Bell Pepper

Criolla is traditionally served as a sauce for grilled meats, but we tossed it with bell peppers as an accompaniment or side dish. If you're making this with the Spinach and Carrot Stuffed Flank Steak, grill the bell peppers before you start cooking the steak.

If you prep all the ingredients ahead of time, this dish takes only minutes to cook.

Serve this with a basket of crusty bread.

Giant beans in some form or another are never absent from Greek meze menus. The key to making this dish taste as good as possible is to use high-quality roasted sweet peppers preserved in extra virgin olive oil. I usually make my own oil, and have them on hand. All you need to do is roast the peppers whole under the broiler, let them cool, peel them, and store them in a container in the fridge covered with good olive oil. You can pour a few tablespoons of the pepper-infused oil into the baking dish for added flavor. As for the beans themselves, the trick is to get the texture right. Giant beans need first to be soaked, then boiled, and finally baked. Once done, they should be soft, almost buttery, without being baked to the point that they fall apart.

I use a small, plump, shrewdly marketed black lentil dubbed "beluga" for this soup, but you can use dark green French lentils or flat olive-green ones, or you can try other pulses such as split peas — green, orange, or gold. Just be prepared to adjust the amount of stock or water. Whole cumin and black peppercorns, crushed just before you add them to the soup, flavor it boldly. I have served this soup three different ways — straight from the pot, irregularly mashed in a mortar, and fully puréed in a blender or processor. Each method produces a different texture and character, and I like all three.

Offer either brown or white rice and Asian beer, like Tsingtao. The chicken is especially tender because of the egg white and cornstarch coating.

Offer seasoned tortilla chips alongside, as well as bagged lettuce tossed with ranch dressing. Try vanilla pudding topped with diced pineapple for dessert.

These crab cakes are flavored with the "holy trinity" of Cajun cooking: onion, green bell pepper, and celery. Serve them with a helping of coleslaw or a green salad.

Note that the heat level of Cajun seasoning blends can vary widely. Serve with: Baby spinach salad, corn bread, and pickled okra.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

"Recently I had dinner at the Bacchus restaurant in Vancouver's Wedgewood Hotel," says Gail Sussman of Los Angeles, CA. "It seems safe to say that the Greek god himself would have appreciated the delicious rack of lamb. I'd be so grateful if you could obtain the chef's recipe."

Pecan-studded rice pilaf and sautéed pattypan squash are great with the scallops, and lemon pound cake with sugared berries tops off the meal nicely.

Pair this with frosty glasses of lager.