Root Vegetable

This sandwich's secret ingredient is sweet potato, and the result is delicious, not your worn-out turkey on wheat. The recipe, adapted from the new cookbook Vegetarian Sandwiches by Paulette Mitchell (Chronicle Books), is super easy. (Boiling a potato is the only cooking required.) It's low in fat and loaded with fiber and beta-carotene — definitely a win-win dinner.

The spice girls: Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken, chefs and co-owners of Border Grill in Santa Monica and Ciudad in Los Angeles (who gained fame as the stars of the Food Network show Too Hot Tamales). What you'll love: The sweet and spicy flavor combination. "The taste of the mango and the serrano pepper had my mouth watering for more," one taster said.

The French prince: Jean-Georges Vongerichten, executive chef and co-owner of Jean-Georges, Jo Jo, Lipstick Cafe, Mercer Kitchen, and Vong in New York City. What you'll love: No-mess cooking — just wrap the chicken and vegetables in foil, then bake and serve. Our taster says it all: "Super easy and very delicious."

This traditional southern Italian pasta recipe, with its base of aglio e olio, garlic and oil, is one of those rustic foods that presents like a gourmet dish. It’s made entirely with pantry items, so it’s a perfect last-minute supper.

Everything about this dish is light, clean, vibrant, and harmonious, with the wonderful taste of corn perhaps taking center stage. The corn's refined sweetness is marvelously juxtaposed with the elegant sour flavor in the cheese. Mushrooms provide an earthiness, and spinach leaves cut through all the elements to insure a clean, bright taste. A playful salad featuring buttery lettuces, tomato pieces, and Rawmesan adds even greater depth on the palate. Here, both the flavor and textural variety are extraordinary.

This version of the classic salad shows why it is a favorite across America.

This fennel-and-scallion-enriched version of tyropita (Greek cheese pie) uses feta and cottage cheese to create a filling that's mildly tangy yet mellow.

Cumin and time over the coals give these hearty thick-cut pork chops deep flavor. A spicy-sweet tropical salsa made with fresh pineapple balances the dish.

The great thing about the marinade in this recipe is that the thick yogurt helps it stick to the chicken perfectly, so you get its full flavor in the final dish. Regular basting with ghee produces a tender, melt-in-your-mouth result.

Western stocks are loaded with aromatics and many Asian stocks include ginger. This simple stock has a pure chicken flavor.

This is the national condiment of both Argentina and Uruguay, and there are hundreds of versions. The sauce is also great with vegetables, especially grilled or fried tomatoes.

Often called a boniato, a batata is what most of the world knows as a sweet potato. White-fleshed and drier than typical orange, moist-fleshed varieties, the tuber has a delicate, slightly sweet flavor reminiscent of chestnuts. We like to serve them with a flavorful compound butter.

Grilling a whole chicken cuts down on prep time and makes for a dramatic presentation. A purée made from fresh herbs, garlic, and chile spread under the skin of the bird keeps the meat moist.

Pa-O Long Beans Finding long beans is worth the effort — the high heat of the wok is just too much for green beans, which aren't as hearty.

Dipped in peanut sauce, these beef satés are flavor bombs on a stick. Don't be put off by the long list of ingredients — we promise you won't be disappointed if you make the sauce from scratch. (It's so much fresher and more complex than any bottled product you may have used in the past.) The meat can be marinated and the sauce prepared ahead, so you just need to grill the satés before serving.

Babi Chin
This tender braised pork is wonderfully easy to make. The aromatic spices — cinnamon, clove, and coriander (which is toasted before grinding to deepen its taste) — add so much flavor that there's no need to brown the meat before braising it.