717 spring recipes

Asian-style Cornish hen wraps split hen breasts around asparagus spears and steams them in a bamboo steamer over rice with bok choy, broccoli, and peppers. Elegant pan-Asian dinner.

Cajun chicken sauce piquant with a dark roux, Chablis wine, tomato sauce, stuffed olives, and hot pepper sauce, slow-cooked for hours and served over spaghetti. Big-batch Cajun cooking.

Homemade vegetable hummus stuffed into whole wheat pita pockets with Monterey Jack cheese, fresh tomato slices, and alfalfa sprouts. A quick vegetarian sandwich ready in 25 minutes using the microwave.

Asian-style beef and couscous with flank steak in an apricot-ginger sauce, bell peppers, and mushrooms. A sweet-savory microwave meal with crisp-tender vegetables.

Slightly Italian crockpot chicken: slow-cooked chicken breasts with artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and Italian dressing sauce thickened with tapioca. Set-and-forget weeknight dinner for four.

Slow-roasted beef tenderloin sliced thin, served with buttery wine-simmered mushrooms and chilled black-eyed pea salsa for an elegant Texas feast.

Wild rice with a four-mushroom medley (button, shiitake, oyster, enoki) plus snow peas and red pepper, simmered in soy-scented broth. A high-fiber, low-fat vegetarian dish with real depth.

Crystal-clear dumpling wrappers reveal a savory filling of shrimp, pork, mushrooms, and water chestnuts. These bite-sized dim sum gems steam in just minutes and disappear even faster from the plate.

Wok-seared lobster tossed in a fiery Szechuan chili sauce with hoisin, ginger, garlic, and dried red chilies. Restaurant-quality stir-fry ready in just 15 minutes from start to plate.

This colorful version of corn chowder features a medley of spices and fills the kitchen with aroma.

A chilled, crunchy gazpacho-style soup packed with black beans, corn, jicama, peppers, cucumber, and zucchini in tangy tomato juice. Low-fat, vegetarian, and loaded with fresh vegetables.

Spicy baby back ribs with a Chinese-style marinade of fermented black beans, ginger, garlic, soy, fish sauce, and chopped orange. Marinated overnight, grilled low and slow, basted constantly.

Vegetarian Chinese boiled dumplings (shwei jow) with handmade wrappers and a tofu, mushroom, and lily bud filling. Served with a soy-vinegar dipping sauce. Makes 24.

Here's a tasty, mayonnaise-free version of a favorite American salad.

Homemade cayenne-spiked biscuit bowls cradling hearty ground beef chili loaded with kidney beans and stewed tomatoes. Pile on sharp cheddar, sour cream, and scallions for the ultimate cozy one-bowl dinner.

My copycat version of the top secret famous A1 Steak Sauce.