Lime

Yam Taeng Kwa Dried shrimp are an acquired taste; they have a very strong fish flavor. But this salad is wonderfully refreshing even without the shrimp. Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 20 min

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 40 min

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Margaritas, crisp Mexican beer or sangria would be perfect with this dinner.

This smooth sorbet can be made without an ice cream machine.

This salsa from Jane Butel's cooking school in Albuquerque, New Mexico is great with fajitas or as a dip for chips.

There will be enough of this delicious make-ahead soup for seconds or leftovers.

This salsa is best made a few hours ahead so the flavors have a chance to develop.

Serve with: Warm corn tortillas, Spanish rice, and grilled zucchini. Dessert: Fresh coconut cake from the bakery.

For a complete Asian-inspired menu, prepare steamed rice, and sauté snow peas in sesame oil. Fill fresh papaya halves with coconut ice cream for a refreshing dessert.

"Thai is my favorite Asian cuisine, and the Thai noodles at Q, A Thai Bistro, here in Forest Hills just may be my favorite dish," writes Loren Kliegerman of Forest Hills, New York. "Any idea how it is prepared?"

Trying to take a lychee off its pit is nearly impossible. I leave them on their pits which does nothing to detract from the quality of this salad! You can use canned lychees, which are surprisingly delicious.

Canned mangoes are excellent in this dessert if ripe fresh ones are unavailable. Use a drained (1-lb 14-oz) can of mango slices in syrup. If the canned fruits you buy are Alphonso mangoes (our favorite variety of mango), add an additional 1/2 cup cream.

Pay de Limón At our cooking classes in Oaxaca, I guide our students through the markets, buying tastes of the thick cream (it's like milky butter with a cheesey flavor and unctuous texture), the perfumey, greenish-yellow key limes and exotic tropical fruit like guanabana, chirimoya, guava, black zapote and papaya. In order to offer more than a simple taste of these traditional foods after one trip to the market, I combined that incredible cream and lime into a simple pie for our class meal, serving it with an assortment of pureed fruits. Even with our American homemade cream (or crème fraîche) and less-tart hybrid Persian limes, the pie makes a lovely special-dinner finale.

Traditional flavors (honey and orange) and contemporary ones (cumin and chilies) come together in the glaze, which also gives the gravy some heat and zip. See how to carve a turkey.

This is a simplified version of Havana Harry's recipe; at the restaurant, they deep-fry the pork after braising it.