Garlic

Serve with: Steamed new potatoes and mixed green salad with a citrus vinaigrette. Dessert: A lemon tart from the bakery.

The secret to garlic bread that's neither too greasy nor too dry is having the correct proportion of butter to bread, so we give specific dimensions for the Italian loaf. If yours is a different size, you'll need to adjust the amount of garlic butter accordingly.

Green chilies and cilantro add some zip to this main course.

We recommend using the freshest watercress possible — if not at its best, it can give the sauce a slightly bitter taste. (Try hydroponic watercress; it's generally better than conventionally grown supermarket cress.) Tanis suggests skimming all the fat from the cooking liquid and serving the broth as a first-course soup, garnished with toasted slices of French bread.

Few foods metamorphose as dramatically or alluringly as garlic when it is roasted. Hardly a savory recipe exists in which one could not imagine this substance. I always have these garlic preparations on hand. This recipe is a component of Fish in Foil with Sweet Onions, Tomatoes, and Mojo Verde and Grill-Roasted Rack of Lamb in Red Mole .

This fluffy puree makes a sumptuous side dish, as well as a creamy base on which to serve pan-seared salmon or scallops.

This version of a tagine, the classic Moroccan stew, calls for dark meat because it stays moist when braised. If you prefer white meat, reduce the cooking time by 15 minutes.

In a classic confit, meat cooks (and is then preserved) in its own fat. Here, lemons cook in their own juices to become the basis for an overnight marinade.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Steam sugar snap peas and pour a Chardonnay to go with this dinner.

Serve the kebabs with some rice to round out the meal.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The bisque is very rich, so a small serving (about two-thirds cup per person) is plenty. At the restaurant, this is baked in individual crocks, with puff pastry on top.

Oysters were very much a part of American life in Colonial days, and were cooked in every conceivable manner — boiled, scalloped or steamed; turned into pies and fritters; or, in the winter in Savannah, roasted over an open fire. Here they're presented on the half shell, with shallots, green onions and vinegar.

Here's our version of Barba Yianni's grilled lamb. The marinade works equally well with lamb chops, kebabs, or butterflied leg of lamb. You can also use it on pork or chicken. Skordalia is often made with mashed potatoes or bread soaked in water, but we feel the yogurt gives it more flavor. Skordalia is also good with grilled fish or chicken breasts.

Chef Lisa Ahier likes the flavor of Key limes or Mexican limes, which she can buy locally and year-round, for the marinade below. But even if you use regular lime juice, you'll love this chicken, which is as delicious at room temperature as it is hot. In fact, Gourmet's food editors couldn't get enough of it.