21 char recipes

Charlie's brownies are one-bowl easy: dump, beat for a minute, and bake, then top with a glossy chocolate fudge icing. Brown sugar and melted unsweetened chocolate make them rich, and the icing seals the deal.

Easy and tasty. Serve it with some delicious summer BBQ, arrange the salad over a bed of fresh greens to get some veggie boost.

Char's pasta salad with shell pasta, cubed ham, chopped hard-boiled eggs, and a Dijon-garlic mayo dressing. A simple, hearty cold salad that comes together in 40 minutes.

Char-broiled shrimp skewers marinated in olive oil, lemon, garlic and fresh parsley, then grilled over hot coals and basted until smoky and just opaque. A simple six-ingredient cookout classic.

Quick cast-iron charred vegetables with corn, zucchini, and bell peppers in lemon-herb dressing. A 15-minute summer side dish with smoky, caramelized edges.

Five ingredients and zero fuss: angel hair pasta tossed with canned tomatoes, diced ham or pepperoni, and a mountain of melted mozzarella. This is the weeknight dinner that gets a 5-star rating from the whole family.

Char-broiled turkey stuffed with citrus, apple, onions, and celery, then grilled low and slow with smoker chips for a smoky, juicy holiday bird right off the charcoal grill.

Char-grilled baby octopus simmered in red wine and olive oil.

A simple and delicious dish that doesn't take long to make and easily satisfies your hunger!

Char-broiled rib eye steaks basted with lemon-butter hot sauce, served topped with grilled mushrooms, peppers, onions, and tomatoes. A complete steak dinner cooked entirely on the grill.

Steamed char siu bao (BBQ pork buns) with a savory-sweet filling of roast pork, oyster sauce, and soy in fluffy steamed dough. A dim sum classic made at home.

Indian-spiced potatoes and green beans with turmeric, asafetida, dried chiles, and ghee, boiled then charred on the bottom for a crispy, smoky crust.

Cubed eggplant simmered with green peas in ghee, coriander, cumin, turmeric, and whole chiles until the stock evaporates and a smoky charred crust forms on the bottom. An Indian vegetable dish where the burnt bits are the best part.

Nothing is more fascinating and delicious than eating at the open- air street hawker centers in Asia, particularly in Singapore. Each stall serves a specialty, typically an honest, unpretentious, home-style dish for $1 to $3 a plate. This rice noodle dish is hawker food at its best. If done right, its fragrance will tell you how good it's going to be as soon as it arrives at your table.

Smoky charred tomatoes meet tender poached chicken and crisp broccoli in a bright lemon dressing with a kick of chili, creating a protein-packed salad that's light yet satisfying.

A quick, easy and flavorful salad. I added a bit chopped red onion, and used lemon juice instead of lime juice, and it was very tasty. Next time I will use pickled jalapeno, which I think will make the salad taste even better.