Bell Pepper

"Last year my family spent the holidays on the Big Island of Hawaii," writes Jo Lucarz of Phoenix, Arizona. "One afternoon we ate lunch in Kamuela at the Parker Ranch Grill, where we had the best chili ever — and coming from a group of Arizona natives, that's saying a lot."

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 1 hr

This is actually two soups that can be served separately or together. Each soup serves four; combined, the two serve eight.

A soy-sake marinade is the base for a delicious reduction sauce. For convenience, begin this one day ahead and refrigerate the steak in its marinade overnight.

"I grew up in the middle of Croatia, near Zagreb, where the cuisine is very heavy — lots of meat and potatoes," writes Snjezana Hercigonja of Raleigh, North Carolina. "But when I was young, it was customary to vacation on the Mediterranean coast in the summer, where you go to the market every day to see what's good, and everything is really fresh and light. Even the fat is good, since it's usually olive oil. This recipe is based on dishes from that region. Select peppers that are flat on the bottom — they stand up better while cooking. Mashed potatoes would be a perfect side dish.

Cilantro and lime lend a bit of Mexican flair to this sandwich.

If you can't find Thai anise basil and Thai lemon basil, you can substitute Italian basil and lemon balm (the latter is available at farmers markets and specialty produce stores).

A complete vegetarian main course, with fresh herbs and Moroccan accents.

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 45 min

A salad of snow peas, bean sprouts, chopped peanuts and rice vinegar dressing is a good side dish. Fresh pineapple topped with coconut shavings ends the meal nicely.

Many packages of pork tenderloin contain 2 tenderloins weighing about 3/4 pound each. If you happen to get a package with 1 larger tenderloin, simply cook it a little while longer.

Serve this dish with brown rice.

For a meatless pizza, skip the prosciutto and add sautéed sliced portobello mushrooms.

Serve this on its own, or use it for chalupas, tacos, or nachos.

There's nothing more comforting than this version of chicken pot pie. Each individual serving is topped with a Pennsylvania Dutch-style buttermilk biscuit. Pour a dry white wine like Sauvignon Blanc.

Of course, I don't believe this dish is Spanish at all, but rather Cajun from Louisiana. I made it quite often in the 1960s. Then — as now — in home cooking, one had to watch the cost, and rice was an inexpensive way to fill out a meal; after all, rice feeds half the world. In most American homes at the time, rice was served buttered with salt and pepper. This recipe gave rice a little style, made it a delicious "fancy" side dish to serve alongside grilled meat or chicken. I always look forward to having any leftovers as a cold salad for lunch the next day. If you like a little added spice, put some hot pepper sauce on the table.