Lechasseur

The trick to this bold Sichuan dish-street food-style noodles that took this country by storm in the 1980s and became an all-American favorite-is not to let the noodles sit in the sauce for very long. Toss them together a few seconds before serving. You can find recipes that are more authentic than this one (we've stuck to supermarket ingredients), but we doubt they'll be better. If you want to dress up the noodles for a party, spread them on a roomy platter and garnish them with all sorts of interesting things.

Made for Mary Lechasseur's 85th birthday party.

Makes one 9-inch 3-layer cake

Use it on ribs, pork shoulders, chickens-anything you want to taste like American barbecue. Use 2 to 3 teaspoons per pound of meat. A 4-pound chicken will take 1/2 to 2 tablespoons. You'll find hickory-smoked salt available in the spice rack of most supermarkets. To make a spicier rub, substitute hot paprika for some or all of the sweet paprika.

"This grilled chicken, marinated in a tomato-based blend of flavorings, may be Nepali (we've eaten a version of it in Kathmandu) or it may be a Nepali chef-inspired invention, but either way it's good. Use a cleaver to cut the chicken into pieces as you wish for grilling (we usually cut legs into two, and breasts into four, for example), or ask the butcher to do it."

Originally published as "Vegetarian Cutlets", we informally call them beet burgers and dress them like a regular beef burger. Fry them on the first side to get a little crust so they hold together when flipping. I sometimes use two spatulas to flip the burger, one to lift the burger out of the pan and then carefully place another spatula on top. Turn them over and slide the burger off the 2nd spatula, now on the bottom, back into the pan.