American

These superb tacos are from chef Alex Castro at the Old Mexico Grill in Santa Fe.

The cornmeal biscuit topping adds some crunch to the winning combination of fresh strawberries and rhubarb.

Team these with grilled or broiled chicken, or add a green salad and some crusty whole wheat bread for a simple supper.

Now and again all a recipe requires to embitter a child is one fatal ingredient. My siblings tell me that they recall Hamburger Pie as a kid-friendly favorite. I dreaded it. Spying its mashed-potato crust through the oven window, I always groaned. Today my stomach still sinks with recollection, and here's why: sliced green beans from a can. Yes, they're fast, but can anyone defend the taste, texture, or color of canned green beans? My sister has tried to gussy up this dish, and I'm sure you can find many hoity-toity versions (usually called Shepherd's Pie). But here, taken from the brittle pages of her kitchen scrapbook, is the very recipe my mom prepared for her ungrateful son. Everything in it could be found in our house on any day. Mothers take note: This recipe would allow fresh green beans, cooked. Unless, of course, your little epicure insists on canned!

There has been much debate over the strange name of this rice and bean combination. One theory suggests that "Hoppin' John" is a corruption of pois à pigeon, French for pigeon peas, with which the dish was originally made in the French colonies of the Caribbean, where it was likely created.

San Francisco is famous for its sourdough, and a wide variety of apples are grown in Sonoma. In this sensational dressing, both ingredients are combined with almonds, which are harvested throughout the state. If you are roasting a turkey in a 350°F oven, cook the stuffing alongside, covered for 45 minutes and uncovered for about 15 minutes.

To save time, simply skip the topping.

Cornmeal adds a nice crispness to the coating for the chicken. The salsa and the Three-Pepper Slaw with Chipotle Dressing make this a colorful entrée. For drinks, mix up some tequila-lime spritzers by combining a little tequila with fresh lime juice and sparkling water, or uncork a bottle of dry Gewürztraminer.

Ask the butcher to bone, skin and butterfly the turkey breast. You will also need some cheesecloth (available in most supermarkets) for wrapping the roulade before cooking.

There's just a wee bit of the favorite Irish spirit in these treats.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Bottled balsamic vinaigrette is a super base for this sauce. Round out the menu with packaged noodles au gratin and steamed baby carrots. Then offer chocolate layer cake from the bakery for dessert.

The decade saw the rise of a modern southwestern cuisine, and the rise of chilies, like the poblano that gives this soup a kick.

Strawberry shortcake meets the ice cream sundae: what a match. The rich and easy-to-make Fudge Sauce called for here is also used in the Chocolate-Hazelnut Waffles.

It’s unclear just who the Louis of Crab Louis salad fame was; perhaps he was affiliated with the Olympic Club in Seattle, where opera star Enrico Caruso, who visited there in 1904, is said to have fallen in love with the crab salad. San Francisco also claims the dish, which reached its zenith there in the teens, as a specialty at Solari’s restaurant and at the St. Francis Hotel.

The ultimate dinner-party dish for a wintry evening, this is robustly flavorful and sophisticated. It's also simple to prepare. Market Tip: Don't buy pork tenderloins that have been pumped with salts and preservatives. Avoid anything that contains 10 percent water solution or phosphates.

Laura Trevino of Washington, D.C., writes: "This hearty chowder is the perfect thing for a chilly evening. Serve it with dark beer and crusty bread or oyster crackers."

A watercress salad would be good with these. And how about a lemon meringue pie to finish?

Sue Ellison of Edgewater, Colorado, writes: "Although I have worked for more than 20 years as an elementary-school music teacher, at this point music is just my job; cooking is my passion. It's an interest I share with my daughter, Hannah. We do a phenomenal amount of cooking together. In fact, I think she learned how to count using chocolate chips, standing on a stool next to me at the kitchen counter while I baked chocolate croissants. Now Hannah's early training is paying off: She creates new recipes often, including the peanut butter and white chocolate candies here."