Bean and Legume

I use a small, plump, shrewdly marketed black lentil dubbed "beluga" for this soup, but you can use dark green French lentils or flat olive-green ones, or you can try other pulses such as split peas — green, orange, or gold. Just be prepared to adjust the amount of stock or water. Whole cumin and black peppercorns, crushed just before you add them to the soup, flavor it boldly. I have served this soup three different ways — straight from the pot, irregularly mashed in a mortar, and fully puréed in a blender or processor. Each method produces a different texture and character, and I like all three.

Don't waste your time looking for green peas in this recipe. In Jamaica, you'll often hear kidney beans called peas. Locals consume "rice and peas" so frequently that some people say it should be on the nation's coat of arms. In this version — which Lezlene Brown, a cook at a villa in Ocho Rios, serves to guests and family — the Scotch bonnet chile is there to contribute only the merest hint of heat and to amplify the flavors of the other ingredients.

"Whenever I visit my family in the Chicago area, my sister and I make a point of having lunch at Fresh Starts Restaurant in Flossmoor," says Carol De Biase-Ruffe of Arvada, Colorado. "They serve delicious, healthful food — and we're never disappointed. The last time we went there, I ordered a fish entrée topped with tomato salsa." The restaurant uses tilapia for this dish; we substituted the easier-to-find orange roughy.

Offer seasoned tortilla chips alongside, as well as bagged lettuce tossed with ranch dressing. Try vanilla pudding topped with diced pineapple for dessert.

Serve rice with this dish from Le Colonial, a Vietnamese restaurant in West Hollywood.

It doesn’t look or taste like it, but this pizza is low-fat. Each slice has just 346 calories and 4 1/2 grams of fat.

Note that the heat level of Cajun seasoning blends can vary widely. Serve with: Baby spinach salad, corn bread, and pickled okra.

An overnight pickling tames the red onions.

The bold flavors of Spain's famous paella-sausage, seafood and saffron-meet the luscious, creamy texture of Italy's risotto in this beautiful rice dish. Pour a chilled dry white wine during dinner, and offer flan for dessert.

Radicchio, snow peas and a tangy sesame oil dressing give an old-fashioned dish a delicious new flavor.

Using a pastry bag to pipe the hummus onto the pita toasts saved us a lot of time (and made for nice-looking hors d'oeuvres). You can make your own pastry bag with a heavy-duty plastic bag. Just spoon the hummus into the bag and squeeze it into one corner. Then snip off the corner to make a small hole and begin piping.

Pair this with frosty glasses of lager.

Begin with chicken soup enriched with tiny pasta and fresh spinach leaves. Thick slices of country bread are perfect with the tuna salad, and tiramisù is the dessert of choice.