Gourmet

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.

Smoky chipotle marries lime juice and mild honey in this irresistible chicken dish, perfect for your next barbecue.

The mild flavor of mahimahi is a perfect match for this wonderfully balanced tamarind glaze. The famously tart fruit is sweetened with brown sugar and brought to life by soy sauce and lime juice.

These crisp-tender, mildly spiced beans are novel enough to be interesting, familiar enough to be comforting.

The flavors of a classic New York cookie make a nostalgic malted.

Any party host knows that food served on skewers is just plain fun. These chicken satés are made from thigh meat, so they don't dry out during grilling, and the palm sugar in the marinade helps get the meat nice and caramely brown.

It takes bold flavors to stand up to the smoky richness of grilled beef, and this salad delivers. A tangle of rice-stick noodles cradles Asian greens, apples, and mint, and tender slices of flank steak top things off. The finishing touch? A drizzle of sweet dressing tangy with fish sauce and fiery with red-pepper flakes.

The citrusy dressing makes this dish a standout, and there's plenty extra to be sopped up with rice or crusty bread. Cooking shrimp in their shells keeps them juicy and tender. It all makes for casual finger food that requires plenty of napkins — which is part of the fun.

Packed with peanuts and spiked with Thai curry paste, this chunky sauce nearly explodes with flavor and spice. Placed near the chicken satés or the crab-and-pork spring rolls, a bowl of it will quickly disappear.

This salad is no bland picnic side dish: Slices of deli ham and bits of salty bacon give it hearty main-course appeal.

Lemon thyme, available at farmers markets and specialty produce markets, lends this corn a delicate lemony-herbal flavor, but feel free to use regular fresh thyme instead. Steaming the corn is a gentle method that allows you to cook it in butter; you can pull back the husks and use them as a handle while eating.

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.

This version of the Italian classic is an irresistible mix of crusty-chewy bread cubes and colorful roasted vegetables, all bathed in a lusty balsamic vinaigrette. Be sure to use a good-quality French-style baguette, as a lesser bread won't keep its texture.

Roasting the chickens and using both dark and white meat results in chicken salad with deep flavor. (Buying rotisserie chickens will cut down on the timing, but be sure to choose minimally seasoned birds.) Fennel, standing in for the usual celery, along with fennel seed and fresh basil, adds an unexpected note of sophistication.

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

Wild rice has an affinity for fish, and we think it's particularly good alongside tender pieces of smoked salmon. Crisp snow peas and wedges of hard-boiled egg round out the salad, and a refreshing dill vinaigrette brings all the flavors together.

This simple one-dish vegetarian meal is hearty without being heavy.

If your pulse quickens at the suggestion of salt and vinegar potato chips, you'll be hooked on this warm potato salad after one bite. A little Old Bay seasoning gives it a modest kick.

This light chowder with a subtle note of smokiness really lets the scallops shine.