Southwestern

Talk about simple stews! You don't have to brown the meat — and the stew cooks in an easy hour.

Serve with: A black bean salad and burger toppings like pepper Jack cheese, lettuce, and sour cream. Hamburger buns are optional. Dessert: Dulce de leche ice cream and sliced strawberries.

A one-dish meal with all the earthy flavors of the Southwest.

Cornmeal gives these blini a slightly crunchy texture that is perfect with the salsa.

If you'd like to make the jalapeño-lime butter one day ahead, use a broiler or gas burner to char the chiles and save the grill prep for the corn.

I first created this recipe at Routh Street Cafe in 1984. I've since had it on menus at five different restaurants in some form or another. It's also delicious when spread with a mixture of one part jalapeño jelly and three parts cream cheese whipped together. It's also best served warm.

Poquitos are small, pinkish-brown beans indigenous to the Santa Ynez region. Dried pink beans are a good substitute.

Here's a perfect partner for turkey or veal burgers, sausages and toasted French bread.

This sauce can be prepared with yellow bell peppers instead of poblano chiles. Both sauces go equally well with the chicken-and they also complement each other nicely. So follow your mood: earthy poblano or sunny, sweet yellow bell pepper-or make half a recipe of each and serve them both. This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

If you're short on time, use a roast chicken from the supermarket instead of grilling chicken breasts. Serve Mexican beers alongside and tortilla chips for extra crunch.

The steak served at Chamberlain's Prime Chop House in Dallas, Texas, is flavored with a soy sauce and honey marinade. Pour a Merlot with dinner, and serve a spice cake with peach ice cream for dessert.

Many Americans first tasted this cold vegetable soup at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. Gazpacho came into favor partly as a vehicle for showing off blenders, the popularity of which created a boom in recipes that called for liquefying ingredients. This recipe goes the Spanish classic one better with the addition of smoky chipotle chilies.

Serve this over the Baked White Polenta with Two Cheeses, and season with any — or all — of the suggested toppings (chocolate adds mole flavor).

A gift from Native American cooks, hominy is dried, hulled corn kernels. Sold rehydrated in cans, it also makes a great addition to soups, stews, and casseroles.

This recipe comes from the November 1989 issue and is part of our Thanksgiving Hall of Fame series. Pork and pumpkin plus spicy chorizo sausage, hominy and jalapeño make this stew a standout. Freshly toasted and ground cumin adds fragrance and flavor.