Sausage

Reduced-fat cream cheese gives this dish a nice texture. Put out some sliced melon with grapes, and offer coffee and orange juice.

Look for diced potatoes with onion in the supermarket's refrigerated deli case or in the freezer section. Pair the main course with sautéed spinach, coleslaw, good mustard and dark bread. A pint of ale adds gusto; apple pie is the finishing touch.

Offer with crusty French bread and you have a satisfying summer supper. The creamy dressing is lower-fat version, using half yogurt and half mayonnaise.

For an easy and informal dinner, make a salad and some rice to go alongside this bubbling cheese mixture known as queso fundido. Each diner spoons some of the cheese into warm tortillas. This can also be served as an appetizer at parties. Mix up some Margaritas to add to the fun.

A great side dish for chicken or fish.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Throughout the South, former cotton plantations remain as large tracts of land maintained as hunting preserves. The quail is a small game bird that spends most of its time on the ground. Often called "partridge," it is favored for its delicious white flesh. Serve one of these birds to each person as an appetizer for a big celebratory meal such as Christmas or a rehearsal dinner, or two as the main course.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Make this a day ahead for the best flavor.

If you can't get premade patties, buy bulk pork sausage meat and form your own.

This delicious stuffing is similar to a savory bread pudding. It's best baked alongside, rather than inside, the bird.

Remember, you absolutely cannot make delicious fried rice using freshly cooked rice! If you cook the rice yourself (a day to a week ahead), buy long-grain (Carolina) rice and follow the package directions for making drier rice. Otherwise, use leftover Chinese take-out rice.

Lard is the fat of choice on Majorca, but here we have substituted solid vegetable shortening in the crust, with equally delicious results. For a truly authentic version of this dish, use sobrasada, a sausage that tastes very much like Spanish chorizo but is much softer.

This dish from Ciudad in Los Angeles was inspired by the flavors of Portuguese cooking.