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Caraway seeds often season cabbage dishes; here they give pork a tangy coating. If you plan to make the cabbage to serve on the side, begin preparing that recipe first, since the total time is about an hour.

Serving a sandwich for dinner can make even the busiest day feel less complicated. Start with a mixed-green salad, and try Parmesan Steak Fries (page 83) on the side.

Soft hamburger buns work best with these kid-friendly sandwiches. Serve with pickles or potato chips.

This Korean dish is usually eaten wrapped in lettuce leaves, but you could serve it over white rice instead. For added spice, serve Asian chile-garlic sauce on the side.

When cutting the beef into strips, slice against the grain (across the striated fibers); the result will be meat that is much more tender.

With so many good green salsas now available in the supermarket, it’s easy to recreate this Mexican restaurant favorite at home. For convenience, substitute shredded meat from a rotisserie chicken for the poached chicken.

Mushrooms, acorn squash, and rosemary lend a woodsy taste to roast chicken. We used cremini mushrooms, but regular white button mushrooms can be substituted.

To complete the meal, add a side of spaghetti or other pasta tossed with a little olive oil and some grated Parmesan cheese, and seasoned with salt and pepper.

This dish may sound spicy, but roasting the poblano chile and combining it with cream actually mellows its flavor and heat. Serve with white rice mixed with chopped fresh cilantro and scallions on the side.

Wrapping the stir-fried chicken in lettuce keeps this dish lower in calories and carbohydrates than it would be if served with tortillas. You could omit the lettuce and serve the chicken over rice, if desired.

Browning the chicken seals in the juices and keeps the inside moist and flavorful. This recipe can be made with pork cutlets instead of chicken. For an earthier flavor, substitute shiitake, cremini, or wild mushrooms for the white mushrooms.

For a break from roast chicken, try these smaller hens, which cook in about half the time it takes for a chicken. If you like, substitute four bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts (10 to 12 ounces each) for the Cornish hens.

With fresh ginger, garlic, and lime, this Thai-style soup imparts lovely fragrance and warmth on a cool autumn evening. Adjust the amount of red pepper flakes depending on how spicy you want the soup to be.

Customize this toss-and-serve pasta dish by adding any— or all—of the suggested toppings.

For a delicious appetizer, serve the grilled tomatoes atop toasted pieces of Italian bread. Or use them in a grilled sandwich with fresh mozzarella and basil.

This is one of the quickest and most satisfying pasta recipes you can make. Prosciutto is easier to slice when it’s cold; stack slices, and cut crosswise with a sharp knife.

The combination of pesto, potatoes, and green beans originates in Liguria, a region of Italy. It’s best made at the height of summer, when fresh basil is readily available, but you can make it any time of year with store-bought pesto.

Elegant enough for a dinner party but simple enough to prepare any night of the week, this pasta dish makes good use of quick-cooking shrimp and two types of tomatoes.

Think of these as open-faced Mexican sandwiches, topped with grilled summer vegetables, tangy feta cheese, and fresh tomato salsa.

Try these spicy vegetarian burgers served on hamburger buns or in whole wheat pita pockets, layered with sliced tomato and red onion and drizzled with tangy yogurt sauce.