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"I recently had lunch at Café Boulud here in New York," says Shelli Rafkin of New York, New York. "My entrée, blanquette de veau, had the most incredible sauce I've ever tasted. The whole dish, in fact, was sensational." In this variation on the classic stew, the veal and the vegetables are cooked separately and combined at the end, when they're topped with a rich white sauce.

The fine bulgur in this recipe might seem like a specialty ingredient, but it is actually in most supermarkets, near the rice, under the name Near East Taboule Wheat Salad Mix (you won't need the seasoning packet). Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 2 hr

Bacon drippings add extra flavor to the dressing. Crumble some Gorgonzola cheese over the finished salad for even more punch. Serve with: Tomato soup with a dash of Tabasco and corn bread squares. Dessert: Brownies topped with coffee ice cream.

Toasted onion bagels are great with this.

"My husband, Greg, and I cook together a lot," writes Sara Hainsworth of Frederick, Maryland, "which is fun and makes weeknight dinners and cooking for friends easier to manage now that we're starting our own family. I worked before our son, William, was born, but as my husband says, William is my boss now. So I count on quick, dependably good dishes like this more than ever." Sara says that this soup tastes even better the next day (which makes it an ideal party dish). But we thought it was delicious the same day, too.

Carey Paquette of Arlington, Virginia, writes: "My boyfriend and I cook almost every night as a way to unwind. It's nice to come home after a hectic day and make dinner together rather than pull something prepackaged out of the freezer. One of our favorite things is grilled vegetables. I'm always adding them to meals, since they don't need a lot of preparation. They're the key ingredients in my popular chicken sandwiches."

If you make these as a side dish for the southern fried catfish, you can fry them in the same oil, but cook the hush puppies first because the fish will flavor the oil.

If you can't find Thai anise basil and Thai lemon basil, you can substitute Italian basil and lemon balm (the latter is available at farmers markets and specialty produce stores).

Caramelized pears plus dried apricots, cranberries, and prunes add intense fruit flavor to this stuffing from Rochelle Palermo Torres, a freelance recipe developer and cooking teacher.

Serve this curry with condiments such as dried currants, sliced green onions, shredded coconut and toasted slivered almonds.

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

Fennel seeds, balsamic vinegar, roasted peppers, and caramelized onions really rev up this easy side dish.

These hors d'oeuvres should be served warm, so reheat the arepas in batches as platters need replenishing.

For a light meal, all you need is some crusty French bread and a garden salad to go with this comforting soup.

Here's a tangy dressing that is great on sliced tomatoes, mixed greens, hard-boiled eggs, or cold steamed potatoes.

This recipe adapts traditional Indian tandoori cooking for a barbecue. The chicken needs to marinate overnight, so start this one day ahead.