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Rich Vellante, the talented executive chef of Legal Sea Foods restaurants, developed this wonderful recipe during the "Spices of Life" project when we were working with Chef Suresh Vaidyanathan from the Oberoi Hotel group in India.

Mashed potatoes make a hearty honest dish. It has sometimes been referred to as comfort food because it evokes memories of both big special-occasion dinners and the simple, family dinner intended for no other reason than to share a good meal. This version of mashed potatoes tastes good because it's dense with the mildly sweet flavor of parsnips and just enough butter to please, but without the extra calories you usually find in mashed potatoes.

The rice needs to stir-fry in a generous amount of oil. (It's fried rice, after all.) If you don't use enough oil, the dish starts to taste more like a rice casserole. Note that except for the 2 eggs, 1 onion, and 1 garlic clove, all the other ingredients begin with 4.

Sour-milk cornbread is one of those quintessential foods of the South for which there are hundreds of recipes (and infinite variations). Although we'd never claim to have the "definitive version," Miss Lewis and I worked together on this recipe until we got just what we wanted: an all-cornmeal bread that's light, moist, and rich, full of corn flavor, with the tanginess of sour milk or buttermilk. Like all Southern cornbreads, it has no sugar—that's a Yankee thing. Traditionally, milk that had started to culture was used in cornbread and other baked goods, both for its pleasant sharp taste and for a leavening boost (its acids react with baking soda to generate carbon dioxide). Since modern pasteurized milk doesn't sour nicely—it just goes bad—we use commercial buttermilk here instead. This is a genuine all-purpose cornbread, delicious as a savory bread or even as a dessert, slathered with butter and honey. My mother and grandmother only made this kind of leavened cornbread (which they called "egg bread") for cornbread stuffing, and it does make superb stuffing. It's also delicious in a time-honored Southern snack: cornbread crumbled into a bowl with cold milk or buttermilk poured over. Many Southerners—especially of an older generation—would call that a perfect light supper on a hot summer day, after a big midday meal.

Without the grated onion, matzo meal latkes are a little on the bland side. However, you can always take a different, more Sephardic, approach: omit the onion; sprinkle the cooked latkes with a mixture of confectioners' sugar, cinnamon, and finely chopped nuts; and serve them with honey.

Of all soufflés, this is my favorite. The enticing aroma of goat cheese is very seductive, and the little pockets of melted cheese are found treasures. Although a classic soufflé dish forms a high, puffed crown, I often bake this and other soufflés in a large shallow gratin dish instead. It still looks marvelous, it bakes more quickly, and this way there's plenty of crust for everyone.

This salsa is delicious, easy, and versatile. I serve it with many grilled foods, including seafood, pork, and chicken. It's also excellent as a dip with tortilla chips. To preserve the salsa and prevent it from darkening, bury the avocado pits in it, cover tightly, and store in the refrigerator. It will keep for 3 to 4 days.

These little crescents are gone in a couple of bites and can be surprisingly addictive. Their cinnamon sugar coating reminds me of churros, the deep-fried, cinnamon-sugar-coated lengths of sweet dough so popular in Mexico and in my own home state. For a dramatic buffet presentation set them on a tiered dessert tray along with Pequeño Chocolate-Pecan Tartlets (page 166) and Chubby’s White Pralines (page 168).

Chickpeas are among the best legumes, and this is among the best recipes you can prepare with them, an eons-old Middle Eastern classic. Generally, I’m not a big fan of canned beans, but for whatever reason canned chickpeas are not bad at all, and I always keep some on hand so I can make a batch of this at the last minute, to use as a dip or a spread. You can make hummus without tahini; it will be a little looser and less complex tasting but still good.

This beautiful side dish looks complicated but is very easy to assemble. If you don't have time to make your own ricotta, buy high-quality fresh ricotta.

The ricotta needs to chill for about two hours. Consider making it the night before so the ricotta is ready to go when you assemble the carpaccio.

A staple of Puerto Rico, this fried plaintain mash can be served with a simple salad or rice and beans.

In this East Coast-style breakfast treat, a tender sour cream coffee cake is topped with a thick layer of cinnamon-scented streusel.

Summer at the beach is unthinkable without coleslaw, but sometimes I hanker for something a bit out of the ordinary. I combined napa cabbage, a more delicate cousin to regular cabbage, with crunchy jicama, dressed it with white balsamic vinegar and mayo, and sprinkled on fennel seed to create what has become my new summer fave. This sturdy salad travels with ease, whether you're taking it to the beach or to a summer party with friends. Another plus: you can make it up to 24 hours in advance.

Sweet summer corn is the best. You can make variations of the cilantro butter with different herbs and use lemon juice. If the corn isn't too sweet, add a little bit of maple syrup to the butter.