Ground Beef

Joe's Special This meal was supposedly concocted as late-night fuel for 1920s musicians, at a spot called New Joe's, on Columbus St.

Serve this on its own, or use it for chalupas, tacos, or nachos.

I hadn't expected to find an entry on meat loaf in Alan Davidson's magisterial Oxford Companion to Food (1999). Indeed, I only looked it up there so I could say that meat loaf was a great and ubiquitous dish that everyone snubbed. Meat loaf, I intended to say, is a kind of joke.... Alan Davidson let me down. He had plenty to say about meat loaf..."a dish whose visibility is considerably higher in real life, especially in N. America and Britain, than in cookery books."

Beef and Roquefort have a long-standing culinary partnership, but the thick and sweetly smoky slices of barbecued red onions are what really make these burgers great. Keep the meal all-American with chilled beer, homemade lemonade and iced tea. A fresh peach pie with vanilla ice cream is a perfect dessert.

A versatile dish for the family or for casual entertaining. The chili is also good without the cornmeal topping, served with corn bread alongside.

Serve these over rice as a main course, or offer as an hors d'oeuvre.

There are several varieties of mustard cabbage; for this recipe we used wrapped-heart mustard cabbage, also called swatow or dai gai choy. Sharp and pungent when raw, mustard cabbage sweetens and mellows with wilting and slow cooking. Try serving this dish with mashed potatoes, which go very well with the gravylike tomato sauce the stuffed cabbage is cooked in.

Here's a chunky, hearty beef stew that's just right on a cold winter day.

A favorite of my mom's and a bit of an ethnic twist! It tastes best if freshly made. Direction #5 is very important, otherwise the triangles will look pale and sickly. Also, don't roll the sheets. The puffs will not be as flaky.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

I love cheeseburgers, but I think that I like this meatloaf even better, especially when served with sesame-seed rolls and french fries.

Frances Driesbach, Maui, Hawaii
"This chili was inspired by Southern Calif., where I grew up. Red, green, and yellow peppers represent the Mexican fiesta."