Tomato

This recipe makes more smoked-tomato butter than you need for the scallops — use the leftover butter on steak or fish.

Zuppa di Cozze Come la Fanno a Bosa Like other coastal towns on Sardinia, Bosa also has an excellent maritime cuisine. An example is this excellent mussels soup. Two ingredients unique to it are the grated sheep's milk cheese that cooks along with the mussels, deepening their flavor, and the bread crumbs—some Sardinian cooks use couscous instead—that add texture and density to the mussel juices.

The Spanish eat salt cod often and, given the excellence of their cod, it's no wonder — the dried fish is snowy white, delicate, and, once rehydrated, tender enough to eat raw. Though you can't get the same thing here, the salt cod from the Spanish specialty store La Tienda is very good (they sell lomo — the center cut — which we prefer over the chewy, skinny end pieces), and its turnover is high, so there's no concern that the fish has been sitting on the shelves too long.

These mussels are a snap to prepare, and make a hearty meal when paired with a loaf of crusty bread to mop up the rich tomato broth. Be sure to buy your mussels the day you make this dish, as they don't keep well at home.

This quick and easy tomato sauce is the base for two meals: spaghetti marinara and steamed mussels with tomato broth. We call for canned tomatoes because most of the fresh ones available in the wintertime have a bland flavor and mealy texture. Sugar will help round out the flavor if your tomatoes are too acidic. You can also add a pinch of red pepper flakes if you like your sauce to have a bit of heat. The leftover sauce also freezes well for future meals.

A steaming plate of al dente spaghetti with homemade sauce and a sprinkle of cheese is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

This lively salsa is typically served with Argentine asado—beef, pork, or lamb cooked over an open fire or grill. It's also wonderful with a seared skirt steak.

Erin Rutherford of Charlotte, North Carolina, writes: "This sauce was a hit with my supper club — I served it with filet mignon encrusted in black pepper, cumin, and sea salt, and it was killer. It would also pair well with swordfish."

Espagnole is a classic brown sauce, typically made from brown stock, mirepoix, and tomatoes, and thickened with roux. Given that the sauce is French in origin, where did the name come from? According to Alan Davidson, in The Oxford Companion to Food, "The name has nothing to do with Spain, any more than the counterpart term allemande has anything to do with Germany. It is generally believed that the terms were chosen because in French eyes Germans are blond and Spaniards are brown."

Kia Ly Dickinson of Miami, Florida, writes: "This fragrant soup is so good you will be freaking out. It can be served hot or cold, with rice. The recipe is an ode to my homeland, Vietnam, and I'd like to share it with my new friends in America." This recipe calls for fresh lemon verbena, but you can substitute 1 stalk of fresh lemongrass if lemon verbena is unavailable. Both ingredients are sold at specialty produce markets, but lemongrass is also sold at Asian markets and some supermarkets, so it may be easier to find. If using lemongrass, discard 1 or 2 outer leaves, then thinly slice lower 6 inches of stalk. Finely chop, then sauté along with chiles and garlic.

We prefer the taste of organic canned tomatoes in this particular recipe, as they tend to be sweeter. If using other canned tomatoes, you might want to add a bit more sugar to balance their acidity.

Try this refreshing drink on a sizzling-hot summer day. Add a splash of aquavit (we like Linie brand), then serve on the rocks with a parsley sprig, and you have a Norwegian Mary. As with any fresh-squeezed juice, this is best served the day it's made.

Everyone seems to have a preference when it comes to Bloody Marys — whether it's the brand of tomato juice or how much celery salt and Tabasco to use. We found this recipe to be nicely balanced, though by all means add or subtract to your liking. We also discovered that it's worth buying new horseradish: If the jar in your refrigerator looks brownish or dry, it has been in there too long and will taste very bitter.