Ginger

This would be nice with any roasted meat.

Sichuan peppercorns are officially banned from import because they come from a plant that is susceptible to citrus canker. Although there's no substitute for their woodsy citrus flavor, the recipe is delicious without them. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 30 min

The word chutney comes from the Hindustani chatni, which means "strong spices." The sweet juiciness of golden pineapples — much more intensely flavored than ordinary pineapples — balances the spices with the lusciousness that only tropical foods possess. But you can substitute regular pineapple if you cannot find the golden variety, and the chutney will still be complementary. Serve it with Jerked Pork Chops or any grilled meat.

An exotic and light main course. The vinaigrette would work just as well with red snapper.

It's best to shuck your own clams, but if you buy them on the half shell, be sure to ask for the clam liquor.

What to drink: The menu's sweet-tart flavors call for a floral Riesling or spicy Syrah.

Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 4 hr

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Despite its name, this dish is not rice at all but noodles—and not even rice noodles but shimmering, transparent bean threads with lots of chicken flavor. Got that straight?

A unique no-knead loaf developed for baking in coffee cans to create that special mushroom shape, this white bread is a savory loaf that fills the kitchen with an incredible aroma while it bakes. Since it takes only one rise in the molds, you can plan on 2 hours from mixing to table. In my travels around the United States, home bakers most often surprise me when they tell me this is their favorite bread recipe. It utilizes creamy evaporated milk, which has 60 percent of its water removed and gives the bread an especially delicate, moist texture. I think you will find it exceptionally easy to prepare, and each variation is as good as the master recipe. I use two glass baking canisters in lieu of coffee cans, which are not so often readily available.

"I'm hoping to get the recipe for a terrific appetizer I tried at Hamiltons' at First & Main in Charlottesville, Virginia," says Sue Carter of Murieta, California. "The seafood fritters came with lettuce leaves (to wrap around the fritters) and a spicy sauce."

Add a pleasing crunch to this velvety soup by topping it with plain croutons.

Having run the cake table at my daughter's school last year, I can say that there are two types of optimum bake sale fare: small, individual pieces that look cute and fetch high unit-prices and sheet cakes that can be made without effort or dexterity and sliced up easily. This recipe fits the latter category and has the added virtue of appealing to parents and grandparents who feel that something from the sale should be gratifyingly old-fashioned. The fresh ginger is a modern touch, admittedly, but I always keep some in the fridge and wanted to try it in a less contemporary, pan-Asian way one day (it worked.) The lemon icing may not be conventional either, but there is another starkly practical reason for it: brown things — if they're not gooily chocolate — don't sell so well; and the lemon spruceness of the topping is perfect with the musky sweetness beneath it.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 20 min

Adapted from a recipe by chef Phillippe Padovani of the Manele Bay Hotel on Lanai. Serve it as a topping for grilled skinless, boneless chicken breasts.

This quick dish gets its flavor from fresh tangerine peel as well as the fruit's juice. To make easy work of grating the peel, choose tangerines with firm skin and store them in the refrigerator. Then use a hand grater or a Microplane grater-zester to grate the peel.

(Pollo Arrosto All'Arancia, Limone, e Zenzero) Ginger arrived in Italy with Arabic traders or North African Jewish immigrants, so it's likely that this is a Sicilian or Livornese recipe. Most Italians would use ground ginger, but since fresh ginger is so plentiful at our markets, why not use it?