Chile

Add chicken or pork to turn this side dish into a satisfying main course. Chopped roasted peanuts are a nice garnish.

This recipe is from Cafe Annie in Houston, TX.

I first tasted this Cantonese pickle in a commercial version that I bought in Seattle's International District. The pickle contained stem ginger, in thick pieces so tender that you could eat them right along with the other vegetables. If you happen to grow your own ginger, by all means use the stems in this recipe. Otherwise, include the ginger just as a flavoring. The children who have tasted this pickle love it just as much as the adults do.

This bright, piquant sauce is also delicious spooned over sautéed chicken, fish, or steak. This recipe is an accompaniment for Cheese- and Shrimp-Stuffed Roasted Poblanos with Red Bell Pepper Sauce.

Pork fillet, or tenderloin, contains about as little fat and cholesterol as chicken. Available now in most supermarkets, it is tender and moist. In this recipe, the pork is marinated in honey, jalapeño peppers, and nuoc mam, the fish sauce of the Vietnamese, then grilled.

Roasted green chilies add spice to this do-ahead dish, which happens to be a great way to use up leftover chicken.

Mole, a classic Mexican chili sauce, gets streamlined here. Chipotle chilies (available canned at Latin American markets and many supermarkets) add heat, while unsweetened chocolate provides subtle sweetness. Serve the stew in shallow bowls with steamed rice. Add an arugula, orange, and red onion salad and a basket of warm corn tortillas. For dessert, offer cinnamon-spiked hot chocolate and wafer cookies.

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

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

For this simple—yet boldly flavored—entrée, tuna or sea bass can be substituted. Chilies in the sauce add nice heat.

Poblano chilies (fresh green chilies), tomatillos (green tomato-like fruits), dried corn husks, and Masa Harina are found at many supermarkets and Latin American markets.

The name of this cake derives from the flavors that are reminiscent of the classic mole, an aromatic, delicious chocolaty savory sauce that originated in Pueblo, Mexico. I have always thought that dried chiles were a surprisingly good match for chocolate, and with the addition of canela, cloves, and pumpkin seeds, the full mole flavors emerge. For a shortcut, substitute sectioned grapefruit for the orange caramel.

For this salsa, we prefer the tang of a regular pineapple — not too ripe and not "extra sweet." Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 1 hr