Latin American

The tortilla strips need to dry overnight, so begin making this one day ahead.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 45 min

These tiny tamales can be made a day or two ahead with no compromise. Corn is the essential flavor here, so be sure yours is sweet and fresh by tasting each ear. In the absence of fresh corn you can use frozen, but you should taste that, too.

Cemitas de Carne Enchilada A cemita is an oversize, slightly sweet, sesame seed bun that gives this Pueblan sandwich its name. Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 3 hr

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

Tamarind seasoning paste Smoky, earthy, and with a sweet-and-sour tang, this recado is also delicious on pork, beef, and venison.

Capirotada The cheese in this recipe melts into the pudding and contributes more texture than flavor.

Ana Garcia of Cuernavaca, Mexico, writes: "My great-grandmother, Josefina, was a highly regarded butcher, and she taught me the communal style of cooking that Mexico is known for. That's one of the reasons I opened my own cooking school, La Villa Bonita — to show others how authentic Mexican cuisine is prepared, as opposed to the usual tacos, burritos, and Tex-Mex dishes. "My husband, Robb, and I also run our own restaurant, Reposado. He insisted that we open the place because he thought my recipes deserved a wider audience. At the restaurant I like to experiment — the menu at Reposado is nouvelle Mexican — but at my cooking school I feature more traditional recipes. Working at both places gives me the chance to show off both cooking styles. " Unlike the classic delicate flans, these are made with condensed milk and cream cheese, which results in a rich texture.

Sausage and Potato Mini-Turnovers The dough for these little turnovers may be pressed either by hand or with a tortilla press.

This Argentinian sauce is served with both grilled meats and fish. Its spice and herbal flavors go well with the smokiness imparted by the grill, and the vinegar’s bite cuts through the richness of steak. This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Sofrito is a sautéed vegetable mixture used as a seasoning in much of Latin America and the Caribbean. It typically contains garlic, onion, bell pepper, coriander, and sometimes tomatoes or ham, although the recipe varies among countries. In our version, we've omitted the oil normally used to cook the ingredients and instead simply puréed the vegetables. This recipe was created to accompany Grilled Citrus Salmon. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

We adapted this gorgeous salad, full of intriguing flavors and textures and so colorful it looks like a fireworks display, from a recipe that Mexican chef María Dolores Torres Yzábal contributed to México, The Beautiful Cookbook.

Beef Stew Editor's Note: This recipe and introductory text are excerpted from The Exotic Kitchens of Peru, by Copeland Marks. We've also added some tips of our own below. For a complete guide to Peruvian cuisine, click here. This is a special dish that is only prepared on Mondays. My teacher told me that everyone she knew cooked Espesado on Mondays, a ritual that is universally accepted. In the clean and complete Central Market of Chiclayo, a number of the small eating shops were dispensing this to diners who knew what they wanted and expected it on Mondays.

This dish is a perfect example of Villaran Novoandina ("New Andean") style of cooking. Ingredients native to Peru, such as escolar, aji, and tropical fruit, are combined in whimsical, creative ways. The presentation is very contemporary, yet the bright, satisfying contrast of crisp fish, sweet fruit, and spicy sauce is true to Peruvian flavors.