Dairy

No bottled tomato sauce can equal a simple homemade one—especially when the robust flavor of the grill is added to the mix.

Unless you're shopping for "meatloaf mix," it's easy to overlook ground pork. Smoky pork burgers topped with melted Muenster and creamy avocado will broaden your horizons. Don't skip the sliced tomatillo—its crisp tartness really perks things up.

Incredibly rich and flavorful, skirt steak is ideal for this particular salad, but you can also use any other type of steak you might happen to have left over from yesterday's dinner.

Grilled avocado is one of those things that sound faintly ridiculous until you try it—then you wonder why you never had it before.

Many riffs on Caesar salad are too heavily dressed, but here a hefty handful of basil keeps things fresh and herbal.

Crumb toppings normally appear on fruit desserts, but a savory mixture of grated pecorino and toasted walnuts works in much the same way, adding textural contrast to delicate fettuccine and grilled zucchini. Garlic-chile oil jazzes up the flavor.

The slightly sweet, almost flowery flavor of marjoram adds a delicate note to this Middle Eastern—inspired salad, though oregano is also fine. To be sure the eggplant is tender, slice into it before taking it off the grill—when properly done, it will be moist all the way through.

Mushrooms in general are great for grilling, and portabellas—which not only have a wonderful, earthy flavor but are also large enough to be easy to handle on the grill—are perhaps the best of all.

Simple, tender buttermilk cake with a sugary crunch: We like it full of raspberries, but you could substitute any berry you pick up at the farmers market.

The yogurt in this lightly spiced marinade results in extremely tender lamb, chicken, or shrimp.

The best thing about this icy, tart-and-sweet treat might be how little forethought it requires. You can use any flavored yogurt on hand.

If you don't have assorted potatoes, just use regular Idahos. Scrub and cut them into 1 1/2-inch chunks.

Flax is rich in substances that have been shown to protect against heart disease and cancer. It has a very mild taste and is good mixed into muffins and breads as well as sprinkled on cereal. This flax muffin recipe is one way to add a daily tablespoon of flaxseed to your breakfast and snacks. These muffins are remarkably sweet and moist, despite having no added fat. (The 3 grams of fat per muffin are from the health-protective fats in the ground flaxseed meal.)

Pat: Broccoli in cornbread—who knew? But sometimes you need to go to great lengths, and be very crafty, to get your kids to eat more vegetables. The result in this instance is a moist, incredibly satisfying cornbread that gets added richness from both cottage and cheddar cheese. We call for frozen broccoli, which makes this recipe easy enough to whip together in the time it takes your oven to preheat. (You can also use 2 1/2 cups of fresh steamed broccoli.)

A crème fraîche custard is folded into the mixed-fruit filling of this elegant nectarine-blackberry crisp.

An amazing mix of textures and flavors—nutty, sweet, salty, plus a touch of heat from the peppercorns.

Eggs are always a go-to ingredient for the quick cook. Here, they're used in a quiche-like southwestern tart.Round out the meal with a romaine salad or a cup of gazpacho.

The egg-dipped ham sandwiches are even better with Spanish ingredients: salty Serrano ham, Manchego cheese, and sweet membrillo (quince paste), which is available at some supermarkets, at specialty foods stores, and from igourmet.com.

The famous Argentine herb sauce is thinned out with a little more olive oil and vinegar to make a bright herbal dressing for the salad. Instead of a big rib eye, this recipe calls for flank steak, a thin cut that's ideal when you're pressed for time.

This salty, savory nibble is perfect with the sparkling cocktail. A garnish of crispy shallots adds just the right amount of crunch.