Jalapeño

This easy-to-make dip is also great as a topping for burritos and enchiladas. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less, but requires additional unattended time.

You can prepare this brightly colored dip up to two days ahead.

Use a cast-iron skillet or other heavy skillet to make this recipe. Serve the bubbling cheese right from the pan, and partner the whole meal with icy Margaritas.

Add chicken or pork to turn this side dish into a satisfying main course. Chopped roasted peanuts are a nice garnish.

This bright, piquant sauce is also delicious spooned over sautéed chicken, fish, or steak. This recipe is an accompaniment for Cheese- and Shrimp-Stuffed Roasted Poblanos with Red Bell Pepper Sauce.

Pork fillet, or tenderloin, contains about as little fat and cholesterol as chicken. Available now in most supermarkets, it is tender and moist. In this recipe, the pork is marinated in honey, jalapeño peppers, and nuoc mam, the fish sauce of the Vietnamese, then grilled.

Grilled steak with late summer corn and a squeeze of lime juice. Sound wonderful? It is. Grilled potato wedges make a terrific side.

Great on its own or served alongside grilled fish, chicken or steak.

Serve as a side dish with enchiladas. The beans can be topped with grated Monterey Jack cheese, then covered to melt.

Texans like their barbecue spicy, in the tradition of the Southwest, which is chili pepper country. For this recipe, you'll need to order a U.S.D.A. "choice" grade, packer-trimmed brisket: That's a brisket with none of the fat cut off. Before being cooked, the meat is seasoned with a dry rub; during cooking, it is brushed regularly with a beer-based mop. You'll need to use a smoker for the brisket (a converted barbecue won’t maintain the very low heat required), and to get the most authentic Texas flavor, seek out the natural lump charcoal specified in the recipe; it's available at barbecue stores, some natural foods stores and some supermarkets.

As in many Mexican recipe names, there is a playful personification at work here: The eggs are "separated" by their salsas—one is topped with fiery red, the other with jealous green.