, and collard greens of chef Kevin Johnson at Anson, and Kemp Minifie returned from Seattle to tell us about the scallops over braised cabbage with foie gras vinaigrette that Johnathan Sundstrom serves at Lark. We loved the idea of both dishes so much, we met somewhere in between, with this simpler recipe.

Hello, New Orleans! Mark Twain once said, "New Orleans food is as delicious as the less criminal forms of sin." Speaking nutritionally, meat-heavy jambalaya is a misdemeanor. But toss in chicken instead of andouille sausage and pick a leaner cut of ham — keep the shrimp, of course — and you can dine with a clear conscience. Use brown rice instead of white and be generous with the veggies, and one bowl will provide 4 grams of fiber and 20 essential vitamins and minerals. Pretty impressive for a Fat Tuesday feast.

IMPROV: Instead of tarragon, try dill; sub bacon for the ham.

Requiring just a few ingredients and minimal cooking, this hors d'oeuvre is the epitome of elegant simplicity.

Marsha and John Antonelli of Whittier, California, write: "We recently had lunch at Bistro Jeanty, in Yountville, California, where the ham, leek, and three-cheese quiche was so outstanding we went back twice. Could you persuade the chef to share this excellent recipe?" Extremely creamy and rich, this quiche could be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. You can make your own crust, but the premade kind will save some time.

These little appetizer pizzas are perfect finger food.

Using purchased pizza dough to make one large calzone saves lots of time. lighten up: For a lower-calorie, lower-fat calzone, use part-skim mozzarella.