Skewer

Tossed in a dynamic spice paste, these little shrimp aren’t shy: assertive heat from ginger, jalapeño, and garlic is balanced by the pungency of garam masala. Try sautéing or steaming the shrimp if you don’t own a grill. To make a heartier meal, place the shrimp on a bed of basmati rice and boil the marinade for 5 minutes to pour over the top.

This tropical dish, adapted from the Mnemba Island Lodge off the coast of Zanzibar, pairs chiles-piced mangos with freshly grilled shrimp. Complex in flavor and easy in execution, this sweet, spicy, and creamy entrée makes a balanced and beautiful meal that Epicurious members make again and again.

Sam Hazen, the former executive chef of New York celebrity hangout Tao, created this broiled fish dish seasoned with the Japanese trifecta of sake, mirin, and miso. A great riff on beef satay, this appetizer can be marinated up to a day ahead for a quick weeknight snack or full meal when served with rice. Avoid unsustainable Chilean sea bass; look for white sea bass from California, black cod, Pacific or Alaskan halibut, or striped bass.

The creamy peanut marinade comes together in just minutes. For maximum flavor, we like to soak the chicken for at least three hours.

Of all the ways to prepare shrimp, the grill delivers the best flavor. Although unadorned "shrimp on the barbie" are great, an easily assembled gingery barbecue sauce makes them that much better. You can save time by buying already shelled and deveined shrimp, but our recipe developer, Alexis Touchet, who grew up in shrimp country in southwest Louisiana, thinks shell-on shrimp are better quality. Depending on where you live and what's in your market, you may not have much choice. Freshness trumps all, so don't hesitate to use your nose in deciding which shrimp to buy.

Pelaccio flips the kebab script by cubing luxurious cuts of steak and marinating them in coconut milk, garlic, and chiles. Try this with tri-tip, top sirloin cap steak, or rib eye; just make sure a strip of fat is still intact; you'll use it to thread onto the skewers.

With the neo-eco-bio-cool. We'll pick our own apricots, cut some rosemary from the garden, a little organic honey…

Fig trees love warmer climates. However, for the adventurous northern gardener, the best way to grow figs is in a container that can be placed outdoors in warm weather and then brought indoors to winter. The best variety of fig tree for a container is the Petite Negri fig. It's a small- to medium-sized black fruit with sweet, red flesh. If you have great weather, Mission figs are superb. The natural sweetness of figs goes well with pork tenderloin in this dish. If you like, use sturdy fresh rosemary branches (as from the Tuscan variety) for the skewers.

The baby artichokes are cooked in advance, so they only need to be grilled for a short time.

If baby beets are not available, use large beets cut into 1-inch chunks.

The potatoes must be parboiled so they will be done at the same time as the chicken.

Brine-curing the pork makes it soft, tender, and juicy. The pork is cut into small pieces, so it only needs to be cured for 4 hours.

The yogurt dipping sauce, full of fresh basil and a hint of curry, makes this dish especially fragrant and flavorful. Try it with a side of quinoa.

This is a dish you can make with little preparation or cooking time. Anyone can be a successful shrimp griller. The key things to remember are: (1) brine the shrimp to assure moistness; (2) grill them with the shells on; (3) don’t overcook them. The brightly flavored vinaigrette can be served with any other grilled fish or even chicken.

Lamb, pomegranate, and apricots is a classic Mediterranean combination. Pomegranate molasses, which is sometimes called pomegranate concentrate, is a pantry staple in parts of the Mediterranean. It serves as a meat tenderizer as well as a flavor enhancer. Look for it in specialty foods stores, or online (see Resources). Serve this dish with a rice pilaf or couscous. Note: You will need 16 wooden skewers for this recipe.

Whenever the two-pound bags of frozen shrimp are on sale (the bigger the shrimp, the better), we throw one in the freezer and the other in a brine before a quick trip under the broiler. If you’re not near live shrimp, choose bagged frozen ones because the fish counter’s fresh is often the same stuff already thawed. You’ll get perkier results thawing them in a salty bath, which puts a little ocean back in. This recipe is ripe for tinkering. Vary the rub and swap the butter for olive oil. If you skip the brine, use a dry rub with salt instead. Smoked sea salts and smoked paprika chic it up, but the bare-bones version is always a home run with kids. Pull a skewer through a warm corn or flour tortilla, and top with shredded cabbage, cilantro, onion, and a quick chili powder mayonnaise, à la fish tacos. Delicious.