Pork

Baby back ribs are less fatty than spareribs, and this marinade is flavorful without being a heavy barbecue sauce.

A seasoning mix that originated in Jamaica, jerk is popular throughout the Caribbean in the preparation of meats such as pork and chicken for grilling. Jerk seasoning typically includes chilies, onion, allspice, and thyme. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Côtelettes de Porc avec Son Jus au Cidre Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 45 min

Chinese viceroy Li Hung Chang, visiting San Francisco's Palace Hotel in the 1890s, requested vegetables with a bit of meat "job suey," or "in fine pieces," and chef Joseph Herder obliged.

Have creamed spinach and sautéed carrots with these updated Swedish meat loaves. Then serve applesauce and spice cookies.

This is a simplified version of Havana Harry's recipe; at the restaurant, they deep-fry the pork after braising it.

These pork chops go well with rice with julienned carrots .

From Lidia's in Kansas City, an informal company dish that's sure to satisfy.

In central New York State where I grew up, summertime is speidie-time. Speidies are beef or chicken kabobs marinated in a locally produced spiedie sauce. Nobody makes their own; everybody buys it by the case to make it through the summer's grilling. Now that I live downstate, I've had to devise my own speidie sauce (really nothing more than a quite acidic vinaigrette), which I'm willing to share for the very first time.

I use spareribs, but you also can use baby back ribs. Just be aware that the racks are smaller (about 1 pound each) and the ribs have less meat.

Pork ribs become satays with built-in "skewers." Great as party appetizers, the ribs can be made a day ahead, then grilled or broiled just before you serve them.

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 2 1/2 days The USDA recommends cooking foie gras to an internal temperature of 160°F to be sure any harmful bacteria are killed. Though we prefer the results of chef Laurent Manrique's French method, we've included both options in the procedure.

Brining the chops makes them moist.

Begin preparing the ribs one day ahead so that they can marinate overnight.

Round out this fast and easy entrée with steamed rice and a sprinkling of finely chopped green onions.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.