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Sweet, salty, and spicy, nuoc cham is the indispensable sauce of Vietnam's cuisine. It's a favorite dipping sauce for spring rolls and for fresh rice-paper rolls such as these.

The rice-shaped pasta orzo is sometimes labeled riso or rosamarina.

When sweet, succulent jumbo crabmeat comes into season, this is an incredibly simple, light, and refreshing first course that requires no cooking. It can also be used as a main course for a summer luncheon.

I just happen to love Pickapeppa sauce, and putting some of it in mayonnaise is easy, as would be adding Indian lime pickle, or mango chutney, plus hot sauce for a bit of heat, or even beet horseradish. For a more surprising visual effect and a more complex dish, instead of halving the eggs, cut off the tops and bottoms, scoop out the yolks without damaging the whites, make the deviled yolk mix, then put it in a pastry bag and fill the eggs by piping the egg mixture back into the hollowed-out whites. Serve them standing up with the mayonnaise spooned over. A whole platter of these eggs for a buffet will pleasantly surprise everyone.

If you'd like to make the jalapeño-lime butter one day ahead, use a broiler or gas burner to char the chiles and save the grill prep for the corn.

Most people are familiar with confit duck legs, but the French confit the gizzards, too. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 30 min

A fruity, spicy Sauvignon Blanc would be perfect with this elegant dish.

"Many of the everyday dishes I made when I was raising my daughters are recipes I learned from my mother while I was growing up in the suburbs of Paris," writes Fanny Carroll of Eugene, Oregon. "She was quite a cook, and with a husband and seven kids to feed, everything had to be fast. It's nice that the dishes I learned as a girl are enduring favorites in my own family. I still make the carrot and rice soup for my daughter Eileen." A colorful soup that's smooth and rich.

Spicy and sweet, this unusual salad would be ideal with grilled chicken or fish.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.