Grilling

Plump scallops, sprinkled with salt and pepper, are lightly grilled and served with a salsa rich in parsley and diced vegetables. The salsa should be made just before eating; otherwise the liquid content of the vegetables will turn the dish watery.

While our directions call for lighting the grill with a charcoal chimney, feel free to use whatever method you prefer.

An exotic and light main course. The vinaigrette would work just as well with red snapper.

It is very important to soak the wooden skewers in water, or they will burn on the grill. Devein the shrimp on the back side for a good appearance. See how to devein shrimp.

Serve with: Crudités dipped into creamy Italian dressing. Dessert: Sliced apricots drizzled with anisette liqueur.

Char Siew This succulent meat is traditionally cooked hanging on hooks inside a smoking barbecue oven. This easier and faster method cooks the pork on a charcoal grill. Char siew can be sliced and used as a garnish over rice or noodles, or stir-fried with vegetables.

It's best to shuck your own clams, but if you buy them on the half shell, be sure to ask for the clam liquor.

Offer grilled zucchini slices and a deli pasta salad alongside. Dessert? Berry tartlets from the bakery.

Serve with: Sesame noodle salad with chopped fresh cilantro, and cucumber slices tossed in rice wine vinaigrette.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Suitable sides for the vegetables and pasta are grilled pita bread and assorted olives. End with baklava and fresh apricots.

Grilled Matambre Matambre (literally, "kill the hunger") is a classic South American meat dish. Every family has its own favorite combination of ingredients for the filling — some use vegetables, eggs, and nuts; others use ground pork, calves' brains, and spinach. We kept it simple and went with spinach and carrots. Traditionally, this dish is poached, but we decided to grill ours. After testing this recipe on both gas and charcoal grills, we found that we prefer the flavor that charcoal imparts to the dish. We used a 22 1/2-inch kettle grill, a large chimney starter, and a 10-pound bag of hardwood charcoal.* Active time: 2 1/2 hr Start to finish: 3 hr

Before grilling the pineapple, be sure to preheat your grill rack and then clean it with a metal brush to remove any bits of previously grilled food, which can give an off flavor to the pineapple. This recipe makes great use of the Börner V-slicer*. Other adjustable-blade slicers also work well, but if you don't have one, you can use a sharp 10-inch chef's knife. The smooth-sided tart in our photo was made in a springform pan, but since the crust is very delicate, it's much easier and less likely to break when made in a round tart pan with a removable bottom as called for in the recipe below. Active time: 50 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr