5 Ingredients or Fewer

We already know you like applesauce with pork, but this soft, creamy purée is so much better. It's like a bowl of puréed potatoes that yearns to be dessert.

Delicate with tender stems, Broccolini tastes great simply on its own. Adding a little lemon oil reveals perky new dimensions to its flavor.

The secret to this dish is the touch of Sherry vinegar, added at the last minute; it lends a sprightly note that complements the rest of the meal.

Made in Mexico: This dish, created by food editor Shelley Wiseman's friend Aurelia, will start your day with a cayenne kick. It also doubles as a sweet and spicy dessert.

Splashes of lemon add a bright note to this simple chicken dish seasoned in the Provençal tradition with rosemary and garlic.

In the Middle East, this dish is made with dandelion greens or Swiss chard. Here, spinach substitutes, and the tahini takes care of the exotic flair.

A meat-free carpaccio, this crisp mix of zucchini and arugula gets a boost from olive oil and salty cheese.

Brandi Neuwirth of Cary, North Carolina, writes: "My family and I moved here from Los Angeles last year, and my new surroundings have really influenced my cooking. There's a great farmers' market nearby where I get lots of local ingredients. The produce there inspired me to create this dish, which is a real taste of the South." These pretty ice cubes are great in lemonade and summer cocktails.

Now's the perfect time for strawberries at their peak, and here is a way to celebrate all their fabulous flavor.

This rich, creamy chocolate sauce is perfect on ripe strawberries, but it's so versatile it might also be just what your favorite dessert has been missing.

Watermelon chunks in savory salads have been all the rage in the past few years, but we wanted a way to retain the fruit's best trait: how enjoyable it is to eat out of hand on a hot day. These wedges, sprinkled with salt, pepper, cheese, and heady fresh mint, are a light, refreshing start to a warm-weather meal. And they leave your other hand free to hold a drink or chase after the kids.

Toss aside the mashed potatoes and welcome this appealing alternative, a spirited mix of zucchini, tender sautéed bell pepper, and refreshing scallions.

Almost any berry, or combination of berries, can be substituted in this recipe.

_Editor's note: This recipe was adapted by Japanese cooking expert Elizabeth Andoh. This recipe originally accompanied Thick White Noodles in Soup, Topped with Eggs and Scallions and Cold Noodle Salad with Ponzu Sauce._ If instructions are provided on the package you purchase, follow the guidelines printed there. If no guidelines are available, refer to the basic procedures described here.

Nuoc Cham Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Mai Pham's book Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table. Pham also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. This recipe originally accompanied Crispy Spring Rolls. Nuoc cham is a must at every Vietnamese table, no matter what is served. You can use this condiment for dipping meat, seafood and vegetables, and for drizzling on rice. When serving it with steamed meats (such as steamed chicken), I often reduce the water by half so the sauce is more concentrated. You can often determine a family's roots just by looking at and tasting their nuoc cham. If it's clear and dotted with chopped chilies, the cook is probably from the central or northern regions, where a simple and straightforward version is preferred. But if it's diluted with water and lime juice and sweetened with sugar, one can surmise that the cook is from the verdant south. Although it will keep up to two weeks in the refrigerator, nuoc cham is best when freshly made. I prefer the intense flavor of the tiny Thai bird chilies, but any hot chilies will do.

Rau Song Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Mai Pham's book Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table. Pham also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. This recipe originally accompanied Crispy Spring Rolls. In Vietnam, a table salad is used in two main ways — as an accompaniment to meals in which little pieces of meat and seafood are wrapped in the lettuce and eaten out of hand and as an all-purpose salad. When eaten as a salad, diners tear off a piece of lettuce with some herbs and add to their bowls of rice or noodles, or fold the leaves and herbs into little packets to dip into a sauce. A nice table salad can include any combination of rau ram, Asian basil, red and green perilla and slices of starfruit or green bananas.

Who can resist rich chocolate with roasted pecans and butter-rum caramel? Melting the chocolate in stages insures that it will set. If you wish, the alcohol can be omitted.