Beer

A tangy sauce for grilled chicken or spare-ribs. Build up a shiny glaze by brushing the sauce often over the meat, beginning about 15 minutes from the end of cooking time.

After being tenderized by a beer marinade, these chops require only a quick turn on the grill or under the broiler to form the centerpiece of a hearty meal.

This drink is sometimes called Champagne Velvet, and in certain quarters is known as the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick Shandygaff, a fine euphoric title.

In addition to the herb mayonnaise and blue cheese coleslaw, sliced tomatoes would be perfect alongside.

Jasper White discovered the flavorful, tender red shrimp of Stonington, Connecticut, while opening Summer Shack, his restaurant at the nearby Mohegan Sun casino. For this recipe, we tried several different kinds of shrimp, and all varieties worked well.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The sweet and spicy sauce is a perfect complement to pork.

A winner in the Bon Appétit Recipes Sweepstakes, a reader poll conducted in honor of the brand’s 50th anniversary.

Serve with: Buttered noodles and steamed Swiss chard. Dessert: A bakery Linzertorte.

Debra L. Warren of Lake Forest, Illinois, writes: "I have often indulged in Jay Lovell's phenomenal cuisine at his Lovell's of Lake Forest restaurant, and the ribs he prepared for an event I attended were out of this world. Could you possibly persuade the chef to share the recipe?" The espresso powder gives the sauce great depth of flavor.

Giving up fried shrimp is probably easier than giving up, say, chocolate cake, but only because so much fried shrimp is so badly prepared. Here is a terrific version, complete with tartar sauce for dipping.

The fennel mayonnaise below makes an excellent dip for these zucchini spears if serving them as an hors d'oeuvre. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Beer gives a yeasty flavor to this quick bread made without yeast. Slices of the bread are good toasted or sandwiched around a filling of choice.

This Welsh dish is also called "rabbit." The name rabbit may be traceable to the fact that the Welsh, who live in prime dairy land, were as fond of melted cheese as they were of rabbit. "Rarebit" may have been a later gentrification of the word, or a reference to the texture of this rare (soft) dish. Either way, it is excellent served in bite-size pieces for a party.

Whether you pick blossoms from your garden or buy them at the farmers market, choose male flowers. The males — which don't produce a vegetable but exist to pollinate the females — are recognizable by their long, straight stems and the unmistakably male-looking stamen in the center of each blossom. Females swell at the base of the blossom, where the squash forms, and four little shoots make up the pistil inside. Some chefs like to fry female blossoms when the baby zucchini is just emerging and still attached, but Mexican and Italian purists wouldn't hear of it. Other chefs like to remove the stamen of the male flowers, but it isn't necessary.

"Caribbean food has become a real favorite of mine," writes Cindy M. Wright of Tarzana, California. "I just love the flavors of this spicy cuisine. One of the best places in my area is Cha Cha Cha in Encino. I've enjoyed everything I've had there, but I especially like the shrimp and rice dish called camarones negros."

Dark beer and molasses add rich depth of flavor to this moist and delicious cake.