Herbs & Spices

This dish, which is called Vietnamese Fajitas at Kim Son restaurant in Houston, works well as an appetizer or as a main course.

Ginger provides a nice contrast to the mellow flavor of the cornmeal. If you like, try this with a little low-fat or nonfat milk.

This looks like sushi, but it's really a new way to present the familiar Passover fish course.

Executive chef Keith Luce at Spruce in Chicago is committed to featuring the best local ingredients each season. At this time of year, he often serves grilled chicken or game birds in a pool of uncooked tomato sauce, which takes advantage of the juicy tomatoes that grow so well in the Midwest. As side dishes, Chef Luce suggests grilling a selection of vegetables from the farmers market, such as sweet corn or squash. To complete this splendid late-summer supper, offer scoops of berry sorbet topped with sliced ripe peaches.

Vanilla bean and brandy accent the cake, and a few raspberries tint the peach topping a delicate pink.

Nothing beats a good old-fashioned roast chicken with all the trimmings. Fresh herbs, crispy bacon, potatoes, sausages and a great gravy all add up to the kind of dish that creates nostalgia. Steamed baby carrots and sautéed shredded cabbage are proper accompaniments.

Either potato salad or bulgur salad would be lovely with these summer kebabs.

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.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.