Cilantro

A new twist on the usual bean dip.

This is made with homemade pasta at the inn. Our easy alternative uses cooked lasagne noodles cut into squares. From the Inn at Perry Cabin, St. Michaels, Maryland. Watch how to make your own pasta for ravioli with our hands-on streaming video demonstration.

Inspired by custom-made Indian snacks sold all over Chowpatty Beach.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

The verde on the succulent swordfish comes from the cilantro and chili marinade and a silky avocado mayonnaise. Start out with salsa and tortilla chips, and serve Mexican beer throughout the meal.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Margaritas, crisp Mexican beer or sangria would be perfect with this dinner.

This recipe originally accompanied epi:recipeLink="101035"Masa Pancakes Topped with Poached Eggs and Chipotle Ranchera Salsa</epi:recipeLink>.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. We loved this refreshing condiment teamed with lean beef and with grilled shrimp.

This thick, spicy sauce is typically used in Moroccan dishes. Use it as an accompaniment for Shrimp Phyllo Purses with Tomato Chermoula Sauce.

This recipe accompanies Black Bean Soup with Cilantro-Tomato Salsa

Inspired by Vietnamese cuisine, this combination is also satisfying on its own as a meatless lunch.

Pass hot pepper sauce and warm buttered tortillas to complete this easy dish.

"Before we got married, my husband, Gregg, and I were working at a small restaurant, and it kept us ridiculously busy," writes Anita L. S. Eberhardt of Beverly, Massachusetts. "Now that we have both left the restaurant business, we have a much saner schedule, although raising two kids certainly keeps us busy. My experience as a professional cook makes it easier for me to throw together a quick meal, which is good because I'm not a convenience-food mom: I try to limit fat and salt, emphasize fruits and vegetables, and use a minimum of prepared foods."

Complement the entrée—and the Chinese theme—with rice, stir-fried snow peas, then pineapple sherbet topped with coconut.

This is one of the few recipes that works better in a microwave than a conventional oven. The mild-flavored squash gets its name from the fact that the interior, when cooked, separates into a glorious golden tangle of long spaghetti-like strands. That intriguing texture goes well with a Moroccan-inspired combination of supermarket spices. The larger the spaghetti squash, the thicker and more flavorful the strands.