Chipotle

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Halibut steaks and pork tenderloin are two of our favorites with this fiery side.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Grilled bread and tomatoes give this salad wonderful toasty flavors, and the chipotle chili adds a touch of smoke.

We make half of this mac 'n' cheese plain, for kids, and into the other half we stir some chipotle chiles to give it a grown-up kick. Any tubular pasta will do, but we like to use cavatappi, a ridged, spiral macaroni that lends the dish a particularly festive air.

"About a year ago, I discovered a new restaurant in town called Babalu's," writes Richard Shipman of St. Louis, Missouri. "It serves terrific Caribbean food, including a flavorful chili-coated salmon."

Inspired by New Orleans's barbecue shrimp, our recipe substitutes chipotle chiles for the traditional cayenne and black pepper. Though this dish is often served as a first course in restaurants, our version is intended as a main course. Use the bread for scooping up the sauce. You could add a green salad or, better yet, stick with the out-of-hand theme and serve it with corn on the cob.

If you don't have time to make your own hummus, buy some at the market or specialty foods store, and mix in chipotle chilies and cumin to taste.

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 30 min For those who don't like their oysters raw, there's the classic po'-boy sandwich. New Orleans's first po'-boy makers settled on a roll that is light and mild, so that it doesn't overpower the tender oysters inside, yet is substantial enough to keep its shape when the sweet juices are released from their cornmeal crust. We discovered that a soft-crusted French, Italian, Portuguese, or Cuban loaf works well. Hot pepper sauce is the traditional condiment, but we've improvised a little, using chipotle mayonnaise to add a layer of smokiness instead of pure heat.

"I usually make way too much barbecued chicken and devised the following recipe for leftovers," says Louise A. Peterson of Brooklyn, New York. We tested this recipe with barbecued chicken and also with plain grilled chicken and found both to be delicious. You might even just buy a rotisserie chicken.

"I recently took out-of-town guests to Zarela in Manhattan for an authentic Mexican meal," writes Kelly Sfarra of Hawthorne, New York. "Everything was fantastic, but the shrimp with chipotle chilies was especially memorable. Can you please get the recipe?" After a trip to Veracruz, Mexico, chef Zarela Martínez came up with this dish, which is called camarones enchipotlados at the restaurant. A bowl of rice and some warm corn tortillas would be great with the spicy, smoky shrimp.

"While visiting a friend in Albuquerque, I fell in love with a local bakery and cafe called Double Rainbow II," writes Beth White of Phoenix, Arizona. "The food is great—especially the caldo de maìz (corn soup) that I had for lunch." This spicy version gets its hot, smoky taste from chipotle chilies.

If you have chipotle flakes but no chipotle powder, grind the flakes in a clean coffee grinder or spice mill.

Chipotles give these burgers — from Hal's Bar & Grill in Venice, California — a terrific kick.

A drizzle of chipotle-accented cream boosts the flavors in this refreshing summer soup.

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

Masa Harina is an ingenious addition to these savory shellfish cakes from chef George Mahaffey of The Restaurant at The Little Nell in Aspen.