Blender

This Italian marinade and glaze is truly all-purpose. It can be used over roasted sweet peppers, marinated mushrooms, olives, or even pizza. If the sun-dried tomatoes feel brittle, refresh them by placing them in a nonreactive bowl, add 1 cup boiling water, and let them set until plump. The parsley and basil are interchangeable, so feel free to double up based on availability and preferences.

You don't need a juicer to make this sweet, smooth drink, which is rich in vitamins A and C—a blender can puree the fibrous kale and soft kiwi and banana.

The product: Kefir is a drink that looks and tastes like yogurt, usually made from cow's milk or goat's milk. It's in the dairy section.
The payoff: Body and tanginess in soups.

This tomato-Worcestershire-vodka soup gets served in shot glasses for fun. Look for the pickled veggies near the jarred vegetables in the supermarket.

The crispy, cookie-like crust is incredible with the soft soufflé filling.

This is a spicy, vinegary paste from the beautiful region of Goa. It is great with meat, chicken and fish; I have used it in a few recipes to get you started. Just remember when you cook with it, it is all raw so it does need to be well cooked before you use it.

For the best texture, don't overwork the meat mixture and use Parmesan that's ground to a fine powder ( use the processor or the rasp side of a box grater). For more heat, add 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper to the sauce.

B&O's menu offers everything from juicy steaks to local seafood, but our money's on the brick-oven pizzas (or flatbreads, as they're called at the restaurant). Savor the arugula, asparagus, and fried egg version while taking in the scene at the restaurant's downstairs bar.

Cooking the fish in olive oil makes it amazingly moist.

Linguiça, a garlicky Portuguese sausage, and andouille, a smoky Cajun sausage, are both available at most supermarkets.

Hari Pulapaka, chef and owner of Cress Restaurant in DeLand, Florida, scored a spot at a local community garden to sprout his organic produce for vitamin-packed salads like this one. The homemade dressing he created stays fresh in the fridge for a week.

This Peruvian ceviche offers a plethora of interesting textures: the meaty chew of octopus, the refreshing bite of shrimp, and the marshmallowy smoothness of bay scallops. It's all bathed in the electric yellow glow of a sauce made with Peru's most common chile pepper, the aji amarillo. You can find jarred aji amarillo paste at South American markets. The pepper imparts a distinct fruity quality to this dish, and the addition of turmeric and ginger enhances this fruitiness while toning down the pepper's heat. The variety of seafood in the following preparation, along with its exciting color, is certain to be a favorite on your table.

Tomatillos are usually the star of salsa verde, but pureed zucchini makes a surprisingly convincing stand-in.

Cajeta is a goat's-milk caramel popular in Mexico where it's made into candies or drizzled over ice cream and other desserts. The word cajeta is Spanish for "small box," named for the containers the caramel was traditionally packed in.
Making your own cajeta is worth the extra bit of work, but you can also buy it or substitute its South American cousin, dulce de leche.

Agua fresca (Spanish for "fresh water") is a Mexican drink infused with fruits, seeds, or flowers. This one combines the sweetness of pineapple with the spice of fresh ginger. Want to kick the party up a notch? Add a little vodka or tequila. Garnish with pineapple spears.

The flavors of a classic Mojito (mint and lime) are blended into a slushy, easy-to-drink cocktail. For a large party, triple the recipe and store the drink in a pitcher in the freezer for up to an hour. Stir to blend before serving.