Gourmet

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 25 min

Active time: 1 1/2 hr Start to finish: 2 hr

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 40 min

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 20 min

Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

Cooking the sea bass in parchment paper is a great technique — it keeps the pistachio topping in place and allows you to brown both the fish and the topping in the skillet (the parchment becomes translucent so you can see the browning. Since Gras is on the West Coast, he likes to use Dungeness crab when he makes this dish. We've substituted jumbo lump crabmeat because it's available year round nationwide.

This corn bread is less moist than others, but it's perfectly delicious for eating, especially when spread with butter. Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 1 hr (includes cooling)

In these stuffed artichokes, based on a recipe by Marie Miraglia — mother of one of our food editors, Gina — the provolone melts into each bite, and the soppressata adds more depth of flavor. Though we've given a regular-pot method in our recipe, there's nothing like the tenderness the leaves acquire in a pressure cooker — and the artichokes are done in a fraction of the time. Active time: 1 1/2 hr Start to finish: 2 hr

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 20 min I always use white cornmeal, as do many southerners — it has better flavor and tends to have a finer grind. When traveling, I look for cornmeal from specialty mills, but at home I stick with Kentucky Kernel or Nunn-Better, which I get at the local grocery. I urge people to buy cornmeal that has been grown and ground close to home — freshness is more important than brand.

We like to serve warm Asian-style slaw with these wonderful, easy chicken legs. Vegetable fried rice or even plain noodles would work well, too.

"On a recent visit to Charleston, South Carolina, I was greatly taken with the grits served at the restaurant Slightly North of Broad, on East Bay Street," says Charles C. Gordon of Ontario, Canada. "Is it possible to get the recipe?"

Grilled steak with late summer corn and a squeeze of lime juice. Sound wonderful? It is. Grilled potato wedges make a terrific side.

Sautéeing duck foie gras is not hard to do, but be careful; otherwise, you'll end up with a puddle of very expensive melted fat.

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 30 min

Chef Robert Del Grande of Cafe Annie, in Houston, serves a fillet of beef with a coffee chile sauce — we think the flavor combination also works well with the succulence of short ribs. We recommend serving these ribs over soft polenta. Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 4 1/2 hr

Active time: 1 1/2 hr Start to finish: 2 hr