30 Minutes or Less

This recipe is an accompaniment for Ginger Salad .

I typically toast 1/4 cup peppercorns at a time (it's hard to grind much less) and use any extra powder in seasoning rubs, flatbreads, and stir-fries. However, once ground, this spice quickly loses its pungency—discard it once it is no longer vibrantly fragrant.

Mark Taylor of West Hartford, Connecticut, writes: "I started cooking out of necessity when I first graduated from college, since I couldn't afford to eat out. Having grown up watching my mother cook for our large family, I used her recipes. She was always trying new dishes whenever we had guests and sharing her adventurous attitude toward eating. These days, even though my wife and I both work, we still cook several times a week. Now I tend to rely on recipes I've picked up from restaurants and friends. I enjoy experimenting with different ingredients and figuring out new ways to improve a recipe, as I've done with the one here." Serve the fish and sauce over couscous.

Look for ripe mangoes that are slightly soft to the touch. To evoke the tropics even more, serve the fruit with coconut macaroons or macadamia nut cookies.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This salad yields generous portions. Combined with a loaf of crusty bread, it’s easily a meal in itself.

An elegant entrée in about 15 minutes — using ingredients you are likely to have on hand. Serve the chicken with mashed potatoes and baby peas or a Bibb lettuce salad for a balanced weeknight meal. Finish with a raspberry tart from the bakery.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The rice-shaped pasta orzo is sometimes labeled riso or rosamarina.

A rich, delicious stove-top side dish with a silky texture. This pairs especially well with the Porcini-Rubbed Turkey with Shiitake-Madeira Gravy — or grilled steaks on any other day in November. You can make the potatoes eight hours ahead and reheat them just before serving.

Liven up chicken pibil with these pretty-in-pink, spicy-as heck pickled onions.

Known as bifteck haché in France, this dish would go well with potatoes au gratin from the freezer case and buttered, lightly steamed spinach. End with chocolate mousse.

Serve with potato chips, a heap of tangy coleslaw, and some sweet gherkins. Finish with strawberry ice cream and chocolate cookies. By the way, the filling for these quick sandwiches is delicious on toasted English muffins for breakfast.

Add corn bread, a crunchy chicory salad, and peach pie for summer supper at its best.