Starter

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 40 min

Gazpacho de Habas This gazpacho has a haunting flavor — barely identifiable as lima beans — and is also excellent when you substitute pine nuts for the limas, as the chef at El Churrasco, in Córdoba, often does. The addition of an egg — not at all unusual in white gazpachos — gives this soup a creamier, richer taste. It is best served in small portions.

Juana Vázquez-Gómez of Redondo Beach, California, writes: "Growing up in Cuernavaca, just outside Mexico City, I remember my grandmother cooking elaborate Mexican meals every day. My mother continued that tradition, but not in such an all-consuming manner. For her it was a great joy to plan a menu and then invite people to help with the preparation. "The women in my life taught me the beauty of a good meal. I still use many of their recipes today, but unlike my grandmother I don't spend an entire day in the kitchen. Fortunately, my husband and kids like to cook, so I've found a balance between my grandmother's time-intensive recipes and my mother's practicality. "

Serve this dish with French bread to get all the delicious sauce.

The Spanish sauce known as romesco is usually high in fat; this version contains less oil, but just as much flavor.

A favorite steak-dinner starter served at Cattlemen's Steakhouse in the historic Stockyards City area of Oklahoma City.

Chef Ian Algerø‸en of Skadi restaurant serves this side dish with duck. It's also terrific with roast pork or Cornish game hens.

Offer a small salad of baby greens with a shallot and tarragon vinaigrette.

"When a friend celebrated her birthday at El Teddy's in New York City's TriBeCa, I really enjoyed trying the innovative dishes there," says Thea DeSando of New York, New York. "But the one thing I couldn't get enough of was the salsa—smoky and full of tomato flavor. Is there any way you can get the recipe?"

Active time: 35 min Start to finish: 45 min

"On a trip to Longboat Key in Florida, my fiancé and I ate at Pattigeorge's," writes Wendy J. Harbart of Forest Hills, New York. "The five-spice calamari was out of this world."

Ana Garcia of Cuernavaca, Mexico, writes: "My great-grandmother, Josefina, was a highly regarded butcher, and she taught me the communal style of cooking that Mexico is known for. That's one of the reasons I opened my own cooking school, La Villa Bonita — to show others how authentic Mexican cuisine is prepared, as opposed to the usual tacos, burritos, and Tex-Mex dishes." My husband, Robb, and I also run our own restaurant, Reposado. He insisted that we open the place because he thought my recipes deserved a wider audience. At the restaurant I like to experiment — the menu at Reposado is nouvelle Mexican — but at my cooking school I feature more traditional recipes. Working at both places gives me the chance to show off both cooking styles. When beets are cooked as they are in this recipe, they turn a bright fuchsia color. Wear disposable plastic gloves when working with beets. Puree only one or two cups of hot soup at a time, holding the top of the blender firmly to keep it from flying off.

(Salade de Lentilles Vertes aux Lardons) Smoked ham and bacon give this lentil salad a rich, robust flavor. Serve it alongside roasted meats or poultry.

This recipe is from Andalusia in the south. The North African touches of honey and mint come by way of the Moors, who ruled the region for centuries.