Paprika

This one-pot dish is delicious over couscous. What to drink: Wines with distinctive spice notes, such as Gewürztraminer or Syrah.

The smoked paprika in this recipe adds depth. Unlike Hungarian paprika powder, which is prepared by drying the chiles in the sun, the Spanish smoked version (like La Chinata brand) is prepared by roasting the peppers over smoldering oak fires before being ground to a velvety powder. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 30 min

Renee brings the flavors of the Middle East to her special Friday-night chicken. Roast chunks of butternut squash and potatoes alongside to cook the whole meal at once. Look for roasting chickens next to the fryers.

If you can't find fresh lobsters, frozen lobster meat can be used.

Those with Texas-size appetites will require an entire steak; for most others — even the heartiest of meat lovers — half of one of these rib steaks is probably plenty.

A high-flavor, low-fat entrée. Serve it over rice to catch all the juices.

Slowly cooked ribs glazed with a spicy-sweet tomato-based sauce are the signature of K.C. barbecue. If you don't have a smoker, cook the ribs in a barbecue that has been converted to one. It may be necessary to cut the racks into four- to five-rib portions so that they all fit on the grill at once.

Churrasco is Spanish for grilled steak. This is Douglas Rodriguez's Argentine interpretation made with pork. He takes slices of tenderloin and pounds them to approximate the thickness of a skirt steak. Marinate the tenderloin strips for two to six hours before grilling.

None of us expected to fall in love with this dish when we tested it, but we all did. Most Thermidor recipes yield something that tastes stodgy and heavy, but this version, by 1940s Gourmet chef Louis P. De Gouy, is almost sleek.

If you're craving a comforting, old-fashioned chicken dish, this is it. Rendering the fat from the chicken skin gives the sauce its rich flavor.

Use this snappy seasoning on pork, lamb and beef as well.

One of the most-requested items on the lunch menu at the Chicago Chop House. The restaurant adds roasted red-skinned potatoes and sautéed mushrooms, too.

Go to your local farmers' market for a variety of fresh vegetables to serve with these flavored salts. You'll probably find yellow wax beans, pink radishes, slender asparagus, sweet bell peppers, and an assortment of teardrop, cherry, and grape tomatoes. Dip the veggies into the olive oil first, then the salt.

This recipe is adapted from The Thrill of the Grill by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby (William Morrow and Company, 1990). Active time: 1 1/4 hr Start to finish: 4 1/2 hr