34 hand recipes

An easy and scrumptious recipe is perfect for a small dinner with friends. One dish that will have you licking your fingers!

Peruvian potato and chicken platter: poached chicken and potatoes built into a colorful spread with hard-boiled eggs, bell pepper strips, green olives, and chunky salsa.

Slow cooker sweet and sour turkey with pineapple, mandarin oranges, and colorful vegetables over fluffy rice. Set it, forget it, and come home to dinner.

Gulf-style shrimp and crab spaghetti simmered in a rich tomato sauce with chili powder, basil, butter, and garlic. Whole crabs in the sauce make this a messy, hands-on feast.

Low-calorie cottage cheese plate with fresh vegetables or tropical fruit, a hard-boiled egg, and rye crisp crackers. A high-protein, no-cook light lunch on a bed of lettuce.

Kakuluwo (Sri Lankan crab curry) simmered in two stages of coconut milk with shallots, ginger, garlic, fenugreek, turmeric, curry leaves, and a finishing splash of lime. Bold, fragrant, deeply spiced.

Cajun shepherd's pie layers spiced beef-pork meatloaf, julienned sautéed vegetables, and creamy mashed potatoes, then broils until golden. Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana spin on the British classic, loaded with cayenne and bell pepper.

This Sri Lankan kakuluwo simmers blanched crab in a spiced coconut gravy thickened with grated coconut and ground rice. Fenugreek, curry leaves, and lime make it unmistakably island-style.

Shrimp, chicken, water chestnuts, and Chinese ham wrapped in pork caul fat, deep-fried into crispy golden rolls, and served with hoisin dipping sauce. An impressive Chinese banquet appetizer with showstopping presentation.

Smoked sausage stir-fried with broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, peppers, and onions, tossed with ramen noodles and soy sauce. A fast, filling stir-fry dinner in 40 minutes.

If you're having guests over, then try serving this succulent seafood dish that will have everyone giving compliments to the chef.

Pork minestrone soup with cannellini beans, sweet potato, regular potato, and Italian-herb tomatoes in beef broth. A hearty 30-minute one-pot soup topped with Parmesan.

Linguine tossed with artichoke hearts, capers, Parmesan, and prosciutto in a buttery lemon-garlic sauce. A 35-minute Italian pasta that feels special.

Vegetarian tamale pie with a golden cornmeal crust wrapped top and bottom around a spiced bean-and-barley filling loaded with corn, ripe olives, and sweet red pepper. A hearty meatless main baked until the cheese bubbles.

Mexican chicken lime soup with chipotle, shredded chicken, and fresh tomatoes topped with melting pepper jack, tortilla strips, and sliced avocado.

Rich South Texas duck gumbo with a dark roux, okra, tomatoes, and Cajun seasonings served over rice. A slow-simmered hunter's gumbo built for wild mallard duck.